We flew from Cancún to Bogatá and spent two nights there. We’re heading back to Bogatá for a week at the end of our stay in Colombia so I’ll wait to recap it then. I found a really cheap flight from Bogotá to Cartagena on LatAm airlines. While booking, I learned a little trick. When I selected my language as English, the fare was $99 each (much higher than advertised). When I changed my language to Spanish, the fare was just $22 each. And it’s not like we tricked the system. We had to enter our Passport information to complete the booking. So there you go – book local!
We spent a week in Cartagena, located on the Caribbean coast in the northern part of Columbia. It’s a larger city than I expected, and has a wide range of experiences. The Old Town section feels like Havana with some New Orleans thrown in. The western end of the city has skyscrapers like Miami Beach or Panama City.
Let’s start with some shots from an excellent and free walking tour we did in the Old City.
I love the color of this building.
There are lots of balconies and vines and plants sprouting everywhere.
Here’s Casa Drake where Francis Drake stayed for about a month after conquering the city. The city basically had to pay him to leave.
The old town is mostly surrounded by an old stone wall (on the left).
Here’s a view of the western end – like Miami Beach/Panama City – from on top of the wall.
A view of the Old Town from atop the wall.
There’s an artisan market in Old Town built into a section of the wall that used to store munitions. I bought a nice Guayabera shirt here.
Oh, look, we found a rooftop bar in the Old Town and enjoyed some sangria.
The first place we stayed (20 minute walk east of Old Town) had an infinity pool overlooking the beach.
The second place we stayed (in the west end of the city among the skyscrapers) overlooked The Hilton. A wedding that weekend included fireworks that were; pretty impressive. They lasted 15 or 20 minutes.
Leena visited a castle one day.
Street art.
Some of that New Orleans flavor.
Full moon from our balcony.
We took a boat and snorkeling trip to Isla de Rosario. It was about a two-hour ride out. The view of Cartagena as we left.
Pablo Escobar had a vacation home on the island. It looks totally deserted now.
The snorkeling was so-so, but the water was lovely and it’s always great to spend a day on a boat in the warm sunshine.