Cartagena

We had our day all sorted out. Eta at Cartagena (Cart-a-hane- a) was 12pm so we were going to have a leisurely morning, late breakfast, had a couple of lectures lined up and was going to write up about Panama. The sun rose early so I sat up in bed and looked out the window. There seemed to be a lot of boats around and I could see land.  The next thing we knew was we were docking in port. We went in nose first & I thought the bow was going to go straight through the containers In front. This was 6.30am by now, almost 6 hours earlier than expected.  What on earth was going on.  It wasn't until after 8am that it was finally explained to us that there had been yet another medical emergency overnight so he had to put his foot down on the accelerator and hoon into port to get rid of them.

It was a real bonus for us as we were only meant to be there for 5 and a half hours but now we had the whole day, how good is this. After a quick breakfast we were ready to get out there and see the city. I had read in my notes that even tho kidnapping and murder rates had dropped, they still remained high and it was best to stick to the main tourist trails. This didn't seem too comforting but we thought if we stuck together we would be fine.

The first surprise of this port was the actual port. We caught the free shuttle to the port building which was a lovely big duty free shop with lots of souvenirs and things to buy. We didn't delay here as we wanted to spend as much time in town as we could so we walked through to the other side of the building.  It was like walking out into the jungle book. Here there were large fig trees, tropical plants and exotic birds flying everywhere. There were brightly coloured macaws, toucans, flamingos, rabbits, red squirrels, deer, iguanas, peacocks and other unidentified creatures just flying or roaming around free. We had spent lots of money and time trying to find all these animals and now here they were for free in plentiful supply, unbelievable. This is the only port I have ever seen with this type of animal and garden display.

As there was another cruise ship in port we were fighting the hordes of milling people & trying to break out to find a taxi driver to take us into town.  It is walkable but with the heat & humidity it's really not advisable. We were touted by a taxi/tour guide to take a 2 hour sightseeing trip around the city and as there didn't seem to be much other option we agreed.  Trouble was he needed 12 people and even tho we helped to make up almost half he had to sell the other seats before we left.  Unfortunately he did manage to sell them to some more annoying Americans who's accents were starting to drive us mad.  Anyway we were finally off.  The tour was to show us a market in the new part of the city then take us for a walking tour in the old city then finally a photo stop at the fort on the hill before returning to the ship.  Our plan was to get off in the old city and have a wander around & make our own way back.

So, first stop was at the 'market' in town.  We pulled up outside an expensive looking jewelry shop & he said that as there was no parking & this spot was reserved for customers only so please do him a favour and go & look in the shop, we didn't have to buy. So we were all hearded into this shop 'just to look'. The hard sell came from the proprietors within.  We escaped as soon as we could and started looking for the rest of the market. It wasn't what we thought a market to be, just a lot of emerald shops along a road  with street vendors selling hats, tablecloths & other tourist ic junk from their stands. We walked around the whole block and it was all the same.  If you were looking to buy quality emeralds then this is the place you really need to come to as they are in plentiful supply and reasonably priced.  If you didn't want to buy emeralds then there was not much else.  They really did hassel you to come into their shops to look too.  

We did find one shop that was lovely & cool, didn't hassel you and had a variety of nice souvenirs and packets of Coloumbian coffee to buy as well as to drink.  As we were the first lot there because all the other tours did the old city first, we had the shop to ourselves which was great. The other thing you can do while there is to hold a sloth for $2 should you so wish.  I wouldn't have minded except we were warned not to touch them due to the multitudes of parasites that dwell in the fur.

Next stop was to an Emerald museum.  The bus pulled into a small car park then a big metal gate was shut behind us.  Jon & Malcolm both managed to escape before the gates were closed, there was no way they were going in there!  It was interesting as we did a little tour of where they were all working at cutting the gems then through a museum and mock up of the gem mines in the mountains and cases of old artifacts and gems found in the past.  Then last, of course, was the jewellery shop where you could purchase the finished product, all glittering & looking lovely under the lights and glass cases, just in case you missed buying them at the first stop.

