Rewind - Cartagena, Colombia

As I go to post this blog, I am sitting overlooking Lake Joseph, two hours north of Toronto. However, most of it was written while sitting in our hotel room in Cartagena Colombia in the middle of June. A great trip...

* * * *

As I write this, we are in the midst of a wonderful family vacation in and around Cartagena, Colombia.  We landed here late afternoon on Friday, June 18 and wound our way from the airport into the old walled city of Cartagena. Once inside, we were immersed in the colonial era architecture that is so filled with 21st century life. A great mix!

Brightly colored buildings line narrow cobblestone streets. Nearly every edifice sports its own balcony, often lush with bougainvilla or some other flowering plant.

A typical Cartagena street, with balconies above filled to exploding with bougainvilla.

The main highlights of our days in Cartagena have been walking the streets and, twice, cruising them in horsedrawn carriage, which somehow didn't feel quite as touristy as it normally does. Here are some of the other fun moments:

We ate delicious gelato before noon at Brianzola.

We shopped for emeralds--Turns out that Colombia produces 70 percent of the world's emeralds.

We toured the Palace of the Inquisition and had a close up look at the various ways that Catholic Priests tortured and ultimately killed alleged witches. (Credit to Pope John Paul II, however: He apologized for the Inquisition several years before his death.)

We had a fun lunch at Plaza Santa Teresa, where Tara and I danced to some Colombian favorites and where we drank illegal beers from coffee cups. Illegal because the presidential election was just a day away and a dry law banning all alcohol sales for the days leading up to the election was in force, if not enforced.

Tara and I had a fun dance to a mariachi-style quartet in the Plaza Santa Teresa.

Baker watched a painter make a very nice painting on a mirror in just five minutes and brought it home as a souvenir.
We had a nice dinner at the very tranquilo Club de Pesca, on the waterfront in Cartagena.

At the Club de Pesca, having dinner.

We visited Boca Grande, the upscale barrio of Cartagena, outside the walled city. Had a lunch there in a Medellin-style restaurant (not as yummy as Cartagena-style food--which was mostly fish with sides like coconut rice. The Medellin restaurant offered up more pork-based stew-like fare.) That same day, we also visited a mall and saw Toy Story 3, in Spanish. (This was a sort of final exam for the kids listening comprehension Spanish skills. They passed with flying colors!)

From the Convento de la Popa, there is a nice view of all Cartagena. The tall building in the distance are the upscale neighborhood of Boca Grande.

We went to el Convento de la Popa, a former convent located on the highest point in Cartagena. There was an interesting story about the chief priest in the convent being killed by an angry parishioner--speared through the chest--but mostly the convent offered a nice view of all Cartagena.

Riley inside the Convento de la Popa.

We watched Argentina defeat Greece in the Group Round of the World Cup in an Argentine steak house. In search of a TV showing the game (an easy search as the World Cup was ubiquitous in Cartagena), we were ushered up the interior steps of a sidewalk cafe to a small room full of businessmen in suits on their lunchbreak. The whole crowd was for Argentina, as were we, though our motivations were Korean in nature--Argentina's victory made South Korea's passage to the round of 16 certain.

Gathering with some business folks on lunchbreak to watch Argentina defeat Greece.

We visited el Castillo de San Felipe, a fortress set back from Cartagena's waterfront designed to protect the city from pirate attacks. We were somewhat confused by the fortress' location (away from the water) and its alleged purpose (defending from pirate attacks), but nonetheless it was a interesting and very impressive structure. Beneath the castle were a series of elaborate tunnels in which the Spanish could lay in wait for the English buccaneers, suprise them, and slay them. All that, however, in theory--as the fortress was so well defended that no enemy ever made it so far as the tunnels.

Riley outside el Castillo de San Felipe, with an impressive Colombian flag blowing behind her. Apparently, the flag was designed by a Venezuelan and the yellow symbolizes the blond hair of a woman whom he loved madly.

An ammo storage unit atop one corner of the castle.

Cannons and cannon equipment were moved strategically around the castle to create the impression that there were more men defending the castle than there actually were.

Castillo de San Felipe.

In the light of sunset at Castillo de San Felipe.

We had a nice sunset dinner and drinks at the very hip Cafe del Mar, right on top of the wall of  the old city. This was a spot for Cartagena's coolest people. We (quite unsurprisingly) were admitted with enthusiasm to this elite group.

Cafe del Mar seemed like the place to see and be seen in Cartagena.

We made an overnight trip to the Isla Rosario National Park--a marine park home that includes a number of islands. There, the highlights were a trip to a local aquarium where the kids had a chance to swim with a dolphin--really fun to watch!--and where we saw a shark show.

Cartagena, as seen from the water on our way to Isla Rosario.

Baker and Riley helped Tae meet a dolphin up close and personal.

Baker scratches the dolphin's chin.

Riley thought the dolphin's kiss was very salty!

The aquarium had a dolphin show as well as a shark show.

We also did about 45 minutes of snorkeling there in Rosario. Tae simply climbed on Tara's back and stuck his face in the water to see the fish and coral. What a snorkeler at age 4! Riley and Baker really enjoyed it as well, swimming and exploring.

Riley and I posing for a photo before snorkeling.

Baker goes for a dive.

Tara and her companion Tae.

And some more photos from the trip:

Baker let his long blonde locks grow during our time in Nosara. In Cartagena, he cut them for the first time in six months.

We went to the Cartagena Museum of Modern Art, where we found and recreated a painting called "El Beso."

We saw a portion of a school play/show by some local kids and snapped this photo of our kids with a girl in the show. She is a typical urban Colombian kid, dressed up in traditional clothes (the way our kids might dress as a Pilgrim...)

Our hotel had two toucans living right in the main dining area. Unfortunately for them, their wings were clipped--but it made for fun breakfast times.

Tune in again soon for the funniest thing we did in Colombia: Volcan del Totumo!

Pura vida!