Cartagena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The people are very loud and very friendly. Except for a few areas where there is minor crime (pick pockets), the city is safe. It is very popular with French Canadians in the winter months.

You will see fruit you do not recognize and I suggest you try them all. When you go to restaurants, pick local dishes. The traditional cuisine has many roots in African dishes because Cartagena was the center of the slave trade and today more than 80% of the population is at least partly black. Many people speak English and those in stores and restaurants will probably speak enough English to understand and help you.

If you are going to buy a travel guide, my favourite is the Lonely Planet guide.

Cartagena is home to many plazas that are popular with locals and tourists.

Where to stay?

We rent an apartment because we stay for six weeks. Our preference is to stay either in Bocagrande or Castillogrande, because we like to go to the beach in the morning. The old city, the Centro, has great ambiance and that is where most of the action is, but you need to take a taxi to go to the beaches. There is a relatively new area called the Zona Norte. Many of the new hotels are there and the beaches are lovely, but you are very far away from the city itself and you have to come and go by taxi. We don’t like staying there and don’t recommend it unless all you want to do is to go to the beach and stay in your hotel.

The Forts

Cartagena was founded in 1533 and it was the port where all the taxes and goods from the colonies were gathered to be sent to Spain. Because it made such a good target for pirates, the city was heavily fortified and the fortifications are mostly intact.

The biggest fort is the Castillo San Felipe, highly recommended. Do engage a guide. This fort is a wonder of military defensive architecture of the 17th century with its ramps, tunnels and terraces. There are other minor forts, including San Sebastián del Pastelillo in Manga, now occupied by the Club de Pesca (the boat club). There is a restaurant here also called Club de Pesca that is wonderful both because of the food and the ambiance. Ask for a table on the pier. There is another fort at the entrance of the bay in Boca Chica. Going there is a day excursion by boat.

The Walls

Walk the murallas, the walls that surround the old city. You can go up a ramp in front of the Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa and walk on top of the wall (you have to get off the wall in a few places) until you arrive at the Bóvedas, a series of 23 archways in a historic building that houses some souvenir shops where you can find almost anything you want. Be prepared to haggle.

While you are walking along the top of the wall, you will see the city on one side and the ocean on the other side. Look into the city itself and look at all the little businesses and streets that you will want to visit later. NH Gallery in front of the wall is my favourite for good exhibitions and for a good sampling of the work by their gallery artists.

There are two bars/quasi restaurants on top of the wall. The first one is in front of the Santa Teresa, and the other is a few blocks away. Both are lovely places to have a drink at sunset and watch the changing light on the ocean as the sun goes down.

The Plazas

In the plazas in the old city is where you will find quirky entertainment. The Plaza de San Diego is probably my favourite, there is a little bar that serves the best gin and tonic in town (sorry can’t remember the name). It is surrounded by good restaurants, including Juan del Mar and El Mar de Juan, owned by the same person. One is a truly wonderful seafood restaurant (expensive) and the other is a pizza joint.

In Plaza Bolívar (in front of the Cathedral) you will see young dancers put on a show every afternoon around 5 pm. They pass a hat around after for donations. This plaza also has the Inquisition, now a museum and art gallery with changing exhibitions. The building itself is interesting. Cafés, bars and restaurants surround Plaza Fernández Madrid. This plaza also has chess and checkers tables set up; they are very popular.

Plaza Santo Domingo has a bronze by Colombia’s most famous sculptor, Fernando Botero. The reclining nude is affectionately called La Gorda (the fat lady). This is the place to have a cool drink in the afternoon and watch the people go by. In the cloister of the church of Santo Domingo (hence the name of the plaza), there is an art gallery supported by the Government of Spain. They usually have interesting exhibitions.

Just outside the walled city is Getsemaní, the latest ‘happening’ place. The plaza is another place to go to be entertained. This little area has bars, good restaurants, cafés, etc. It was originally the district where the blue collar workers lived so the houses are smaller, the streets narrow and winding, and the atmosphere is great. Close by is La Media Luna, home of the red light district where there are still bars frequented by tourists (including apparently Hillary Clinton when she was in Cartagena). Close by is also the Parque Centenario and you should stay away from this park at night. It is where you go to get robbed.

The Museum & Churches

The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) is in the Plaza San Pedro. The museum has both a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. We usually go to see what is there.

