bobandkarenswildhairjourney

Cartagena, Columbia – January 8, 2023

January 8, 2023 – Cartagena, Columbia

Our first visit to South America.  We arrived at sunrise this morning.  The moon was in the sky over the tall buildings of Cartagena (pronounced Carta-hay-na).  Columbia is located in the northwestern area of South America and shares it’s border with Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Panama.  The only South American country with coastlines on both the Pacific and Caribbean Sea.  Very interesting that it’s situated so close to the equator, it doesn’t have seasons and maintains an average temperature of 82 degrees.  

Bob and I really enjoy the history of UNESCO World Heritage Sites so we’re exploring the Old City today.  The walled historic center of Cartagena has winding streets lined with Spanish Colonial architecture that displays colorfully painted buildings with wood-beamed balconies, local coffee houses and restaurants.  I loved all the giant doors with little doors  within and whimsical door knockers.  

Cartagena became a permanent settlement in 1533.  It became a shipping center for gold, silver and was a prime target for pirates. We walked to Las Murallas that is considered by many the most impressive city walls in the world.  Las Murallas began construction after an attack by Sir Francis Drake at the end of the 16th century.  After destroying a quarter of its buildings, Drake demanded a ransom in today’s dollar is around $200 million.  The city recovered but after repeated attacks and looting, Spain decided to pour all its resources (estimated to be around 2 trillion dollars) into constructing a gigantic fortress.  It was a fascinating area to tour.

When I hear Cartagena, I think of coffee and to be honest, drugs.  I enjoy visiting and learning more of the positive side of the people and city.  Did you know 95% of the world’s emeralds come from Columbia?  I did not and saw some beauties (no, I didn’t buy any, I’m not an impulsive buyer).  Columbia produces 12% of the world’s coffee.  It’s the 2nd largest fresh cut flower exporter in the world and one of only 17 of the most biodiverse places on earth.  It not only encompasses the Andes Mountains but the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines with tropical grasslands and Amazon rainforest.

I also like to look at the currency exchange rate in each country we visit.  Currently, 4800 Columbia Peso = 1 dollar.

We also walked through an area called Getsemani known for vivid murals, colorful buildings, artists at work, bistro’s, coffee houses, etc.  Beautiful area of the city.

Muchas gracias Cartagena for sharing your beautiful city with us today.

Cartagena
Coffee house for 3

19 comments

  1. Fascinating place and history! Love reading about your adventures, Karen and Bob! And really enjoy the photos! Thank you for taking me on your travels with you!! 🙂💕🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Love the history lesson and pictures! Glad you’re having a great time and are safe! Cute that you added a picture of groot too!

    Like

    Reply

  10. Outstanding! Who knew your adventure was going to be both a geography and history lesson . .. . I didn’t know 95% of the world’s emeralds came from there either. Beautiful pictures . . . as always, thank you for sharing.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to John Cancel reply