We flew to Cartagena from Medellin with Avianca airlines and landed at Rafael Nunez airport before noon. We took a taxi to get us to our hotel and the driver took us by the coastal highway where I saw pelicans for the first time in my life, and BAM!!! Right there, right then, I knew I’d love Cartagena (and yes, I am kinda easy to impress). I have never seen pelicans in real life before (I never even thought I would see one, ever) so that first impression got me really excited about the city.
As you can see from the picture above, one side of Cartagena is very modern and advanced with all those fancy skyscrapers, this area called Bocagrande. It offers different kind of entertainment and environment than the area we stayed in, the historical area. The charms of Cartagena are spread on the historical area with the colorful old colonial buildings and cobblestone paths.
Here are some awesomities of Cartagena that made our stay memorable:
Awesomities # 1: The area we were in: Getsemani
Getsemani is a neighborhood located right across Cartagena, the walled city. This neighborhood is where local families still live in and therefore Colombian hospitality and culture are still very much alive and palpable. Although this area is rated as a rather dodgy/slum-ish area according few snobby travel guide books, this area is actually bursting with color, arts, and friendly locals. IMHO, this once slum neighborhood has evolved into a trendy spot, offering various laid back dining, nightlife, and lodging options.
Awesomities # 2: Where we stay Casa relax
In Getsemani, lots of houses has been transformed into casas (private homestays), much like bed and breakfast. Among all the casas in the neighborhood, we chose to spend our 5 nights in Cartagena in Casa Relax.
The casa has an open dining room and common hall (with TV, pools, darts, etc). It also has an open air swimming pool right at the heart of the building with hammocks hanging on the side. It was exactly what we needed when the sun got too emotional (hot, burning, and unforgiving, like jealousy) during midday, where we could just take it easy, slothing by the pool, sipping fresh concoctions made out of don’t-know-what-but-it’s-pretty-good.
Awesomities # 3: Inside the wall
The history of Cartagena goes back to the colonial era where the city was one of the major port in the Caribbean coast. It’s architecture is heavily influenced by the Andalusian style colonial buildings. The heart of Cartagena’s downtown is surrounded by a 11 km thick wall. The wall was built by the Spaniards to protect the city from the pirates and other evil dudes. The picture above is the entrance to the downtown historical area or known as the Walled city. This clock tower,La Torre del Reloj Publico, is one of the most iconic landmark of Cartagena. There is an area where we could go on this massive wall. When I looked closely at the wall, I noticed that the wall is partly made from coral!
There is a lot going on inside that wall. The streets are lined with vibrant colored casas of the wealthy merchants which are now mostly transformed into upscale boutiques, hotels, bars, and restaurants. Vendors selling typical Cartagenian souvenirs with ridiculously marked up price are everywhere and add to the charm of the city. Although I must admit that this place has become very touristic and almost lost it’s authenticity because everything is turned into a commercial place, there are some landmarks that still preserve the historical bit of the city like the church Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, the Palace of Inquisition, and the Las Bovedas.
Have you ever heard about the Spanish inquisition? At first, all I know about Spanish Inquisition was about how gorey it was. To be honest, that was the main reason I was curious about this palace. We took a guided tour (thank God) and he explained everything about the inquisition and the history of Cartagena. O’boy, I was totally misled about the gorey part! It wasn’t actually that bad. There were some torture devices displayed in this place but nothing that I couldn’t stomach.
Awesomities # 4: Street food
We eat a lot. It just how we are. Although there are fancy restaurants inside the wall, we opted to eat from the street instead or from garage-turned-into-an-eatery kind of places in Getsemani. With a fraction of the fancy restaurant price, we got more than we could chew, tasted more flavors than we imagined, and got addicted more than we’d like to admit.
Awesomities # 5: Beaches
Now this is the main reason why we were in Cartagena; its Caribbean beaches, y’all! You see, I got a lot of bucket lists to do and each list represents a particular category. There is one for authentic food I want to try, one for animals in the wild that I want to see, and of course one for the water bodies around the world I want to dip my ginger root toes in. In Cartagena, I can tick Caribbean sea off this list. Hashtag euphoria.
Awesomities # 6: The impenetrable fort of Colombia; Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
CSFB is one big-ass fort, located 15 minutes by walk from where we stay in Getsemani. According to the legend, this fort was the only fort in Colombia that has never been taken by enemy. The fort is huge, it looks like a masonry hill.
(not so) Awesomities # 7: Counterfeit money from the ATM
Awesomities # 8: The pelicans
Every day before sunset, the pelicans filled the sky. The sky looked like it was full of pterodactyls. I don’t really know what they’re doing, honestly. Perhaps they are just acting busy to look like they have something to do in their life other than just sitting on one hand on the beach, all day.
