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Cartagena
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Cartagena
(population 1 million) is well located about midway on Columbia’s Caribbean
Coast, it is a unique city filled with sun, sea and history. It is also
Columbia’s premier tourist attraction. The city is connected by a series of
bridges and divided by 17th century walls into an “historic old city” and a
cosmopolitan “modern city”. The City was founded in 1533 by the Spanish
conquistador Don Pedro de Heredia and thanks to its strategic position had
achieved considerable importance by the mid 16th Century. It soon became one of
the few South American ports to export the wealth of gold and silver in
particular to back to Spain.
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Inevitably it
attracted the attention of pirates and the Dutch, French and English all
attacked the City. Sir Francis Drake, as much a pirate as anyone else, captured
the town in 1586 with the aid of a thousand desperadoes and indulged in an orgy
of looting and destruction in which much of the city was burnt down. Drake
finally left when there was nothing else left to loot for Queen Elizabeth 1st of
England. Cartagena had become the main port for the infamous slave trade and the
first slave ship arrived in 1564 to send thousands of slaves all over South
America. |
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The old walled city
has changed very little in recent times. Its winding streets lined with Spanish
Colonial architecture with colorfully painted buildings are delightful. The city
was declared the “Historical Patrimony of Humanity” by UNESCO in 1985 and it is
easy to see why. The Church of San Pedro Claver dedicated to the Spanish born
monk known as the “Slave of Slaves” or the “Apostle of the Blacks” who devoted
his life to the welfare of the unfortunate slaves brought to Cartagena: he even
begged in the streets for them. Claver was the first person to be canonized in
the New World and his body lies in a glass coffin in the high altar. |
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Dining
is rewarding if you are not in a hurry. There are a variety of cuisine's
available with a Spanish twist. Waiters will traditionally pamper you and insist
that you slowly enjoy your meal as Colombians do, savoring each course while
enjoying a good conversation. Other available activities include deep sea
fishing, reef diving, guided bus tours, boat trips, unique shopping, art
museums, horse drawn carriage rides, beaches, casinos, intimate bars, cafes with
live entertainment and lively discotheques. If you travel in November, you can
party in the streets until the wee hours of the morning as the Colombians
celebrate the city's independence from Spain. |
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