CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA--Sunday, November 24, 2013

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CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA--Sunday, November 24, 2013


Our original plan for this port was for the 4 of us to get a taxi and go into town and walk around to look at the sites. The information we had said this was very doable. The walking around the old walled town was doable, but getting to that town was problematic as this was another port where the taxis were way, way away from where the ship was docked. So at the last minute, after an early breakfast, I went down onto the dock and bought tour tickets for “Scenes of Cartagena with Less Shopping” for Valerie and me as Paul and Christina had bought tickets the night before. It was extremely hot and humid at 8:30 when we got on the bus for our ride into town.

The bus drove out of the port and into a residential neighborhood and then through an area between the old and new parts of town. We passed the convention center and along the quay where some pirate-style ships were berthed. This city was raided constantly by pirates and privateers—like Sir Frances Drake (1586). During the Colonial period, it was one of the main ports for the exporting of emeralds and gold to Spain and the importing of slaves.

Tired of the constant pillaging and burning of the city, the Colonials fortified it with an outer wall until it was the most impenetrable city stronghold in South America. The bus driver parked on the street and we all got off to walk up a ramp that overlooks the harbor. The ramp took as to the top of one of the walls of the city.

We then began our walk through the old city inside the walls. Since it was Sunday and a cruise ship was in port, the area was closed to vehicle traffic, which was a good thing as the tour groups needed to walk in the street as the sidewalks were way too narrow. The minute we stepped off the bus we were assaulted by street vendors hawking jewelry, T-shirts, sodas @2.50 US dollars each, hats, and other items. They were not as pushy as the vendors at the Pyramids in Egypt, but they were fairly persistent until you said, “No Thank You!”

Here is what we saw on our very hot and humid walk:

Plaza San Pedro Claver is where we entered into the old town from the bus. It is named for the church (1580) and monastery where Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest, worked for the salvation of the African slaves passing through—note salvation of, not freedom of. There is a larger than life-size and out of proportion bronze state of the priest and a slave in this square. This church was closed to the public when we walked through, but opened later for services.

Walking to the next plaza we passed several long lines of horse-drawn carriages waiting for tourists to ride along on tour. As hot as it was, this looked to me like a very good way to see things.


Plaza de Bolivar is the main square of Cartagena and is typical of many with statues (large one of Simon Bolivar) and trees with a park-like feel. On one side is the Palace of the Inquisition (now a museum) that we toured. It once housed the tribunal court that tried heretics. We looked at torture devices on the ground floor and indigenous artifacts, historical maps, dioramas, and other items on the second floor. One particularly interesting device was the witches’ scale—witches were assumed to weigh a certain amount. If you were within the range, you were condemned as a witch. As we came out, we spotted Paul and Christina who had taken a different tour in the courtyard below us.

On the other side of the plaza, was the Cathedral of Cartagena. We toured the inside and were surprised that for all the riches in this region, this church was rather plain and not adorned with gold and silver. It did have some nice stations-of-the-cross frescos in a band around the whole inside near the ceiling. It was hard to hear our guide in the cathedral as just outside they were holding a rally against abusing women with loud music playing.

Plaza de los Coches was where the slave auctions were held and has a nice statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of it. The adjacent Plaza de la Aduana was where the custom house was located and people paid their taxes.

On our way back to the bus we walked through the Plaza de SantoDomingo where Bernando Botero, a local artist, has placed interesting metal sculptures of people in various occupations.

After making our way back through the vendors and beggars and boarding the bus, we traveled around the outside walls skirting the Caribbean Sea and then into another part of the old town. This area housed the Colonial military barracks, munitions depot, and dungeons that are now used as shops for local emerald and souvenir dealers. I bought some straw birds for our Christmas tree while Valerie climbed up on the wall to get some photos.

Our last stop was a photo op for the huge Castillo San Felipe de Barajas Fort that was a very important military structure built in the 17^th and 18^th centuries to defend the city. It was amazing to see all of the people climbing to the top of the fort, the colorful buses, and a vendor making snow cones the old-fashioned way.

We returned to the ship in time to cool off and have lunch. Valerie and I then watched the ship pull out of port and sail inside Cartagena Bay past oil and other refineries and the more modern skyscrapers in the distance until we hit the open water of the Caribbean Sea. There was a statue of the Madonna in the middle of the harbor and remnants of forts protecting the outer boundaries.



After naps and generally relaxing, we met Paul and Christina for dinner in the dining room.

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