Cartagena- Day 2

Food

fresh fruit stand covered by an umbrella

We have breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel. It consists of cheese in fried bread, scrambled eggs with cheese (and ham for John), toast and fortunately fresh fruit.

Columbian food is tasty but usually consists of a lot of cheese, meat and is usually fried. Cartagena is known for their streetfoods and have a number of foodie tours but I think I will have to pass on that tour this time. I do enjoy the fresh fruit and juice carts.

I am finding things more expensive in Cartagena than Medellin but still cheaper than Canada.

Beyond Columbia Walking Tour

A church in the background and golden yellow and white colonial building on the side
We arrive for our 10am Beyond Columbia walking tour of the old City and it is already 27 Celsius but blessedly overcast. Arturo our guide from last night is the guide for this tour as well.

Our tour begins at the Clock Tower the main gate of the walled city.

There are many gorgeous squares in Cartagena.

A lush green park with a white elevated statue in the middle

Woman in a black tshirt and floral skirt standing in front of a statue of a pope
We learn that Cartagena is made up of 50% Spanish, 40% African, 10% indeginous people. Many Africans were transported here due to the slave trade.

corner of a gold and white colonial building At the square for the old customs office and City Hall is a statue of Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus never came to Columbia but never the less, Columbia is named after him.

Arturo speaks of the inquisition and the torture of people accused of witchcraft as well as battles for Columbia’s independence.

A beauiful flower lined street

water in the foreground and tall modern skyscrapers in the background The walled city in Cartagena is a UNESCO world heritage site. The streets are narrow and very picturesque with their brightly painted buildings, colonial architecture and abundance of flowers.

Views from the wall are lovely. We can see across to the wealthy area of Boca Grande where many of the high end hotels and beaches are.

Miss Columbia

A man standing beside a large number of pictures of past Miss Columbia queens

Our guide is very enamored with the Miss Columbia pageant, he mentions it numerous times on the tour, especially at the spot where all the Miss Columbia pictures are displayed.

Apparently in 2015 they announced that Miss Columbia was the Miss Universe winner but a minute later the announcer said he made a mistake. Arturo shows us a picture of Miss Columbia’s face as they take the crown from her head and put it on Miss Philippines head. Arturo said it was a very upsetting moment for him.

Botero Statue

a man in a white tshirt standing beside a statue of a reclining woman who's backside is facing the camera.

We stop to check out another naked Botero statue in front of a church. People at first were upset to have a naked female in front of the church until Botero explained that we come into this world naked and we leave this world naked.

After the tour we stop for Coffee Temple Cafe before we head back to our hotel for a break from the heat and a little rest. We check out the rooftop pool but decide to rest in our air conditioned room.

Getsemani

a woman sitting at a table with the mural of a man reading a book

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author of the Nobel prize winning book, One Hundred Years of Solitude is Columbian. He is celebrated throughout Cartagena with murals and yellow butterflies. We just had to come back to the cafe with his mural and take a picture.
Clean up your dog poop sign written in Spanish
There are “clean up your dog’s poop” signs all over Getsemani area. Some things are the same all over.

I often hear and see the small, green parrots that are in and around the city.
two green little parrots sitting side by side
We walk around the area finding very cool murals every corner we turn.

Cartagena at Night

It looks like there won’t be a sunset tonight so we wander back into the old city where we search for a restaurant where we can get something that is not fried, has no meat, no eggs and no cheese. We find it at Pezetarian. Music is a little loud but we find food that suits us both. It is delicious.

Cartagena is considered the safest place in Columbia. I can believe it. We walk around and check out all the night action. A Michael Jackson dance imitator performs on the streets around town. He is really good.

I think I’m getting a blister on my foot so we head back to the hotel.