Day 10 - Tour of Cartagena
We arrived at our hotel at around 11.30 last night after an hour's flight from Bogota. Cartagena is on the Caribbean coast so very hot and humid with an average high of 32C and low of 25C all year
around with 90% humidity
The hotel overlooks the main square and clock tower and was very lively and we were even approached by street vendors and entertainers as we tried to get our luggage from the coach. Our room is facing the clock tower square which comes alive with Salsa music and dancing at night.
We did a 4 hour tour of the city early this morning. It is very different to the other places in Colombia that we have visited and has a distinct Caribbean feel about it. It reminded us a bit of Cuba. Cartagena is a walled city and has over 11 kms of walls. Unfortunately our tour guide did not speak or understand English well so was very difficult to follow and was unable to understand even basic questions.
We started by climbing up to the Fort San Felipe de Barajas where we had some good views of the town. This fort was built to guard the town in 1536 during the colonial era.
The town was attacked by Sir Francis Drake in the 16th century (and he is seen as a pirate by the locals) who destroyed the cathedral and demanded a large ransom in return for not razing the town to the ground. It was again attacked by British admiral Edward Vernon with 186 ships and 25,000 men but was defeated by the Spanish commander Blas de Lezo, with 6 ships and 3600 men. Vernon had been so confident of victory that he already had medals forged stating “True British Heroes Took Cartagena, April 1741”. A statue of Vernon together with a replica medal has been erected in the town as a permanent laughing stock.
We then visited La Popa which is a monastery high on a nearby hill and dates back to 1607 when it was founded by the Augustine Fathers. It is 150m above sea level. We had some lovely views of the town and of the poorer area where houses are almost on the beach. The singer Shakira, who originates from nearby has donated money for a school for the children of this area. While up there I was lucky enough to spot a Stick Insect slowly walking along the path. It was about 6" long.
We returned to the walled city for a walking tour. The old town is full of very narrow streets and colourful houses. There are ladies selling fruit and cakes in colourful Caribbean traditional dress. Also there are a lot of street vendors who are quite persistent.
One of the most interesting places we went to was the San Pedro Claver church. It was built between 1580 and 1654 by the Jesuits. It was named after San Pedro Claver who came from a village near Barcelona and joined the Jesuits aged 20 and was assigned to travel to Spain's colonies in Latin America. He first arrived in Cartagena in 1610 but spent 6 years in Bogata to complete his studies and where he was ordained as a priest. When he returned to Cartagena in 1616 the town had become a major slave trading centre and was one of the few ports in this part of the world that was allowed to trade human beings. Pedro Claver showed compassion to the arriving slaves and would ensure that the sick and wounded were treated and he fought for better treatment of slaves. He became known as the Slave to the Slaves.
We were shown around some other squares in the city but it was so hot and humid that we were finding it hard to remember everything. At the end of the tour we grabbed a local snack and went to the hotel pool for most of the afternoon.
We ventured out again early evening when it was a little cooler and more comfortable. We walked outside the town walls and along the sea front before eating at a Caribbean restaurant near the hotel.
The hotel overlooks the main square and clock tower and was very lively and we were even approached by street vendors and entertainers as we tried to get our luggage from the coach. Our room is facing the clock tower square which comes alive with Salsa music and dancing at night.
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| View from our hotel room |
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| View from our hotel room |
We did a 4 hour tour of the city early this morning. It is very different to the other places in Colombia that we have visited and has a distinct Caribbean feel about it. It reminded us a bit of Cuba. Cartagena is a walled city and has over 11 kms of walls. Unfortunately our tour guide did not speak or understand English well so was very difficult to follow and was unable to understand even basic questions.
We started by climbing up to the Fort San Felipe de Barajas where we had some good views of the town. This fort was built to guard the town in 1536 during the colonial era.
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| Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
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| View from Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Unidentified birds at Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Colombian Flag at Fort San Felipe de Barajas |
The town was attacked by Sir Francis Drake in the 16th century (and he is seen as a pirate by the locals) who destroyed the cathedral and demanded a large ransom in return for not razing the town to the ground. It was again attacked by British admiral Edward Vernon with 186 ships and 25,000 men but was defeated by the Spanish commander Blas de Lezo, with 6 ships and 3600 men. Vernon had been so confident of victory that he already had medals forged stating “True British Heroes Took Cartagena, April 1741”. A statue of Vernon together with a replica medal has been erected in the town as a permanent laughing stock.
We then visited La Popa which is a monastery high on a nearby hill and dates back to 1607 when it was founded by the Augustine Fathers. It is 150m above sea level. We had some lovely views of the town and of the poorer area where houses are almost on the beach. The singer Shakira, who originates from nearby has donated money for a school for the children of this area. While up there I was lucky enough to spot a Stick Insect slowly walking along the path. It was about 6" long.
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| La Popa Monastery courtyard |
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| La Popa Monastery - Alter |
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View over poor area of Cartagena from La Popa Monastery.
School sponsered by Shakira is in the middle of photo
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| Stick Insect |
We returned to the walled city for a walking tour. The old town is full of very narrow streets and colourful houses. There are ladies selling fruit and cakes in colourful Caribbean traditional dress. Also there are a lot of street vendors who are quite persistent.
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| Caribbean Fruit Sellers |
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| Street Art on walls in Cartagena |
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| Decorated Street in Cartagena |
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| Decorated Street in Cartagena |
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| Colourful houses in Cartagena |
One of the most interesting places we went to was the San Pedro Claver church. It was built between 1580 and 1654 by the Jesuits. It was named after San Pedro Claver who came from a village near Barcelona and joined the Jesuits aged 20 and was assigned to travel to Spain's colonies in Latin America. He first arrived in Cartagena in 1610 but spent 6 years in Bogata to complete his studies and where he was ordained as a priest. When he returned to Cartagena in 1616 the town had become a major slave trading centre and was one of the few ports in this part of the world that was allowed to trade human beings. Pedro Claver showed compassion to the arriving slaves and would ensure that the sick and wounded were treated and he fought for better treatment of slaves. He became known as the Slave to the Slaves.
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| San Pedro Claver Church |
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| Inside San Pedro Claver Church |
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| Painting of San Pedro Claver - all paintings depicted slaves |
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| Inside San Pedro Claver Church |
We were shown around some other squares in the city but it was so hot and humid that we were finding it hard to remember everything. At the end of the tour we grabbed a local snack and went to the hotel pool for most of the afternoon.
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| One of the squares in the town |
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| Statue of Pope Francis who visited Cartagena in 2017 |
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| Drake House - once owned by Sir Francis Drake. |
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| Paul fondling a Botero work of art |
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| Afternoon at the hotel pool |
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| Afternoon at the hotel pool |
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| Afternoon at the hotel pool |
We ventured out again early evening when it was a little cooler and more comfortable. We walked outside the town walls and along the sea front before eating at a Caribbean restaurant near the hotel.
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| One of Cartagenas beaches |
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