I take a short flight from Medellin to Cartagena, its scenic and passes over green mountains and valleys. I land in the evening and its a short taxi ride to the historic centre, where I will be based. The weather in this region is very hot- about 35C – and humid! So –Caribbean in other words. I need to get used to it as I will be in this type of climate until I hit Europe in essence. It takes only minute to be outside though before you are dripping!
The next day I start off with organising a few days around National Park Corales del Rosario- some beach and do absolutely nothing time! I haven’t had any days off for a while and needed them!
Once this is finalised I head off into the town to explore.
The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has many small streets lined with colourful street art and old colonial buildings. Walking around and discovering the little treasures is fun, though the street sellers of absolutely everything are shitting me to tears. I lost count at 40 offers in two hours… and this went on for my whole time!!! I understand that these people are all trying to make a living however it is SUPER irritating!
Due to Cartagena’s geographic location it had been raided and under siege a few times in history. This meant that a fortress was needed- the whole old city is still actually surrounded by old city walls. There is a large fortress built on the hill, with a series of tunnels emanating from the fort to allow the army personnel to blow up the enemy as they got closer to the fortress but prior to penetrating it.
Once I had explored the old part of town I went to the most modern part of Cartagena- Bocagrande. It is filled with high rises and pretty unassuming beaches. It’s not particularly pretty or charming.
One reply on “Cartagena”
Bardzo ciakawe zestawienia starego kolorowego i nowoczesnego miasta.