A lovely modern city, very different than what I was expecting. Linda was a bit dehydrated, so I had to take lots of pictures to show her what she missed.
The small-group Cartagena Snapshot tour, led by our guide, Elkim, whisked us through crowded streets and took us to a church on the top of a mountain. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, the La Popa Monastery offers a sweeping view of Cartagena. When the Christians reached this spot, they supposedly found Natives worshipping a golden goat statue, which they pitched down the hill. I didn’t see any sign of it, though. The La Popa Church has an ornate, 22-karat gold-leaf altar that is illuminated by sunlight at certain times of day.
We made a brief stop at the San Felipe FortressThe statue out front is of a man with one arm, one leg, one eye, but three balls. He successfully defended Cartagena against invasion by delaying the invaders long enough to create conditions ideal for breeding mosquitoes and managed to obliterate an invading force ten times their size.
Cartagena’s Walled City it’s Cartagena’s old town, although it is surrounded by luxury hotels now. It reminded me a lot of New Orleans’ French Quarter. We wandered the streets and visited the Saint Peter Claver Church and Plaza Bolívar we took refuge in an air-conditioned Colombian emerald store..
The oldest fort of Cartagena was demolished during the siege of 1741, and the Pastelillo Fortress replaced it. Today, the fort is home to the Club de Pesca Restaurant, famous for its excellent view of the bay. Enjoyed a delicious two-course lunch and then headed back to the ship.
This was an excellent tour because Elkim really gave us a lot of insights into what his life was like and what living in Colombia is like. It really changed my opinion of this country.