The third stop was to the old town at the dungeons.  This use to be the city jail but has since been turned into a truely colourful market. The old cells are now shops filled to the brim with brightly coloured clothing & wares. There were also very colourful women all dressed up in the local costumsof  bright yellow dresses and scarves wrapped around on top of their heads to carrying the huge baskets of fruit or goods.  They weren't selling anything out of the baskets, instead they were selling a photo oppurtunity of themselves.  For a mere $1 you could have your photo taken beside them, where they will hold out the side of their dress to get the full effect and smile sweetly at the camera. The smile disappears fairly quickly afterwards but they do look gorgeous with their black statin skins against the bright colours of their dress.

Then he took us for a walking tour first passed some living 'statues' dressed in silver explaining if you give them money they will move for you. They were like any busker you find in any corner of the world but some people fell for it and gave them money.  When I looked back after we were gone they had given up their staute pose and were walking around jostling & laughing getting ready for the next bunch of tourists. Next we stopped at a street artist and he made us wait for ages as people were in front of us so we waited until they left so we could see how amazing this guy was.  By this time Jon had given up the ghost and gone wandering.   We came to the conclusion that this tour was really a moving cash cow for the tour guides mates and not only must he be getting paid by us but no doubt he received a back hander from them as well. He did take us to a couple of squares & explained the history of the place as well as to his next lot of break dancing mates in the square, where of course they asked for money once you watched them dance, then passed a few more vendors before bundling everyone back on the bus to see the fortress of San Felipe.

This fort, built to protect the city from pirate attacks, played a major part in the defence of the city and helped to prevent the British taking it over in 1741.  If they had, northern Sth America would now be English speaking instead of Spanish.  The brave Spaniard of the day was a chap called Don Blas de Lezo. He was commander of the Mediterranean fleet for Spain and in previous battles lost his left leg to a cannonball in the battle for Gibralter against the British, his left eye in the battle of Toulon and his right arm in the siege of Barcelona.  Sounds a bit like the Monty Python character in The Holy Grail.  Anyway King Phillip of Spain got wind that Admiral Edward Vernon (the same Vernon of Mt Vernon) was planning an assault on Cartagene so he sent off the one legged, one eyed, one armed Don to defend it and defend it he did.  He had only 6000 men including slaves, indians & regular troops at his disposal against 186 ships and 27-30,000 military personnel of the British.  The British managed to break through the first line of defense after a month & after big losses it occurred to Vernon that attack by sea was useless so they decided to come overland. When they finally got to to make a full assult on Fort Felipe the Spanish were ready and the rest is history.  The Bristish lost 18,000 men and of the 3,500 Americans only 300 survived. King George II forbade anyone to speak or write of the defeat, so bad it was.

So, this fort is up a big hill and the only way up is to walk it.  If you want to see it, the cost was $10 & $6 for the headphones, the walk was free.  This was the end of the tour from the bus and they weren't going to take us up, just let us take a photo of it.  Mum decided she had had enough by this time as it was really hot so she wanted to go back to the ship.  Everyone bar the 4 of us sailed away in the taxi as we were left wondering how we were going to get back to the old city again.  While we decided, we found a nice cool cafe with clean toliets and cold drinks & an interesting menu to sit at while we contemplated.  The menu was entirely in Spainsih so we pointed at the pictures and got a couple of surprises when the dishes came out but all in all it was worth it, even just to cool down.  The colourful passing parade was also interesting to watch.

We did manage to find a taxi after that to take us into the old town so we had a couple of hours to wander around the streets, walk on the old wall to see the sea before heading back to the ship at the end of the day.

I loved Cartagena as a stop.  It was the most colourful & exotic city we had seen to date. Along with the wonderful wildlife we saw as well as the colourful people & equally colourful history of the city. Founded in 1533 by the Spanish conquerors as a main port to transport gold, silver and treasures plunded from the natives of Sth America to be sent to the Old World and bring slaves from Africa to be sold at the markets there. These riches in turn attracted pirates and privateers such as Sir Francis Drake (one of the most successful pirates of all times)   & whose sacking of the city led to the construction of the fortifications around the city.  The well preseved old town with it's brightly painted colonial & Italian styled architecture and lots of green plazas and unique handcrafts & goods make for a photographers paradise  & great destination for a Europe weary traveller. As the taxes & tariffs are so high on imported luxury European goods everything is locally made from coffee to emerald jewellery, clothes, accessories, leather & even hand rolled cigars. 

As long as you keep your head down, stick to the tourist areas and don't stay long enough to get kidnapped or murdered, I would highly recommend this place to be seen at least once in your life.

Safe way to travel!