Cartagena

Day 12 Saturday February 10, 2018

Our flight from Medellin to Cartagena was cancelled so we had to fly from Medellin to Bogotá and back up to Cartagena about 1.5 hours north, arriving at about 2 p.m.

Cartagena is very different from Bogotá or Medellin. It’s on a plain at the Caribbean coast. Temperatures are in the mid 30s. It is a city of about a million people and has a definite Caribbean flare with music on the streets and much more colourful dress and buildings. It has a vibrant walled Old Town founded in the 16th Century.

The city of Cartagena, known in the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias is a major port founded in 1533. It was strategically located between the Magdalena and Sinú rivers and became the main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s. During the colonial era it was a key port for the export of Peruvian silver to Spain and for the import of African slaves under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean. It is the fifth-largest city in.

The siege of Cartagena 1741 where Spanish Empire forces, of 2,800 men, defeated the British fleet and armies, of 23,600 soldiers. The failed siege was decisive for the victory of the War in which the British wanted to take over various lands of Spanish America. Today there tourists galore, although it appears that there are not a lot of North Americans, except when the cruse ships pull into town.

Our hotel is basic but comfortable on the edge of Old town. After a quick walk around our neighbourhood we met the 4 new members to our group. 4 will be leaving tomorrow. We walked into the walled part of the city for dinner. The area was much more vibrant and busy than when we had been there in the afternoon. Lots of music and restaurants. The one our guide had chosen served seafood and was proud of a visit by Anthony Bourdain.