Here are our top four amazing sites you must explore in Cartagena!
Even if you only have a short time in the city the below four places are a must explore in Cartagena Colombia! How fast the time has flown in Cartagena, Colombia for these senior travelers! South America had been mentioned in our original plan with Colombia standing out as being the first to visit although we had no idea of the fit for us or what we would see. Boy were we surprised! Once we got our footing through the neighborhood the first week our visit went surprisingly well! If you only have a short time frame to be in Cartagena, than the four areas below need to be on your must see!
The First Week in Cartagena
Again, I can’t lie. Let me get this off my chest & then we will jump into our top four favorite sites here in the city.
The first few days was definitely a learning curve for these two senior travelers.
1] The weather temps were high [no problem with that] but the humidity was out of this world! The only way to address this issue was to make our trips early in the a.m. & then late afternoon which brings up our other issue on this trip.
2] The Airbnb was fairly new & the owner did not leave anything out when he furnished this place. It truly was beautiful & the views from the 22nd floor are awesome. This building sits in close proximity to several other high rises & really is just a short walk to the Caribbean sea. The AirBnB was listed as located in a ‘working class neighborhood’ which to us was a tad misleading. The barrio was one of the lower economically placed neighborhoods that is getting pushed out by the building of high rises for apartments/hotels. Let me explain it another way…we used taxi or inDrive to & from the AirBnB to wherever we wanted to go outside the neighborhood [when normally we would have loved the long walks] as we were told by multiple folks not to walk the streets or be out after dark [‘in this neighborhood”]. Prior to being told this we had already walked to the sea & mall a few times with no problems but also very wary of our surroundings. The Big Guy actually believes that the locals telling us not to walk the neighborhood were the same who just does not want to see the neighborhood taken over by big commercial hotel or Airbnb businesses.
So, senior travelers or any traveler for that matter, a word of caution. You cannot always rely on the description of those guest reviews nor can you believe misinformation. Be very thorough & take that extra step to check out the area surrounding where you will be staying. We did some walking but mostly from our area it was InDrive to drop off points. The greatest threat to our safety was actually the busy streets with fast moving motorcycles, buses, taxis and cars. Traffic is crazy! A lot of streets are narrow & don’t have street signs so again TAKE InDrive or taxi & be happy! There are a LOT of motorbikes on the streets & a few had no problem popping up onto the sidewalk…You have to be quick & diligent in crossing a street.
Bottom line is DON’T LOOK LIKE A TOURIST – leave your fancy jewelry, watches, bags at home & you will be fine!
TIP:
Uber was not reliable for us.
Taxis worked fine. We only had one driver charge us more than the previously agreed amount at delivering us to location; the others have been spot on in clearly stating up front price & sticking to it.
InDrive is our preference! No problems with them at all.
Ok, now to the fun stuff! Here are our top four sites we saw on this trip!
Four Sites You Must Visit in Cartagena!
1] Castillo San Felipe – a UNESCO site!
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a UNESCO site! Cartagena was one of the most important ports, thus a likely target for pirates, privateers as well as other countries. The fortress was built in 1536 by the Spanish & updated after every battle thru 1767. It was built strategically on top of the hill with full view of both city & sea. It has everything you can imagine for a fortress built for protection. Lookout towers, underground tunnels, drawbridge, hidden corridors & cannons, all made to come to life by our guide, Lina & her in-depth history & tales of pirates, privateers & invasions. Enjoy the photos & if you want to know a little more about the importance of this fortress check this out!
The tunnels were designed by Antonio de Arevalo specifically to carry the echos of any invaders trying to sneak in. Remember these tunnels were unlit so the Spanish knew the tunnels, the English did not. Also, the tunnels were built in such a way that any whisper or noise the invaders made echoed letting the Spanish know to be ready. It was pretty ingenious with the strategy used in building this fortress.
There were six battles fought here but the most famous of battles was the English invasion of 1741. The English outnumbered the Spanish in number of men, cannons, ships, etc & were confident of their win but they lost making the Spanish leader Blas de Lezo, the one eyed, one leg, one arm leader a hero! (Yeah, once again the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” flash through my mind!) Again, the strategy used in the building of this fortress was before its time!
TIP: Entry fee was 25,000 COP each [$6.40 USD] & the Guide fee is an additional fee. THE GUIDE IS SO WORTH IT!
2] Barrio Getsemani!
