While daily strolling on the narrow streets of the city, new stories were revealed to me, new smiley faces, ready to help with whatever I needed. Although poverty is clearly visible in the greatest part of the city, people never give up; they smile, dance, make fun and obviously love so much their place that they seek to share part of this love with tourists. Perhaps it's the sun, or the see that keeps these people smiling. If you ignore the nerve-racking shrieks of the taxi horns, it seems that this city has come so well to terms with itself, that the spirit is passed on to its visitors. It's impossible to visit Cartagena without being inundated with color, music and good mood.
Romantic tours, with horse carriage, in the narrow streets and squares of the city, with the exquisite hispano-arabic architecture compensate for the rather mediocre beaches. The city is not too large and I enjoyed it by hiking and savoring its magic!
I started off from Plaza de San Pedro Claver with its imposing Iglesia de San Pedro, named after San Pedro Claver, honoring his work as supporter of the slaves that were flocking by the thousands, every year, from Africa, as Cartagena, back in those times, was one of the main ports of entry and hub of slave trade. The Plaza, with its magnificent bronze masterpieces, hosts Claver's statue. Nearby is the old customs house, today housing the Museum of Modern Art.
In Plaza Santo Domingo I marveled at "La Gordita Gertrudis", the bronze woman basking, a sculpture made by the renowned Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero. A glass of refreshing "Limonada di Coco" (coconut lemonade) is a superb way of cooling off, at the elegant shops of the Plaza.
The Cathedral of Cartagena, built in 1612, is lost somewhere in the narrow streets of the city. It has a beautiful door and a simply adorned interior, with an 18th century gold-plated altar, a marble Carrara pulpit and elegant arches that support the central church building.
The stroll continues with shopping for funky mementos in shops and art galleries, with unique rainbow jewels, leather articles, papier-mâché masks and tiny versions of local scenes. I loved the colorful knitted bags!
Bu the chief tourist attraction of Cartagena are its women fruit vendors. Dressed in traditional bright yellow, blue and red costumes, balancing bowls with fruit, mainly bananas, chunks of water melon and coconut called "cocada"; another explosion of colors!
In small squares, such as the Plaza de la Proclamacion, in front of the Museo Historico de Cartagena dancers dressed in the yellow-red-green traditional costumes, carry passersby away to the frenzied Caribbean beat; of course they so did with me...
Talking about color, the chivas the all over painted buses, with Carthaginian scenes, their colorful wooden frames, are, by themselves, masterpieces of another era. In former times they were used for public transportation in rural areas of the country; in modern times they have brought new life as tourist bus attraction in large Colombian cities, including Cartagena.
Then I "sunk" into the 16th century, for a few hours, while walking on the city fortified wall, enjoying, from above, the view of the old city and the traffic in Avenida Santander and the modern "horizon" of Bocagrande and the canons aiming at the Caribbean on my side! From the north bastion, where the very popular outdoor bar Café del Mar is lodged, I viewed the house of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, where he was inspired to write his book "Love in the time of Cholera". He used to enjoy his Mojito at the Santa Clara Sofitel hotel and had a liking for the restaurant "La Vitrola" for its Havana ambiance and the cuisine of Estevenson Acevedo.
I continued my journey into the past, enjoying the view of the city and the San Lazaro hill with the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the amazingly well preserved great fortress that took about 120 years to build and was intended to deter foreign troops and buccaneer hordes during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The narrow streets in the old town are countless. After a passage through the Mercado de Bazurto with the abundance of fresh local fish and crustaceans of all kinds, I felt hungry and decided to savor a lobster spaghetti dish at La Teibol.
As the heat begun to subside, I climbed the top of the tallest hill of the La Popa town for a fuller realization of the beauty and expanse of Cartagena, as I could view it from the yard of the Convento de la Poga, a huge monastery that was built by Augustine monks in 1607. Within the monastery there is a small chapel, adorned with gold trimmings; a mildly discolored yard, framed by pots with potato plants and a huge, gorgeous Bougainvillea.
Midnight. Time for rumba. Wars and anxiety are forgotten; it's time for dance singing play, love. The town is transformed. Walls and monuments are amazingly lit, the hoofs of carriage horses break the ghostly stillness in the alleys. Lovers of the night walk about the streets, ecstatic at the magic of the city!
I am sitting at the Café del Mar, on the Bastion of the fortified wall, with the Caribbean behind me and the old town in front. The house of Gabriel Garcia Marquez at the foreground and the tower of the Cathedral and the clock at the background. I enjoy the view of the full moon, ecstatic from the music of the Caribbean, holding a glass of mojito. It was August 13, 2011. The next day I was to continue my roaming into the magic and colors of life in Ciuda Vieja en Cartagena de Indias.
