Welcome to Cartagena in the state of Bolivar, Colombia. I first learned of Cartagena while working in a Cerro Matoso nickel smelter 400 km to the south at Montilibano, Cordoba, in 2011. While I, hard working and dedicated to the job of demolishing the nickel furnace, stayed behind to get the job done, many of my compatriots were able to take time off and visit their wives or girlfriends (or both) at the colonial city of Cartagena. Thirteen years later, I resolved to finally check this box on my bucket list and spend a few weeks exploring northern Colombia.
This is the infamous "Clock Tower" which divided the "old city" from Getsemani. Inside the walls of the old city are quality restaurants and gift shops and scores of hustlers doing what they do best. Expect lots cuban cigars, sombreros and also cocaine and "weed". Be on full alert, especially at night.
For excursions, day trips to the nearby Rosario Islands are readily available where you can enjoy a peaceful day in a shady palapa with food and drink. Note that snorkeling is fun but hardly measures up to other areas I have been in the Caribbean and especially at the Farasan Islands in the Red Sea.
There is no shortage of food and drink in Cartagena.
Sunset cruises with dinner, drinks and dancing are fun and entertaining. The girls are not hard on the eyes either!
Unfortunately, like most of the world now, Colombia's beaches are heavily contaminated with plastic waste.
