Monday, November 24, 2008
http://louis-hopscotch.blogspot.com/2008/11/cartagena-colombia.html
Our next port after transiting the Panama Canal, and the last port before ending the cruise at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, would be Cartagena in Colombia.
Much as I was looking forward to exploring this city I had never visited before, I was apprehensive. I am sure Colombia is universally associated with drug trafficking and the kidnapping, murder and violence that goes with that trade. Besides, there has been a dirty war between guerrillas and the government for years.
I also dreaded having to state "Colombia" among the "Countries Visited" on my Immigration form for the US Customs since I imagined me and my baggage would be instantly subjected to a swarm of drug sniffing dogs on the dock at Fort Lauderdale, and an embarrassing cavity search.
Cartagena turned out to be a gem of a city, the Old City so charming
the people so friendly and busy going about their everyday lives.
the soldiers and police so helpful, that any concern about personal safety seemed out of place.
From the ship one sees only the great stretch of modern highrises along the shore and a busy container port. A short drive in one of the tiny shiny new yellow Korean made taxis takes you from the modern section to the Old City, a completely different world.
The Old City is a 400 year old, very well preserved walled city, about 20 kilometers in circumference.
Inside the walls is a warren of very narrow streets, where the facades of the houses rise straight from the sidewalks.
Every facade seems to be freshly painted in bold colors.
From the second storey of each facade protrudes a lovely wooden balcony supported by thick beams, with potted flowering plants cascading over the balustrades.
Even the cathedral fronts right on the sidewalk
Any passerby could easily hear and see the priest celebrating Mass through the open doors while the bustle of the main square swirled just feet away.
The streets seem immaculately swept.
This Old City may be 400 years old, but it is by no means just a relic. It is lived in, as alive, possibly, as it was 400 years ago.
Not to be missed is the Museo del Oro, the Gold Museum, which exhibits pre-Columbian gold items, mostly from Peru. The entry doors to the exhibition halls are enormous steel bank vault doors, perfectly appropriate for the magnificent treasures within.
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