Cartagena, Columbia is on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and it is the fifth-largest city in Colombia. During the colonial period Cartagena served a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire. It was a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy viceroys. Cartagena is the city most associated with pirates in the Caribbean, and the world. In 1984 Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Since we have only 7 hours in Cartagena, we decided to just wondering around in the walled city by ourselves without any pre-arranged tour. After we got off the ship, there were many local tour guys tried to provide the tour at pretty low cost. We got on one for touring the walled city in a private van. The 1st stop was the San Felipe Barajas Castle (Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas). As far as we know, it consists of a series of walls, wide at the base and narrow toward the parapet, forming a formidable pattern of bunkers. The batteries and parapets protect one another, so making it practically impossible to take a battery without taking the whole defense system. The stone blocks used to build the castle were said to be splattered with the blood of slaves. Cartagena was a port of the black slave trade. The guns of the castle commanded the whole bay, so that any suspicious vessel attempting to dock could be attacked. The castle is striking for its grand entrance and its complex maze of tunnels. It is the most formidable defensive complex of Spanish military architecture.
It also requires a $20 entrance fee per person. With the limited time we had in Cartagena, we decided not to venture into this maze without a proper guide. We just walked around and took some pictures from the outside.
Then we got to the walled city. The first scene is Clock Tower which is the entrance point of the walled city. The unfortunately part is that our guide handed the tour to his brother who does not speak English. Most of the attractions are in the walled city and in walking distance. We visited The Cathedral (La Catedral), The Bolivar Park (El Parque de Bolivar), The Inguisition Palace (El Palacio de la Inquisision), San Pedro Claver Church (La Iglesia de San Pedro Claver and The Wall (La Muralla). It was a little bit disappointed to see all these famous attractions are lacking of maintenance. However, we could still felt the historical significance of these heritage sites.
After the tour, the guide took us to do some shopping. First he took us to local shopping area for tourists and we could not find anything worthy to buy. Then he took us to buy Columbia coffee in another store which was a better shopping place for most of us.
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