Cartagena, Colombia – Exploring the old town

Whenever the ship docks in Cartagena, the port looks like any other boring container port, and you can see the skyscrapers of the modern part of town in the distance. This impression however is very misleading, as Cartagena has one of the coolest cruise ship terminals and a beautiful old town close by. It is in fact a favourite port amongst many crew members.

 

 

Once off the ship, there is a shuttle that will bring you to the entrance of the cruise terminal. Here you are met by a fenced off patch of grass with flamingos and black swans roaming around. On the edge of the grass there is a Juan Valdez cafe, Colombia’s version of Starbucks, and most definitely worth a visit (Every time I am there, my dad has me buy their espresso coffee beans!). You then continue through a big souvenir shop before you get to the parrot playground. There you will see so many different parrots, and if you are lucky, you even get to hold them – they are definitely fascinating and entertaining! There are also some beautiful peacocks roaming around.

 

 

20 minutes away by taxi, you get to the old town. Founded in 1533 as a key port during the Spanish colonial period, it is today the fifth biggest city in Colombia. The taxi dropped us off at the main square, a perfect place to start the exploration. There are quaint streets everywhere with the most adorable colonial style houses. Most houses have balconies, and they have a tendency to draw your attention upwards. Almost all of these balconies are also covered in bougainvillea flowers in the most intense colors – they look so pretty and add so much charm!

 

 

 

Along the streets there are cafes, shops and street vendors. I love the small charts selling fresh fruits, I always have to stop at one of them for some mango. You also have the ladies in traditional outfits carrying big baskets of fruits on their heads. While I do not think they sell the fruit, they are a very popular photo stop for the tourists. When I took a photo with them they even placed the basket on my head, and it was super heavy, I have no idea how they are able to carry them with no assistance. We also ended up in this really cute market up one of the streets selling local handicrafts.

 

 

As any old Caribbean port, Cartagena also have fortifications, originally built to protect them from pirate attacks from sea. There are several access points to these fortifications, and it is a nice walk once you get up top. One side provides a nice view of the new part of town with the modern skyscrapers in stark contrast to the old town. There are also a few small towers with replica cannons placed outside. Unfortunately the wind was pretty strong when we were there, so we did not stay up on the battlements for too long.

 

After another nice walk back to the main square and a refreshing drink at local cafe it was back to the welcoming airconditioning on the ship.