CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA – A DIFFERENT VIBE

From the moment of our arrival, Cartagena had a whole different feel than Bogota. First of all, we left 68 degrees and mountains and landed along Columbia’s Caribbean coast with 90 degrees and humidity. Arriving on a domestic flight was less involved and the airport was less chaotic. No cab issues either. A little machine near the exit dispensed a ticket with the expected cost to the indicated area. Show the ticket to a driver, get his approval, hop in and go.

Since we planned to stay for four nights, we rented a larger Airbnb with a pool in a modern condo building. Amazing one-bedroom unit in a prime location for $120 per night all in. Columbia is a very economical destination. 😊

It had a locked lobby with doorman posted 24-hours a day. There was security but unlike Bogota, we never really felt like we needed it. As we walked down the hall to our room, we followed a couple speaking American English. Music to our ears. The couple was from Philadelphia who vacationed in Cartagena annually for the past seven years and loved it. There was a full-line grocery store/discount department store about a block away. We were feeling pretty good about Cartagena already.

Our Airbnb was located in Old Town Cartagena, in the San Diego neighborhood within the old defensive wall, which is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The “old city” dates to the 1500s. As a coastal city, part of Cartagena’s role was to defend Spain’s holdings from pirates and invaders. San Felipe Castle, a massive mountaintop fort, was built and the wall surrounded the city. This area caters to tourists with all types of lodging, restaurants, bars, shops, etc. built into vibrantly painted historical buildings. The streets were very narrow and cabs circulated haphazardly trying to avoid pedestrians, sidewalk diners, horse drawn carriages and other cabs. All the streets were one-way and did not appear to have any stop signs. It’s best compared to the French Quarter in New Orleans, except without the smell and the sleeze, or the jazz music. Following are some representative photos.

There was always some busker or roaming stage show providing all manners of entertainment for tips along every block that had outside seating and in all of the small parks and plazas. Vendors endlessly approached us trying to peddle cigars, beaded bracelets, hats, you name it. Even this guy selling “Big Ass Ants”!

Yes, Steve tried them. They taste like peanuts.

We had some marvelous ceviche with some stellar entertainment our first night in Cartagena. The streets were filled with people all enjoying themselves, not in a rowdy way, just pleasant.

Have we mentioned that the Columbian food is marvelous? We enjoyed some fine sidewalk dining.

To really immerse ourselves in the foody scene, we took TWO cooking classes. Authentic Colombian cooking including steamed red snapper, empanadas, petacones, coconut rice and panela water. Fun class and excellent result.

Class #2 was ceviche! Little did we know that ceviche came in many forms. We made four separate recipes: shrimp and snail cocktail, fish ceviche cured with salt and lime topped with sauces and other toppings, green mango calamari and sweet mango desert. The chef demonstrated and explained the various steps and then assigned tasks to each of the class participants. It was a fun group. The best part was eating the finished product, with wine, of course. We fully expect to try these recipes out at home and have you over to sample.

This class was in the Getsemani section of the Old City, a reasonable walking distance from our lodging. This area was especially active with bars, restaurants and streets filled with people.

Cartagena has double-decker red bus tour that circles around the most important tourist areas. We did the loop twice and got a good idea of the city’s layout. The only major stop we made was San Felipe Castle. It is the largest Spanish fort in South America with magnificent panoramic views from the top.

The bus took us through a peninsula called Bocagrande, a much newer section of the city built along the city’s extensive beaches. The area is densely built up with high-rises. The striking white buildings glowed along the blue waters. Bocagrande resembles Miami or Panama City suggesting that there is some real money in Cartagena.

Our traveling companions Dan and Kathy arrived on Day 4 and will travel with us the rest of our time in Colombia. We really enjoyed Cartagena. If (When?) we return to Cartagena someday, we would stay in either San Diego or Getsemani.