There are very few cities that can compare to the oh my god I need to come back here for my honeymoon vibe when you walk along its streets. NYC comes to mind, but then again I´m biased. Luang Prabang is definitely on that list. And Cartagena. Yes, Cartagena…How can you not be charmed by streets like these:
We did the following walking tour in under 3 hours:
- Museo Naval del Caribe
- Convento and Plaza de San Pedro Claver
- Plaza de la Aduana
- Plaza de los Coches
- Puerta del Reloj
- Walk westwards along Calle de Roman, passing by the Catedral
- Plaza de Bolivar
- Palacio de la Inquisicion
- Iglesia and Plaza de Santo Domingo
- Walk eastwards along Calle de la Mantilla, Calle de la Estrella, Calle La Soledad, and make a left along Calle Segunda de Badillo
- Make a right along Calle Santismo
- Iglesia de Santo Toribo de Mangrovejo
- Walk eastwards along Calle 7 Infantes and Calle Poritobelo
- Monumento a la India Catalina
- Walk north unto you hit the Las Bovedas
- Walk south to Puente Heredia and east (20-30 min) to the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas
- Take a cab to the Convento de la Popa
Last night we ate at La Cervicheria, a restaurant that was featured for its creative ways of cooking cerviche (shrimp with mango, mozzarella sauce, garlic sauce, BBQ mexican, peanut butter octopus…) on Anthony Bourdain´s show, No Reservations:
Probably one of the biggest highlights of Cartagena is the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, which has remained to be the most impressive Spanish fort constructed in South America. Don´t miss it.
Afterwards you have the option of taking a cab to the Convent de La Popa, which is the highest point in Cartagena with amazing views of the city. One option is to walk up the hill (30 minutes), which has been highly UNrecommended by everyone in Cartagena (Lonely Planet compares it to a trek in the Mojave Desert). The other option is get a cab which will tend to upcharge you up to $40,000 colombian pesos for a 10 minute ride, which is 8x the normal rate for a ride that long around the city. Choose your own adventure.
All in all, a full day in one of South America´s most charming city, in my opinion surpassing the quaitness of Peru´s Cuzco. I think tonight we´ll grab a drink at Café del Mar, and then go dancing at another club somewhere outside of the Old City. After that, it´s time to pack for the trip home…
- At time of posting in Cartagena, it was 84.2 °F -
Humidity: 79% | Wind Speed: 16km/hr | Cloud Cover: clear
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