Cartagena

We got into Cartagena around 7pm.  Our trip leaders had planned a rooftop reception at the hotel, but that was scratched for lack of time.  They made up for it by transporting us in horse drawn carriages to a restaurant (Don Juan) for our farewell dinner.  The appetizer selection included very thinly sliced, marinated octopus, thin slices of eggplant rolled around cheese with a tomato sauce, and thin slices of beef served on zucchini slices.  I had a delicious shrimp risotto for dinner and warm chocolate cake for dessert.  And a great caipirinha to drink!

City wall

lizard door knocker

lion head door knocker

View from our hotel rooftop over the city

In the morning we had a tour of the city with a history and language professor from Cartagena.  The part of the city most available to tourists is the old walled part including the City Center and the Getsemani neighborhoods.  There is also a fancy high rise area along the beach called Boca Grande that we did not get to.  We were told that most other areas outside the city walls were not so safe.  The city center has been well maintained and some parts are still being restored.   Many buildings have a central courtyard and are two to three stories tall.  Cartagena has a new mayor that everyone seems excited about.  Apparently the last few have been at best irresponsible and at worst corrupt.  This mayor was even likened to the Spanish Jesuit priest Peter Claver, who was made a saint for ministering to the slaves in Cartagena, although this was by a guy who seemed somewhat demented or drunk at 9 in the morning.

We were also introduced to a couple palenqueras, women of African descent who live in a village outside Cartagena founded by escaped slaves.  The women make money by coming into the city in their colorful dresses and baskets of fruit to pose for photos with tourists.

Dancers

Palenqueras with our trip leaders

The tour ended outside the Naval Museum where our trip leaders had arranged a band and dancers to perform a few of the traditional Caribbean dances, most of which have African and Spanish influences. Our final trip activity was to gather to say goodbye at the hotel and learn the winner of the Colombian trivia quiz that had been handed out on the bus ride the day before.  There was a tie for first place between me and Jake and the mother-daughter team, but in the tie-breaking question Jake won it for us!  We got a little replica of the naked lady statue by Botero that I am sure we will always treasure.  The tie-breaking question was about the large brass door knockers seen on many doors around the city.  They used to be used to represent your status in the city.  The lizards represented homes of those associated with royalty for example.

On our own in the afternoon we wandered around the city center taking in the scenery and hot, humid air. We had lunch at Pescadita, a very small ceviche restaurant that was quite good.   We met our friends from Santa Fe for dinner again (they had been to Medellin in between Bogota and Cartagena) to swap travel stories and impressions of Colombia.  We ended up sitting outside on a plaza for pizza and craft beer.  There were some odd pizza combos like sausage and French fry pizza.  We went with chicken and mushroom.

On Saturday we took a walk around Getsemani, a neighborhood with narrower streets, very colorful buildings and street art.  There are lots of hostels and restaurants in the area and it would probably be a happening place at night.  We had a leisurely lunch at a place featuring local dishes.  Jake got a whole fried fish and I had the cazuela, a hot stew filled with all kinds of seafood.  Both were served with a dark brown coconut rice and patacones, fried plantain patties.  After a lazy afternoon hanging out by our hotel’s pool we took a cab to the Cartagena airport (only 20 minutes from the city center and surrounded by city itself) for our 8pm flight to Bogota and our 12am flight to Dallas.  If you are flying international out of Bogota be forewarned that there can be a long, slow line to go through customs before getting to your gate.

street art in Getsemani

A street in Getsemani