Colombia
The travel bug has led me to my first expedition in South America, a trip to beautiful Cartagena. It was an unforgettable experience, and one of my favorite places so far to wander the street with a camera. Embarking to a new continent on my own would have felt daunting, so I’m tremendously grateful to my friend Steven for joining me. After casually discussing our travel goals a couple months back, I asked Steven if you would want to try Cartagena because of the history and beauty I saw in my research. His answer was, “well yes, I’m actually going in two weeks already if you want to join.” I scrambled to plan this spontaneous trip, including double booking that weekend with a bachelor party I already had planned. It would have been a long, long weekend! In the end I couldn’t make that first trip, but Steven had a good first adventure and he volunteered to go back with me only a month later. What a great friend!
The travel was easier than I expected, only 7 hours each way to Cartagena and back from Raleigh including a brief stop in Miami. The airport is only 15 minutes from Old Town (the walled city) which, paired with Getsemani, is the area people come to see.
The walled city and Getsemani are not very expansive compared to other cities I’ve visited, and I would say you could explore almost every street in 2-3 days depending on your pace. Founded in 1533, Cartagena de Indias gained fame after the mid-16th century when great fleets stopped annually to take on gold and other products of northern South America for convoy to Spain. The city became a center for the Inquisition and a major slave market. It was the site of battles between the Spanish and English, including a massive naval assault by Sir Francis Drake that would decide the fate of South America. Had that assault on the walled city and next door fort been successful, we would be speaking English on the trip instead of the our roughly 20 poorly pronounced words of Spanish. In 1811 the province of Cartagena declared its independence from Spain, and years of fighting followed. In the early national period, Cartagena continued as Colombia’s leading port, but it was handicapped by inadequate connections with the interior. By the 1840s it had declined in population and commerce. In the 20th century it experienced renewed growth and is now Colombia’s fifth largest city.
Tourism is the booming industry there, so the government works to keep the crime rate far lower here than in some other parts of the country. I never felt unsafe my whole trip, and I always had my Canon 5D - 24-105mm f/4 combo glued to my hands for fear of missing a shot. Our ventures out at night were limited, but the couple journeys we took were in populated areas before midnight and no troubles were to be had.
A hostel in Old Town was our home for the long weekend, which turned out to be a great choice. We made friends from some of the travelers from around the world, including buddies from Germany and England. I would recommend hostels as a great way to meet other travelers when traveling solo or in a small group.
If you go you can plan on eating and drinking comfortably, the dollar goes far in Colombia. Food was about 25% to 50% of what similar experiences would be in the US, sometimes cheaper than that. I was especially fond of the ceviche, and got that wherever possible. Fair warning, I think I rolled the dice on raw fish one too many times as I got food poisoning my last full day there. Make sure to try the plantains in various forms that are everywhere, they are delicious. Other than the previously mentioned illness, the only annoyances were the sweltering heat (mid 90s during the day) and being constantly approached by people trying to sell something. But the heat can be managed with hydration/shade/breaks and people on the street respect a good old “no gracias” so don’t let either stop you from planning your journey there.
Overall, it was a great adventure that I’m glad was possible. The historical, natural, and artistic beauty in Cartagena is around every corner, sometimes harshly contrasted with the glaring poverty in the area. With the pictures here I hope to capture the intrigue, sights, and spirit of Colombia in all it has to offer. Thank you for taking the time to look, I appreciate your support!
