Warm, humid and bursting at the seams with art and music, Cartagena is a vibrant seaside town. It has a very Caribbean feel – totally different from Bogotá and Medellin.
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- Christopher Columbus never set foot in Columbia, but it was named in his honor. Back in 1499, it was rumored that mountains were made of gold and littered with emeralds.
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- Emeralds in the rough. Columbia has the largest share of the world’s production of emeralds.
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- A skilled jeweler carefully cuts and polishes emeralds. We even found one to take home!
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- So we ordered helado con fruta (ice cream with fruit) and it came with HAM?!
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- An evening carriage ride is a must in Cartegena. Local vendors run next to you singing songs or making up a customized “rap” for you.
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- Columbia is colorful? That’s an understatement.
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- Fabulous murals.
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- It’s so hot and humid here that even the makeup on the murals is melting.
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- Calle Angosto’s umbrellas provide some much needed shade.
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- LOVE this! Cartagena is a multi-racial city, with South American, African and European ancestry in the mix.
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- The Caribbean Sea makes a stunning backdrop to this city.
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- Our G Adventures tour group under the Columbian flag.
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- Si! Mike is salsa dancing!
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- We were just trying to grab a little shade in Castillo San Felipe de Barajas to cool off. Then someone said we looked ready for the firing squad.
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- Mike’s “Panama” hat (made in Bolivia, bought in Columbia) was purchased after an intense 15 minutes of bargaining. Final price? Twelve bucks.
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- View from the top of La Popa mountain. Cartagena was once a gold rush town, with Spaniards in search of “El Dorado”. Later it was a stop on the slave trade route between Africa and the United States.
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- The 22-carat gold chapel at Convento de la Popa has survived war, pirates and a lot of tourists.
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- Special charms hang from the convent wall enclosed in glass. Each representing a miracle come true. Every February 2nd, people fill the streets here in a processional, asking for health miracles.
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- Aguardiente means “fire water” – this is the local anise flavored drink. One of the more creative uses of sugar cane.
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- Restaurante Interno is a Columbian success story! Walking past iron bar doors, we entered a restaurant located inside the women’s prison. All of the restaurant staff (kitchen and servers) are inmates.
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- Inmates serving time for drug possession, theft or prostitution violations are taught restaurant skills. Their shirts say, “I believe in second chances”. I also believe her ceviche was delicioso!
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- Kitchen staff passes food through the iron bars. There’s a good track record of inmates with skills being hired into the restaurant community.
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- “The measure of love is love without measure” – Francis de Sales
