During Semana Santa (Easter week) I had some time off. A friend (who I’d worked with in Tunisia
years ago) came to visit (from the US) and we flew to the Colombian Caribbean
coast for a few days. Specifically we
went to Cartagena. This is probably the
most touristy place in Colombia. It is a
walled city and a UN Heritage site: https://www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Cartagena
We stayed in an Air BnB on Parque Bolivar, within the city
walls.
We were very central with the Inquisition, Gold and Emerald museums on our door step!
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| Parque Bolivar |
We were very central with the Inquisition, Gold and Emerald museums on our door step!
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| Palacio de Inquisition |
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| Inquisition museum displays |
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| Plaza de los Coches by night |
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| Plaza de los Coches by night |
and host of the Festival de los Dulces by day.
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| Festival de los Dulces on Plaza de los Coches |
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| sweet seller in the Portal de los Dulces |
This square also had the Clock Tower gate, whose exit led us to Getsemaní.
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| Clock Tower gate |
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| Clock Tower gate from Getsemaní side |
This was probably my favourite area of Cartagena. A regenerated part of the city, popular with artists and full of bars, cafes and restaurants etc.
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| Getsemaní streets |
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| Getsemaní streets - showcasing art |
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| Getsemaní streets |
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| Getsemaní streets- impromptu bar terrace |
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| Getsemaní street buskers - from Belgium |
A popular thing for people to do when they get to Cartagena
is to take a boat out to one of the islands to spend the day on the beach. My friend and I preferred to skip that, we’d
lived in places with beautiful beaches and preferred to explore the history of
the walled city.
There were people selling hats everywhere. The striped ones are typically Colombian. The 'Panama' style is actually originally from Ecuador (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_hat).
We also enjoyed people watching on various popular squares.
At one of these plazas my friend decided to try the Hormigas (big-bottomed ants) that were for sale. https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/big-bottomed-ants-hormigas-culonas
I preferred to stick to the cheese filled Arepas that were for sale near our apartment.
We did the typical 'hop on-hop off' bus tour to get a feel of greater Cartagena.
We did see the Chiva bus on our travels, though decided not to use it. Though historically this was used for public transport in Colombia and Ecuador this is now a 'party bus' by night (popular also in Bogotá).
The Cartagena cathedral was impressive as it had a wooden altar (unlike the gold ones most hispanic churches in the region had).
Our apartment building had a pool (imperative for the heat of Cartagena) and a roof top terrace with some amazing views.
Apart from our trip to Cartagena we also had a few days to tour Bogotá. We went to the Candelaria (which is the original part of Bogotá) early one morning, before the tour groups arrived!
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes |
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| Cartagena scenes - hat vendor. |
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| me on wall overlooking Cartagena - it was very windy, the hat wouldn't stay on! |
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| 'local' ladies posing for the tourists |
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| me at the outer wall |
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| Plaza de San Diego with a Botero statue |
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| Allison & Amanda at the Botero statue on Plaza de San Diego |
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| watching the street performances on Plaza de Trinidad in Getsemaní. I'm in the crowd somewhere. |
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| tourist vendors, including the horse and carts that were ubiquitous in Cartagena |
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| selling big-bottomed ants |
I preferred to stick to the cheese filled Arepas that were for sale near our apartment.
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| Arepa vendor |
We did the typical 'hop on-hop off' bus tour to get a feel of greater Cartagena.
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| cannons in the Cartagena walls |
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| Castillo San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Castillo San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Getsemaní streets |
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| 'mini Miami' in the distance |
We did see the Chiva bus on our travels, though decided not to use it. Though historically this was used for public transport in Colombia and Ecuador this is now a 'party bus' by night (popular also in Bogotá).
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| Chiva bus |
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| Cartagena cathedral |
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| Cartagena cathedral by night |
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| Cartagena cathedral wooden altar |
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| inside Cartagena cathedral |
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| view from rooftop terrace |
Apart from our trip to Cartagena we also had a few days to tour Bogotá. We went to the Candelaria (which is the original part of Bogotá) early one morning, before the tour groups arrived!
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| Plazoleta de Chorro de Quevedo |
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| entrance to Calle de Embudo ('funnel' street) from Plazoleta de Chorro de Quevedo |
Apparently there used to be a circus in La Candelaria but I can't find any reference to it. The best known street in La Candelaria is Calle de Embudo (Funnel street) which is hippy-esque and full of graffiti.
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| me in La Candelaria |
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| Calle de Embudo in La Candelaria |
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| Calle de Embudo in La Candelaria |
On our way to la Candelaria we passed the church in Barrio el Egypto. There was a lot of activity there during Semana Santa.
We walked around my part of town (into Chapinero) and found more graffiti (or street art).
During the holidays there were plenty of activities in
town, for example the Usaquen flea
market, or the International Theatre festival of Latin America (https://www.festivaldeteatro.com.co/).
We found a local fruit/veg/flower market.
At the market we came across an impromptu mass.
We visited the Gold Museum in Bogotá too. |
| Church at Barrio del Egypto |
We walked around my part of town (into Chapinero) and found more graffiti (or street art).
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| Allison & Amanda |
We found a local fruit/veg/flower market.
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| Mercado de Paloquemao |
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| Mercado de Paloquemao |
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| outdoor mass at Mercado de Paloquemao |
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| Gold Museum |
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| displays at the Gold Museum |
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| raft of 'El Dorado' fame at Guatavita |
We also visited the salt cathedral of Zipaquirá (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Cathedral_of_Zipaquir%C3%A1)
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| Zipaquira map |
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| salt walls en route to cathedral |
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| one of the 14 crosses marking Jesus' route to his crucificion |
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| Catedral de Sal |
Allison: Colombia, USA, Ireland, Tunisia (did I miss any?) where to next?