Getsemani is a very lively & brightly colored neighborhood! The streets are narrow, the walls are covered with vibrant wall murals & decorated to make your “eyes happy” as our niece claims. The neighborhood is truly hostel heaven with cafes, bars & enough art to keep you looking for days. Music was ever present whether it was rappers or Spanish music.
If you love taking photos, this is a must for you and its FREE. Plenty of cafes for you to sit & take a break with lunch or drink!
Without a doubt, catching this was a highlight of the whole day. Awesome art painted to honor the gentleman napping. Awesome!
On the edge of Getsemani you will find Old Town which is where you will find these lovely ladies, Las Palenqueras, dressed in colors of the Colombian flag carrying trays of fruits & veges on their heads. These ladies are direct descendants of the world’s first free slaves! To get a full picture of the history here you will have to visit a small village a couple hours outside of Cartagena – San Basilio de Palenque. You can read about it here.
We were not able to make the visit this trip but it is definitely on our calendar for our return!
3] Pasadia Islabela
For a day trip to a tranquil beach this is the trip for you! Speed boat ride about 45 minutes to Islabela where we were met with chaise lounge chairs waiting for us on the beach & a cool drink. Lunch was awesome – pescado frito with salad, fried plantana & coconut rice [yummy]. Of course during the time we went it was before holidays so it was fairly low key & quiet. A really nice way to spend a quiet afternoon.
4] Aviario Nacional de Colombia – a must for bird watchers!
This is Colombia’s pride & joy. It is the biggest aviary in the Americas & sixth largest in the world! With over 1800 birds & 130+ species, this is a no brainer for anyone who enjoys bird watching. It is ever important for the country to maintain the conservation of nature, environmental & animals. It is truly a sanctuary for birds.
It is located on Isla Baru so you can easily hop over to the beach for a true Caribbean dip & lunch on the Sea after your walk thru the sanctuary!
Tour was well worth the fee & you can’t miss the show at 11:30 a.m. which is really nice. Enjoy the photos! There is no way I can post every type of bird we saw but hopefully this will feed your curiousity to make the trip! Easy walk with benches if you need a break!
A few miscellaneous facts about Cartagena, Colombia!
*The flag of Colombian consists of three stripes Yellow, Blue & Red. Yellow for freedom/justice/independence; Blue for loyalty & the two seas that border Colombia & Red for the victory from Spain or so it goes…
*It wasn’t until maybe less than ten years ago that Colombians could paint their house a color? Yep, previously it had to be white.
*Did you know that part of Port of Cartagena’s history involved being a huge trading port for bringing & trading of slaves. Today it is one of the busiest ports on the Caribbean.
*Colombia was originally known as Gran Colombia & consisted of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama & Venezuela?
*Estimated that 53% of Colombia is forest!
Finally, I wanted to give a shout out …
to three amazing young adults we have met while here in Cartagena! It was refreshing to have a discussion with young people – all from different backgrounds – that had a handle on what they want in life right now & world issues.
Tove – a young 20 something lady from Sweden who we met at the Panama City airport on our way to Colombia. This young lady was educated but decided a ‘normal’ work job was not for her. She wanted to see the world & decided she would as a solo backpacker. As we met her she was catching a flight to an island to connect with a working barge that would get her to her next destination while she worked on it.
Umut – a young 20 something we met at the Aviary Nacional. He is from Austria [parents are Turkish thus the name]. He told us about Austria’s rule that when you turn 18 you can either serve 6 months in military or 9 months in a community service. He did his six months military & then went to university. Having traveled Europe with other backpackers, Colombia is his first country backpacking solo & loving it. Did I say he came to Colombia knowing I think four languages but in his three months here he totally immersed himself & really his Spanish was pretty good. He works in the jungle for food & ‘housing’ so he is a pretty happy camper.
And then there is Lina – Simply stated, this young lady walks to her own tune. She is educated & works as a guide for Castillo San Felipe while also having her own little tour company on the side. Born in Colombia, she is educated, lived in Germany two years & has traveled around twenty countries. She is very expressive about doing any little thing she can to save the earth whether it is recycling, buying recycled clothing, riding a bicycle to work instead of a car, etc.
What stood out for The Big Guy & I in meeting these three young adults is that they were all very well informed of national events & not afraid to share their countries ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with us. The other thing was how unimportant “material things” were to them. Really just a breath of fresh air.
The joy of traveling is not only seeing all the sites that we only dreamed might be possible but even more are the people we meet along the way that have left memories for us. We are thanking for that.