The Church of San Pedro gives the plaza its name. This church is named in honour of the local saint who dedicated his life to helping the slaves; his bones are on display under the main altar. There is a restaurant in front of the church that has a very eclectic menu; you should ask for an outside table and then be entertained by all the mimes and musicians and the rest of the people who make a living out of amusing the tourists.

The church of San Diego now houses the Escuela de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts School). It is usually out of bounds to visitors but if there is an exhibition, you should go in and appreciate the colonial architecture. The big hotel nearby is the Sofitel Santa Clara and together with the Santa Teresa that I mentioned earlier, are the two most elegant hotels in the city. Each of these is in a former convent and both have seen various usages over the centuries.

The Santa Clara was the charity hospital for many years; the Santa Teresa was even the police station for quite some time. The church of San Diego was the women’s prison when I was growing up! (The actual women’s prison is nearby). You can go inside both the Santa Clara and Santa Teresa; they both have bars and restaurants.

Other Recommendations

There are many restaurants in the old city that are good places to eat. La Vitrola has live music on weekends; the band is good, the service is awful, the food mediocre, and the prices are very inflated but for some reason people love to go there and it will be recommended to you if you ask around.

For a panoramic view of the city, go to La Popa, a hill with an old convent on top. The convent is interesting, but you go to see the entire city at your feet. This is the place where you can make sense of the odd geography of the city: it is built on what were a series of islands that are joined by bridges and/or filled causeways.

Coffee shops are abundant, after all, Colombia produces the best coffee in the world! Juan Valdez shops are in several locations and they always have nice nibblies to go along with the coffee.

Getsemani, a working class district that has become a hub for artists and musicians who ply their wares on the streets. This area is very bohemian and gay friendly. This is also an area of little restaurants and boutique hotels housed in centuries old buildings and houses.

San Diego is another lovely area, also in the old city. The local plaza has everything from a five star hotel to the Fine Arts school, restaurants and street entertainement.

Outside the City

in the island of Barú, is the aviary, where you can see many of the hundreds of species of birds from this part of the world. You can either take a group excursion or hire a taxi to take you there.

A horse and buggy ride through the streets of the old city is fun; the coachman will tell you all about the history of the plazas and buildings. They invent a lot and try to make the stories very gory. As a matter of fact, most of the tourist guides love to embellish their stories and you need not believe everything they tell you, but they are trying hard to entertain you, so pretend you do.

Nearby

The first recommendation is the Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta, up the coast. It is about 5 hours away by car so you need to stay at least two nights, perhaps three. Tayrona has wonderful accommodation and we stayed at their ecohabs, a hotel with thatched cottages right in the park. Tayrona closes for the month of February to ‘let the mountain rest’. There are still indigenous groups that live in Tayrona and you can run into them wearing traditional clothes and haircuts. The ones we met did not even speak Spanish and our guide had to translate for us.

The second get away is to the Rosario Islands, an archipelago about one hour away from Cartagena by motor boat. There are several hotels in the Rosarios, our favourite are either Isla Pirata in the island of the same name or San Pedro de Majagua in the big island. At Pirata your meals are pension style (you get what you get), while Majagua has a full restaurant. We love Pirata and are friends with the owners, but because of severe food allergies we usually go to Majagua.

The most popular beaches are in Boca Grande but they are overrun with tourists and vendors. We prefer to go to the beaches in Castillo Grande which are quieter and the tourists don’t know about them. The beaches in Zona Norte are apparently beautiful.

Rosario Islands is an easy day trip from Cartagena.

Cartagena is hot

During the winter months the city is cooled by the trade winds. The rainy season is from April to November when it is likely to rain every day for about half an hour or so. From mid November, until early April, the weather is dry. To go sight seeing it is best to either go early in the morning or later in the afternoon (after 3 PM). When going to San Felipe or the aviary, wear a hat and bring water. You will need it. It is easy to get sun stroke and become dehydrated. Be careful with your belongings; tourists are easy pickings.

Supermarkets carry all the usual products plus the equivalent Colombian products. We always buy the local products because they are about one third to one half the price of the imported ones.

Last Word

This blog was written by Cecila Gossen who was born in Cartagena, but lives in Calgary today. She left the city in 1969, but visits every year to see family. She has travelled the world and as an artist, she has a keen eye for observing the world around her wherever she is.

If you like this blog, you will like these links:

Virtual Traveller: The Vibrant Streets of Cartagena

Seven Reasons To Visit Mexico City

19 Reasons NOT to visit Calgary

Halifax: Art & Artifacts

Insider's Guide to: CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, Colombia