March 21, 2019:
This is return trip to Cartagena for us, and so we resolved just to immerse ourselves in the colors , sights, and flavors of this beautifully restored Colonial town. For a more in-depth discussion, you can check out the Gringos earlier post on the city from 2015 :https://vayacongringos.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/cartagena-de-los-indies/ and from 2017: https://vayacongringos.wordpress.com/2017/04/
Upon arriving in Cartagena, we got aboard one of the Hop On, Hop Off busses here, which offer a great introduction to the various neighborhoods in Cartagena. The ship is docked in the cruise port, which is right in front of the very popular Manga neighborhood (named for all the mango trees there).
Then we drove through the Gethsemi neighborhood, which used to be the poor part of town outside the city walls where slaves and mixed race people (non-Europeans) lived. It has since become a very hip area, with lots of shops, restaurants and live music.
Then, the bus took us towards the Castle of San Felipe de Barajas, which was never taken by pirates, although the old city itself fell. There are always brightly dressed fruit vendor ladies here who will take a picture with you for a couple of dollars.
The bus route took us along the back side of the city fortifications on the sea side of the old town facing the water. Usually, young people play soccer on the playing fields in front of the fortifications. Jim and I really like walking up on the ramparts here, mostly because it is the best place in the closed old city to get a breeze. In the evenings, young lovers watch the sunsets together from the ramparts.
We entered the old city from one of the ports on the seward side and began our visit with a couple of stops at Las Bovedas. This is a series of mostly touristic shops built into what used to be the prisons in the city fortifications. However, there was another huge cruise ship in port today, so we quickly abandoned that attempt, and then walked further into the old city.
Our plan was then to have lunch at one of our favorite places in Cartagena, La Cevechería. However, as you can see, even that was teeming with people.
On to Plan B. After buying a replacement “Panama Hat” (made in Equador) from one of the ubiquitous street vendors, Jim and I retreated into the air-conditioned sanctuary of a café called Crepes and Waffles. Not only do they have fabulous ice creams (as well as a full menu of salads, sandwiches, wine and beer), but the café is operated as a sort of social redemption project, particularly as a way of training women to have valuable job skills.
We were pretty much done fighting the crowds in the old town by then, so Jim and I left out the front of the old city past the Aduana building (the old customs house) and out the clock tower gate. Conveniently, the pick up location for the Hop On, Hop Off bus was right across the street. One of the highlights of the day was yet to come, however.
We rode the Hop On, Hop Off bus back to the the cruise terminal. One of the great things about Cartagena is that it has an AWESOME cruise terminal. After you get off your ship, you enter a mini wildlife park with lots of domesticated tropical birds, and some aviaries where you can walk among the non-domesticated ones. There is a lovely gift shop here, and also a very nice coffee shop where you can enjoy your coffee in a jungle-like environment. We had a ton of fun just photographing the birds and the anteaters.
We had a lovely sail away from Cartagena, and now we will have a day at sea before we reach our final port of the cruise, Georgetown, Grand Cayman.
Vaya con Gringos 