Cartagena

Sunday, November 2nd

ms Zuiderdam

Sunfarer Day 6

Cartagena, Colombia

Arriving:  7:00 AM

Departing:  1:00 PM

Chance of Rain - 88 Degrees

Think Cartagena, Colombia, and you may think of white powder, but it's not the white sandy beaches that come to mind.  That was the old Colombia.  Things have changed.  I hear that even modern Medellin, once controlled by the drug cartel that made its name famous, is nice now.  This is not 1982 when cocaine surpassed coffee as Colombia's most valuable export.  Tourism is high on that list now, so we have come to take a tour.  Let's see how much polish is left on "The Pearl of the Caribbean."

Cartagena has been asserting itself on the world stage, and in 2012 hosted the 6th Summit of the Americas, with the theme "Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity."  As you may recall, the American delegation took the theme of partnership to heart, and to bed.  Several members of the Secret Service advance team were implicated in a prostitution scandal.  The first notable destination on the driving tour that led to the walking tour was the site of the summit, or climax, if you will.

Castillo San Felipe de Barajas atop the Hill of San Lázaro dominates the city from both land and sea.  Commissioned by the Spanish in 1536 to defend against pirate attacks, the fortress was expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Our walking tour of La Ciudad Amurallada - The Walled City - a UNESCO World Heritage Site, started at Las Bóvedas - The Vaults - dungeons built into the city side of the wall in the late 1700s.  The  23 bunkers behind 47 porticos that once held prisoners and munitions, half underwater at high-tide, are now a row of pleasant shops. The ramp up to the ramparts wraps around the vaults and reveals some serious firepower and views out to the Caribbean Sea.

 

The streets in the old walled city are narrow, with balconies cantilevered over the sidewalks, and festooned with flowers.

La Gorda Gertrudis - The Fat Lady - by Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero is the star of Plaza Santo Domingo.  She is resplendent, 1,443 pounds of compound curves in bronze.

Palacio de la Inquisición, the 1770 Holy Office of the Spanish Inquisition in Colombia, faces Parque de Bolívar, a plaza ringed with gardens and fountains.

Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa Catalina de Alejandría  (1612) is the long name of the long-standing church in the heart of Cartagena.

Built over nearly 100 years between 1580 and 1664, Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, its patron saint interred within, was devoted to "evangelizing and 'redeeming' the black slaves of New Granada."

We didn't come to Cartagena seeking redemption, and we doubt the slaves did either, but it was a pleasant day nonetheless.

Sailaway from Bahia Cartagena this afternoon provided views of both La Cartagena Vieja, and La Cartagena Nueva, still under construction.

A statue of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, stands watch over the harbor.  P.S. - In 2015, Our Lady suffered a direct hit by a bolt of lightening and crumbled into the sea.  I will let you come to your own conclusions about that.

Castillo San Fernando, built in the 18th century atop the ruins of the 17th-century Castillo San Luis de Bocachica, on La Isla Tierra Bomba, guards the Southern entrance to the harbor.

Next Stop:  The Panama Canal