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Colonial Colombia
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The flight from Bogota to Cartagena went without a hitch and getting through the airport was very quick. We got a taxi straight away and drove the 3kms to the centre of the old town in no time. We asked the driver to drop us at the hotel we`d phoned ahead to book. It was pretty highly recommended by the Lonely Planet which described it as: "one of the best budget bets in the area".
We arrived at 7:35pm and were told by the guy on the front desk that our room would be ready in 25 minutes. I took this at face value, but Jim was slightly more suspicious, when I noticed that all the other people sat waiting for rooms in the ill-lit lounge were couples without any luggage, the penny slowly dropped. Tired by the flight and overwhelmed by the sticky heat which was very noticeable after Bogota, we decided to check-in anyway.
Our room was OK, but the plastic mattress cover and giant resident cockroach we met in the early hours were not so great. Neither were the bed bugs that bit me all over my legs. Nice! Especially considering we had gone a bit more upmarket than usual and were paying $25 a night.
Yet again our confidence in the Lonely Planet has been shaken - especially when we heard the guy who wrote most of the current edition, speaks no Spanish and came to the country on a three week holiday! Not exactly in-depth research - we suspect he just stuck his head round the door in the middle of the day and so had no idea about the Hotel El Viajero´s seedier side...
Other than the disappointment with our hotel we thought Cartagena was beautiful. The old walled town is remarkably well preserved and it was lovely just wandering through the streets, dodging the horses and carts and admiring all the bougainvillea clad balconies. We´d walked around a bit on the evening we arrived and had dinner at a very expensive tapas restaurant, but we started sightseeing properly on the following morning. After a leisurely breakfast in a German-run cafe (very good bread and eggs) we walked to the Plaza de Bolivar.
This is where the pastel painted cathedral is, along with a couple of small museums. We sat in the shade of the trees on the square for a minute absorbing the atmosphere. The city reminded us a lot of Salvador. Like the Brazilian colonial town, there´s a big black and mulatto population here and many of the hawkers nonchalantly carry heavy loads on their heads like their African ancestors. We saw lots of brightly dressed women selling exotic fruit this way.
When we stopped sitting around we went to visit the Palacio de la Inquisicion. This is one of the finest colonial buildings in the city, it was the seat of the Punishment Tribunal of the Holy Office from 1610, but wasn´t actually finished until 1776. Inside we had to battle with several large groups of schoolchildren to see the exhibits on the city´s history and the torture implements used during the Inquisition, but as there were no English explanations we didn´t linger too long.
After a brief visit to the cathedral, which was partially destroyed by Sir Francis Drake´s cannons when he besieged the city in 1586 (he mercifully agreed not to level the town in return for a 10 million peso ransom!), we sought out an air-conditioned cafe and whiled away the afternoon. Suitably cooled we took an evening stroll along the battlements and looked out at the Pacific Ocean.
We ate dinner in a great place that offered a good set menu, we finished the main course along with our bottle of wine and were slightly surprised to see the waiter bring us another. We´d thought our Spanish was letting us down when we read the price included a bottle of wine per person - despite working on increasing our tolerance this year, it´s still not back up to University standards as we only managed about a bottle and a half between us!
After a second night in our awful hotel, we upgraded ourselves to the lovely Casa de Fe. This B&B was gorgeous - it was still within the old walls and even had a rooftop pool (well maybe "bath" is more appropriate - it was only about 2 metres by 5 metres!). After checking in we braved the heat and walked out of the walls up to the Castillo de San Filpe de Barajas.
This fort is apparently the greatest and strongest fortress built by the Spaniards in their colonies. As all the looted gold from the Indians was shipped to Europe from here they obviously felt the need to protect it after the likes of Drake had beaten them at their own game. The original one was built between 1639 and 1657 and was quite small so it was enlarged in 1762. It now takes over the whole hill.
It´s really quite impressive and was never taken despite numerous attempts to storm it. We spent a happy hour or so exploring the tunnels which were designed to amplify noises so the soldiers could hear the enemy coming in case of attack. After a cooling ice lolly we walked back down the hill into town. We were good and bought some fruit on the way, but only admired all the sweet treats and biscuits for sale on the stalls along the walls at the Portal de los Dulces.
We spent the remaining hours of sunlight on loungers up by the pool. It was lovely up there by ourselves and we made the most of it by having a couple of cold beers and some of the delicious olives we bought in Mendoza and smuggled across the Chilean border.
On Saturday we got up crazily early in order to go on a boat trip out to one of the beautiful Caribbean beaches near Cartagena. We gambled on the boats not setting off on time and so had breakfast at our place first. We´re glad we did, it was lovely sitting in the shady flower filled courtyard munching on exotic fruit then eggs washed down with fresh juice and coffee (we´ve been constantly impressed by how good the food is here in Colombia).
We got to the wharf at about 8am, just in time to board one of the big tourist boats out to Playa Blanca. The one we´d chosen motored down to the Isla del Rosario first for a trip to an aquarium, before heading to the beach. It took us over two and a half hours to get to our first stop. We were in two minds about the aquarium, but we decided to go in the end. There were a variety of animals there including some small sharks, rays and three rather listless looking dolphins. While they were obviously well cared for, it was quite sad to see them swimming around their small pen.
As well as all the fish and mammals the aquarium was full of birds. Storks, flamingos and some very greedy wild pelicans. Much to everyone´s amusement they kept swooping down and trying to snatch the fishy treats meant for the dolphins. After an hour we got back on the boat and made our way back up the coast to Playa Blanca. This was the main reason we'd wanted to come on a trip. All the boats seemed to offer similar itineraries, but it was a shame that despite spending a whole day on the boat, we only got an hour on the beach!
We wouldn't have missed it though, the water was crystal clear and once we managed to assure all the touts we really weren´t interested in anything they were offering, we had a very relaxing 60 minutes. The ride back wasn´t so calm though and Jim turned a pale shade of green (not for the first time that day it has to be said!).
After getting back to our lovely B&B and showering, we went out for dinner and then a few cocktails in the Cafe del Mar. This place was nice if quite strange. Jim reckons it´s the only nightspot he´s ever been checked for a holstered gun on the way in. We sat on high stools right next to the city walls and alternated between watching the crazy drivers vying for space on the road with the horses and carriages and our fellow clientel. These really were a mixed bunch. Some local, some travellers, but all fascinating, especially after two strong drinks. Jim dragged me away when we ran out of money - even in Cartagena we were careful not to take out any cards or extra cash in the evenings.
Our last day in Cartagena was spent in a very lazy manner. We had another lovely breakfast and dip in the pool at our place before checking out and then wandered around the bits of the old town we´d so far missed. This involved a visit to some craft shops housed in some old gunpowder stores in the city wall and a few of the picturesque pigeon-filled plazas. We abandoned sightseeing in favour of a boozy Sunday lunch and then spent the time until we had to leave cafe-hopping.
Our last stop was on a balcony overlooking one of the main squares the Plaza Santo Domingo. While we sipped coffee we watched the circus below. A large Colombian family were approached by countless hawkers selling everything from miniature Botero statues to day-glo handbags and silver jewellery. Our vantage point meant we could take it all in without the constant hassle of having to politely say "no" every two minutes.
After getting our fill of the view, we paid up, left and collected our bags. We got to the airport nice and early for the flight to Medellin, not quite sure what to expect from the former cocaine capital of Colombia!
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