EPIC World Quest – Cartagena, Colombia (Impregnable Fortress and Persistent Hawkers)
You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get
We were traveling abroad when COVID-19 ruthlessly broke out, bringing the world to a halt almost immediately. Despite not having symptoms, when we returned to Germany, we were quarantined for two weeks. We spent those two weeks watching hundreds upon hundreds of YouTube videos researching what we wanted to see on the shore excursions during this cruise. Many ports it was quickly evident what we wanted to see and whether we would book a cruise ship shore excursion or do something on our own. Over the course of this cruise, we will visit upwards of 90 ports, most of which are 1-2 day stops.
We’ve both spent several years living in Europe and it’s hard to get to know the heart of a people and its culture in a couple days. To quote Forrest Gump, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” We look at this cruise as a giant “Sampler Platter” of the World. We’ll get a taste of several different countries and cultures and determine which one we’ll want to visit again and have a more intimate experience with. Cartagena, Colombia was one of those stops. We booked the generic “Highlights of Cartagena” shore excursion and quickly determined this is a place we’d like to spend more time.
The Highlights of Cartagena was a brief, but very comprehensive tour of the city. This tour provided a colorful and vibrant sample of Cartagena’s Old City, colonial architecture, its massive fortress, and history. Our first stop was the San Felipe Fortress (the largest colonial fortress in the America’s). After climbing to the top of the fortress we ventured off to Las Bóvedas (The Vaults), a series of dungeons that have been converted into shops for local crafts and wares. We finished the tour walking through the many sights of the Old Town and visiting the former Palace of the Inquisition just of Simon Bolivar Plaza. After the bus dropped us off at the cruise terminal, we were treated to one last surprise walking back to our ship.
Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas
Our first stop was Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. Cartagena’s skyline is dominated by this massive stone military fortress, the largest and greatest fortress built by the Spanish in any of their colonies. The fortress was commissioned in 1630 and construction began in 1657 at the top of San Lázaro hill. The fortress was expanded to its current footprint in 1762. As we walked up the steep ramparts to the top of the fortress, we were greeted by a trumpeter dressed as a Spanish conquistador. He played traditional tunes and was eager to play a sampling of tunes from the United States. Continuing toward the top of the fortress we passed through a few tunnels that passed through the incredibly thick walls. Once we reached the top of the fortress we were treated to a fantastic view of the city’s skyline.
Las Bóvedas (The Dungeons)
Our next stop was Las Bóvedas a series of 23 dungeons, built between 1789 and 1795 and are attached to the city walls between the forts of Santa Clara and Santa Catalina. These dungeons were converted into shops and boutiques where local artisans bring their arts and crafts to sell to tourists. These vaults were originally designed as military storage vaults for different classes of supplies but were converted into prison cells during Colombian civil wars in the 19thcentury. The proximity of these vaults to the sea were susceptible to flooding, often with prisoners spending high tide up to their knees in water.
The Old City – A UNESCO Worldwide Heritage Site
Admittedly, neither of us knew too much about Cartagena and were happy with our selection to do the simple highlights tour. Our little taste of Cartagena wetted our appetite and left us wanting more. The Old Town is a beautiful, vibrant, and colorful city center. In addition, it is impeccably clean and very well maintained. Our guide explained that since achieving UNESCO Worldwide Heritage Site status, great pride is taken into the upkeep and cleanliness of the Old Town. He suggested that if a building owner could not properly maintain their building an investor with means for upkeep would be found. Over the past 30 years or so, the pendulum of ownership has swung from primarily local ownership to foreign ownership.
Cartagena is home to some of the most beautiful examples of Spanish Colonial architecture with many buildings dating back to the 1700’s. There are excellent examples of Baroque architecture, and several buildings have long wooden balconies. Our first stop was the Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, a church and convent named for the Spanish Saint Pedro Claver built between 1580 and 1654. San Pedro Claver was known for his ministry to the slaves of Cartagena. He was buried at the altar of the church and was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1888. The church is built in the Spanish Colonial Style, but the current dome was added in 1921.
The other distinctive Cathedral in Cartagena is the Cathedral de Santa Catalina de Alejandria located just off Simon Bolivar Plaza in the middle of the historic center. It was built from 1577 to 1612, construction was delayed due to an attacked from English explorer and privateer, also known for his circumnavigation of the earth, Sir Francis Drake in 1586. It is the episcopal see of the Archbishop of Cartagena the Indies, one of the oldest episcopal sees in the Americas.
Our last stop in the Old Town also off the Simon Bolivar Plaza was a beautiful, baroque building with a grandiose entrance adorned with a long wooden balcony and bougainvillea. Despite the beautiful exterior this building hides dark secrets from the Spanish Inquisition. The museum shared stories of how heretics were denounced, judged, tortured, and killed during this dark period of history. After walking through several corridors of this museum with our guide we were able to explore the Old Town on our own.
We wanted more time to explore these streets. The only negative aspect of walking through the Old Town were the hawkers selling their wares. They were relentless! My only advice is that if you are not interested in an item, be sure to give a firm “no”. Any hesitation or polite conversation leads them to believe there is room for negotiation and they will follow you for blocks.
A Cruise Port Oasis
Be sure to leave some spare time to walk through the port terminal on the way back to your ship. Cartagena’s cruise terminal is an award-winning sustainable port oasis that showcases the flora and fauna of Colombia. There is a 1,000 square meter garden filled with aviaries and areas where the local wildlife seems to run wild. We observed macaws, peacocks (even albino white peacocks), toucans, other colorful birds, and we even spotted a few cotton-top tamarins. This beautiful oasis allows cruise passengers to sample some of the exotic animal species and provides a desire to return and travel the country more.
