Let’s start with the correct pronunciation of Cartagena - it’s CAR-ta-HEN-a. This is necessary in order to correct an intergenerational error that can be traced back to Michael Douglas in the 1984 movie Romancing the Stone.
Cartagena, named after the historic city of Carthage, was founded on 1 June 1533 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Heredia.
 |
 |
It was critical to the sea trade routes used by Spain, Portugal, France and Britain and was therefore contested by these European powers, and their pirate proxies, until independence and proclamation of the Colombian republic in 1821.
Consequently, the historic center is surrounded by 11 kilometers of defensive walls and is known as the Walled City.
I find Spanish colonial architecture has a dreamy quality to it, and so it is here. Lush plazas are connected by a maze of narrow alleys, framed by crimson, pink, orange and yellow facades and overlooked by distinctive pre-republican wooden balconies.
Quarried from the Caribbean coast, the use of fossilised coral as a building material, within this style, significantly adds to its peculiar ethereal quality. The 16th century Cathedral is a good example.
Cartagena’s peoples are as mixed as it gets - Mestizo (Spanish + Indigenous), Mulatto (European + African), Zambo (African + Indigenous), and various combinations of all of the above with names like Castizo, Raizal, Palenquero and Pardo.
Gabriel García Márquez’s writing was deeply inspired by Cartagena. His novel Love in the Time of Cholera is set in an unnamed city based on it. Cartagena is his final resting place. That’s him in the mural playing accordion.
An hour’s ride by fastboat (with twin 180hp engines) are beautiful coral keys, the main one being Rosario. Although the coral has suffered from climate change, there are plenty of tropical fish to see.
I highly recommend venturing out of the old city to nearby Getsemaní. This is where you find the local artists and the best bars.
 |
 |
There is still plenty of edge to the place and you do need to keep your wits about you. At one point I was offered: “Hey, I got the ‘white coffee’ bro”.
How can I put this? It ain’t decaf.