Colonial Cartagena, CO Day 2
Colonial Cartagena, CO
Day 02 - Thursday, December 23, 2010 - Old Town City Tour-Visit San Felipe Castle, La Popa Monastery, and Emerald Factory-Optional Carriage Ride & Colombian Dinner
Last night at 11:30 there was a knock on the door and our luggage arrived! We spent a few minutes getting unpacked and then went back to sleep.
After our “American Breakfast” – fruit, yogurt, eggs, breads, and juice, we met David in the lobby at 8:30. Jose was ready with the bus to take us on a city tour. The temperature was 83º and the humidity was 78%.
On the way to our first discovery, David gave us a history and general timeline of Cartagena.
1492 Discovery
1500’s Conquest
1580’s Colonization
1819 Independence
Present - Republic
We trekked to the top of the 17th-century Castillo San Felipe named for King Phillip the 4th. This was a bastion built in 1657 by the Spaniards to protect the city from pirates.
The building material was limestone, huge pieces of coral, clay bricks, and stones all held together with a mixture of sand, lime, and water. From the top we could see a 360º panorama of the city, bay, and the Caribbean Sea,
David told us the city's official name is Cartagena de Indias, to make the distinction from Cartagena de Espana. Although it has lost its former glory and is not the trading capital it was in the past, the buildings are being restored and tourism is bringing new “gold” to the city.
Our next stop was the Convento Santa Cruz de la Popa, the highest pinnacle of the city, where we had an even better view of the fortress, both sides of the city, and the huge vastness of the sea.
In the chapel we saw a statue of the Virgin Candelaria, Cartagena's patron saint. The monastery was built in 1606 by the Augustinian order of monks. Pope John Paul was here in 1986 to celebrate mass with Colombians, 85% who are Catholic.
After we left the monastery we were treated to a typical Cartagena traffic jam. The city was especially busy today because of the Christmas Holidays.
We passed an outdoor market but did not stop as there were SO many people. The ride by was close enough to take photos of the many smiling vendors and shoppers showing off their produce for the OAT (Old American Travelers) visitors.
Our next stop was the Manga's Cementerio de Santa Cruz. We made a brief visit to this very old and beautiful cemetery. Big family mausoleums dating back to the early founding families demonstrate the wealth of those days. Most sites were from the 1700 -1800’s.
The big stop and shop of the morning was the Caribe Super Jewelry Center. We were greeted by our guide Maria who gave us a tour of the Emerald Factory to learn about Colombia's famous green gem stone.
In the museum Juan Carlos gave us a tour pointing out one of the largest stones called “Petra” which is a 236 pound quartz structure embedded with huge emerald crystals. Several people purchased pieces of jewelry.
We had lunch in the Old Town at Crepes and Waffles, with wonderful selections. After lunch David came back to pick us up at 2:30. He told us this was one of the best places in the city for ice cream and we all agreed it was delicious!
We walked around the Colonial neighborhood looking at the shops, the vendors and their wares, street entertainers, as well as the beautiful architecture and gardens.
After our walk back to the hotel we got ready for our optional evening. David had arranged for two horse drawn carriages to pick us up at 7:00 for a ride through the historic neighborhoods of Cartagena.
The city was alive with shoppers and decorated with festive lights for Christmas. We ended our ride at Sibaris, our restaurant for a traditional Colombian dinner.
Jose was there at 8:30 to pick us up. It was 9:00 when we returned to the hotel but the evening was so pleasant we walked around a bit so I could do some photography trying to capture the Cartagena Christmas Spirit.
Accommodations: Hotel Monterrey - - - Meal: B
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Comments
Panoramic View of Cartagena
David and José
Castillo San Felipe
Mangas Cementerio de Santa Cruz
Colorful Street Vendors
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