When the time came to take on our 8th and last county in South America, we decided to miss the hustle and bustle of Colombia’s big cities of Bogota, Medellin and Cali and head for Cartagena de Indias for a taste of the Caribbean coast.

SOME HISTORY

Cartagena was officially founded in 1533 and quickly became a centre for both trade and political activity. Precious metals from the mines in Peru and New Granada (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), were shipped from the city back to Spain and the trade in slaves was also big business. The city was also important as it contained one of the three offices of the  Spanish Inquisition in the Americas, the others being Lima and Mexico City.

All of this economic activity made Cartagena a very attractive target for pirates and licensed privateers and Cartagena was attacked and looted several times by the British and the French. It was also famously held to ransom by Francis Drake, the much celebrated British privateer of the Elizabethan era. These repeated attacks led to huge amounts of money being invested in the city’s massive fortifications by the Spanish Crown. The continuous effort of the city to defend itself against attackers earned it the well-deserved nickname of “Cartagena la Heroica”.

As a result of its history the city is now melting pot of ethnicities including Latino, African and Caribbean cultures as well as indigenous elements.

THE WALLED TOWN

Taken as a whole the city is a typical South American chaotic town without rhyme or reason but the ancient walled city reveals a world preserved in time that really brings you back to the colonial era. We really only visited the old town as we weren’t too interested in shopping malls and crazy traffic jams!

Cartagena has a picture perfect colonial fortress and walled city, right up our (cobbled) street! It is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You don’t need a lot of time to see the sights but, whether it’s walking the walls at sunset, watching the locals in one of the squares or having a Caribbean cocktail, Cartagena is the perfect place to relax and soak up some of the Caribbean ambiance.

The city has a blend of incredibly well-preserved colourful colonial architecture and crumbling Havana-style buildings all within the same block. This all adds to the charm of the town making it not simply a pretty place for western tourists to visit but a town to explore in all its variety and cultural diversity. One could easily walk through the streets of the walled city without ever getting bored, there is plenty of local art, culture and customs and that’s pretty much what we did.

The town is also littered with great restaurants and bars, most of them out of budget for backpackers like us, however we couldn’t resist trying a local ceviche and a few margaritas.

The town also seems to have a significant Cuban presence if the Cuban themed bars and restaurants are anything to go by. Some of them will even roll you a freshly made Cuban cigar, something we had not experienced since our trip to Viñales in Cuba. Another characteristic of the town is the presence of women dressed in Caribbean dresses, selling fresh fruit or just selling themselves for a picture to gringos, but beware, they can get quite angry if they spot you taking a picture without having paid the due fee. Apart from that the streets are full of sellers selling anything from fresh fruit to coffee “tinto” , cigarettes and supposedly original Cuban cigars…we bought a Cohiba and it tasted like tarmac, so we would discourage anyone to do the same.

Another tradition in the area is the “paleta” that is, an ice cream or ice lolly served on a stick but masterfully prepared by artisan shops specialised in this delicacy, obviously we had our fair share of these, with salted caramel being an unforgettable highlight.

If you get tired of walking the street or too hot as we did, pop into the beautiful (free and air-conditioned!) gold museum showcasing pre-Colombian metalwork or the House of the Inquisition, although the latter wasn’t too interesting and actually quite expensive.

Cartagena has been a real highlight of our trip, with its relaxed atmosphere and beautiful ambiance, it made us feel at home and showcased some of the best colonial architecture together with Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, the old town in Quito, Ecuador and Mompox in the interior. We believe that this is an unmissable destination in the country and probably in the whole of the continent, and a great introduction to the Caribbean. As it happens, Cartagena was our last South American city and we couldn’t have ended our 10 month-long South American odyssey in a more charming and inspiring place. If this is what the Caribbean has in store for us, then we can’t wait to experience more.