Cartagena a World Heritage site, with extensive fortifications, graceful courtyards, great dining spots and nightlife
Heroic City Cartagena de Indias
“The heroic city” – the name says it. Cartagena’s long and impressive history is definitely worth to get to know. Just take a close look at Cartagena’s historic city wall and you will discover the magic. Cartagena de Indias, appointed in 1984 as UNESCO world heritage sparkles with all different kinds of colours. The very first time I strolled through the city streets I was fascinated and felt welcome and happy. Each and every house has its own colours and flowers. At every street corner sounds salsa music which makes you feel to dance right away. Resting in a restaurant at one of the many squares watching the busy streets and enjoying the typical food of the coastal region is more than satisfying. A tasty Ceviche with seafood and fresh mango is perfect to cool down.
The fascination of Cartagena includes also that as soon as you leave the historic center you will discover a completely different way of life. With over 1 million inhabitants you can imagine Cartagena is pretty big. Besides the well-known city districts like “Bocagrande – the Miami of Colombia” are also existing more poorly districts. From the monastery “La Popa” which is located on the highest mountain in Cartagena, you can get a perfect overview of all districts and the real boundaries of Cartagena. From here you have a 360 degree overlook and you can enrich your knowledge about Cartagena’s history again. Furthermore we recommend to visit the castle “San Felipe”, the cathedral “Santa Catalina de Alejandria”, the church “San Pedro Claver”, all of the different squares and many museums.
Cultural, natural, historical, political – here you will discover everything. For those of you who want to see more, you can relax at one of the many beaches in Cartagena or book a trip to one of the close by Caribbean islands. The island “Baru” with it stunning beach “Playa Blanca” and the “Islas of Rosario” are just an hour boat ride away and still belonging to Cartagena. The water is turquoise-blue and the beach is pearl-white – like in a picture book.
In the case that’s still not enough you can also explore the mangroves around Cartagena. From the center it is just a 30 minute ride. With us you can book a lot of different tours like fishing with the natives, a kayak tour through the mangroves, birdwatching or a coconut workshop. Therefore you have the opportunity to get in direct contact with the people living here and getting to know there daily lives. The perfect way to combine adventures like these is with a typical lunch at the beach of “La Boquilla” – delicious fish soup, fresh fish with coconut rice, fried banana and a salad. You also get an impressive view of Bocagrandes skyline from there.
For sure that’s not everything. There are a lot more tours and activities to choose from.
Me personally, I never get boring – even if I just walk through the streets like usual – I am going to explore new things and get fascinated each and every day again.
0
