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Forget Iceland, Go to Cartagena

Impressions, Recollections, Recommendations...

By Nathan EsmePublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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La Ciudad Amurallada

Caribbean beaches, timeless cobblestone streets, divine food, and an indescribable passion for life, fun, and visitors makes Cartagena an unforgettable trip. I visited for the first time last July with my girlfriend (who grew up there). Here are my impressions, recollections, and recommendations.

The Walled City

It should be no surprise to anyone who has visited Cartagena that the absolute highlight of the trip was the historic Walled City—La Ciudad Amurallada. The city is a veritable byzantine maze of beautiful cobble stone streets, colonial architecture, grand old Andalusian-style houses, and a vibrant pumping nightlife scene. To boot, this walled in colonial quarter is a UNESCO World heritage site—"Cartagena has the most extensive fortifications in South America." To this traveler, the walled city of Cartagena is reminiscent of the best parts of New Orleans, San Juan, and Miami all at once.

A Bar at the End of the World

No trip to the walled city would have been complete without mention of Cafe Del Mar—a club/restaurant literally on top of the wall, replete with hookah, cocktails, club music, and ancient cannons. I sat up here with my lady and her friend, and contemplated time eternal as I stared out into the ocean while sipping on vodka.

Cafe Del Mar

A beautiful Caribbean sunset in Cartagena - photo credit

If fine dining is your thing, you would have been in heaven at the sumptuous 1621. The meal at this luxurious restaurant in the beyond atmospheric Sofitel hotel-a former convent/hospital/generally soaked in history house that inspired Garcia-Marquez's Love and Other Demons was so good it sent my partner and I into such an ecstatic euphoria I barely remember it even happened. The one thing I do remember, was a crepe made out of crab, stuffed with more crab, and saturated with butter. Oh, and sea foam. There was definitely sea foam.

1621 Restaurant

We ate at one of these tables!

Photo Source

Oh, and just so you know, according to my fiancée, this place is definitely haunted.

Shopping

The Guyabera

As with any major travel destination, the shopping options are too plentiful to mention. But I did enjoy picking out some Guyaberas at John Sonen, and there are myriad, myriad art galleries, emerald jewelry boutiques, and pre-Colombian artifact stores to last for days and days of shopping.

Another fun aspect of shopping is the merchants on the street. Handwoven mochila bags, beadwork jewelry, wooden statues, and even oil paintings can be purchased from merchants on the street. And don't be afraid of the quality, locals love buying this stuff too!

Mochilas for Sale...

courtesy of tripadvisor

None of these bags is identical to the other.

La Rumba

Now, after a long day of wandering the streets, buying goods, exploring cavernous churches, you are going to want to let loose at night. Fortunately, we were in the right place. Cartagena is an amazing mix of locals, expatriates, and tourists-the jew in me was amazed to run into many Israelis during my time in Cartagena-which makes for unbeatable nightlife. Literally any day of the week, the walled city is pulsing with folks dancing to good music and having a good time. There are clubs for any taste, including LGBT, and many restaurants have live bands, if acoustic music is more your thing. One place that I enjoyed was Bourbon Street. It was sort of a dive, mixed with a chandelier filled house, mixed with a Williamsburg-esque hipster party scene. To be honest, it's a great placed to get wasted and act silly.

A Little Magic on Bourbon Street

A much needed red bull & soda at Bourbon street

Beyond Walls

Now, folks from Cartagena like to say that there's "mas que murallas" — more than walls. So here are some of the other amazing places we explored.

Okay, first of all, no travel article to the Caribbean would be complete without some beaches. So let's talk about Playa Blanca in Baru. We did an all inclusive tour thing where we had some time on Playa Blanca, visited the Islas Del Rosario, and got a little tour of the forest. On the beach we ate delicious sugary coconut fruit candy things, swam in the azure waters, and took in the Caribbean sun.

Playa Blanca

Now if you really want to be a local, you need to go hear some Vallenato. Vallenato is a folk music that originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, features lots of accordion, and generally talks about love.

Accordion to El Vallenatero

Source

Diomedez Diaz and Martin Elias are the biggest stars, but sadly they're both dead. We went to the club Martin Elias owned, El Tropezon, in the neighborhood El Recreo. This is a great place to slowly sway with your bae as the wonderful music woos you into timeless romance.

La Castellana Shopping Mall

One last highlight outside the walls, and a great place to mingle with locals, is La Castellana shopping mall. My girlfriend has insisted that inform you that at La Castellano the cheapest movie tickets in the Western Hemisphere can be found. We even saw the latest Spiderman movie in Spanish. It's just a wonderful place to spend some time hanging out.

Scratching the Surface

There are many wonderful things I haven't even begun to describe about Cartagena-the genius that is Bazurto, or the graffiti murals of Getsamani. But don't worry, all that will come in an article to follow.

south america
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About the Creator

Nathan Esme

I am a writer, blogger, and educator in the greatest city on earth. See my website at https://nathanesme17.wixsite.com/esme.

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