Built high on a hill, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a commanding sight across a canal from the walled portion of Cartagena, the old city. Originally built in 1536, and expanded in 1657, then again in 1763, the fort was the site of several battles over the centuries. At one point, the fort fell to the forces of a French privateer Baron de Pointis.

As you can see by the opening photo, the climb to the top is challenging for those of a certain age. Take your time as you climb. If you didn’t bring water with you, consider purchasing a bottle of cold water from one of the many of the vendors who surround the base of the fort. Fortunately, they apparently aren’t allowed to follow you up the ramp. Only a handful of vendors, strategically stationed along the way, offer any goods, none of them refreshments that I could see. I suspect there is some kind of permit/fee paid by some vendors to gain a choice space on the uphill climb.

According to Wikipedia, some 200 soldiers called the fort their home at first. It appears the expansions made it considerably larger and that it could handle far more than that in later times. The fort is now a museum and is a very popular attraction judging by the number of people visiting on this warm, sunny morning.

The fort contains a labyrinth of tunnels. Though the tunnels are generally closed to visitors, one entrance at the top is open to walk into the complex. It exits at the next lower level. Soldiers could move at will between the 68 gun emplacements as necessary.

At the back side of the fort, we could see a large compound high on a hill above the fort. When asked, the tour guide said it is a monastery. Now that I am writing the post, I find many references to the highest hill in Cartagena, some 500 feet (162 m) above the fort. The hill is known as La Popa. More references to La Popa reference a convent, not a monastery. So, it seems to be a convent by popular opinion in a random Google search.

The views from the top of the fort demonstrate why the fort is in such a desirable location. Built high on that hill, it provided the city’s defenders with a commanding view of the area.  It was well worth the stop. My travel advice: Pick a morning stop if it’s a warm day. That walk up the ramp is worth hundreds of steps on your fitness tracker. Be sure and keep hydrated. I submit for your review a collection of images captured during our tour of the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. As always, if your browser supports it, you can click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner

I don’t know what it is about Cartagena, but something in this city clicks with me. Its crowded, narrow streets would be a horror to drive (as witnessed from the side window of our tour bus). Maybe it’s the historic old forts there. Maybe it’s the stone wall that surrounds the city center, built centuries ago as protection from marauding pirates, maybe it’s the movie, “Romancing the Stone.” The opening photo above features a view of the old walled city was captured from the top of the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.

Rest assured, next week we will visit the Castillo, but this week, we focus on our trip through the old city. In 2013, we passed the fort with but a description from the tour bus driver. But I digress… Our tour guide walked us through the central city for awhile, pointing out some historic buildings, then left us to our own agendas. We wandered the city square and surrounds along with several dozen other cruise ship passengers on similar tours. It was a hot day in the early afternoon and we found a small coffee shop where we ordered some cold drinks. My drink of choice, a pineapple, banana, coconut drink. Very tasty.In the photo above, note the photograph (slightly out of focus) on the wall behind the drink. That is ostensibly Jaun Valdez, the Colombian coffee grower of Colombian Coffee. Many readers of a certain age may remember the commercials of Juan Valdez and his burro loaded with sacks of coffee. The character has been featured in Colombian coffee commercials since 1956. Juan is a fictional character and the photo on the wall is appropriate as this coffee shop is one of the many in the Juan Valdez Coffee Shop chain. There are franchise coffee shops even in the United States, though I confess I’ve never seen one before.

We were “assaulted” by many vendors on the streets as we navigated the collection of small shops in the downtown tourist area.Though the subject of this photo is the vendor, the tall balconied houses brought back memories of our earlier visit to Cartagena. Then we toured the city in a horse-drawn wagon and I captured several of those balconies ablaze with plants in bloom. You can check out those photos and read about that excursion here.

We were but a short walk from the Plaza de San Diego. I spent some time watching the gentleman in the photo above feed the pigeons. They were obviously used to eating out of his hand. I must have watched him for 15 minutes or so, each handful of food being quickly devoured by a portion of the many pigeons gathered around him.

While we were in the plaza, we didn’t escape the throng of cruise ship guests, but the old homes and shops in the shadow of that beautiful tower made up for the throngs of people “in our way.” We had plenty of time to explore and by the time we were to meet the tour guide for our ride back to the ship, we were ready to enjoy the luxury of our air conditioned bus as it careened through the maze of traffic and narrow streets. I submit for your review a gallery of images captured while downtown and invite you to click on an image to enlarge it and scroll through the gallery (if your browser supports that function.) Next week we visit the fort. See you then.

John Steiner

Two weeks ago, Cellpic Sunday featured a shot of the high rise buildings at the Bocagrande area of Cartagena. On the way to the dock, cruise ships enter the harbor through Bocachica, a much smaller entrance to the harbor area than Bocagrande. Along the way, I snapped a photo of what looks like an old fort. It didn’t take me much research to discover that this fortress is the Castille de San Luis de Bocachica. The original fort started construction in 1648 but was damaged in a battle with the French in 1697, then destroyed completely in 1741 by the British. By 1759, the fort was rebuilt on the same site and, like Castille de San Felipe, is now a major tourist attraction in Cartagena.

About the photo: This image was captured on my Samsung S6 cellphone. It was processed via Adobe Lightroom and Skylum’s Luminar 3. In most browsers you can click on an image to enlarge it. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simply that the image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner

The walled city of Cartagena, our last excursion stop before arriving in Miami, was founded in 1543. By the end of the 16th century, the city was surrounded by a wall as it became a trade center and a target for pirates. Though the walled city is still surrounded with the fortifications built then, many openings have since been created to support the free flow of the over a million inhabitants of the city, not to mention the thousands of tourists who visit each year.

These days, a significant number of residents live in the Bocagrande section of the city. This upscale neighborhood also contains the most expensive and exclusive hotels in the city. This part of the city is certainly high end where skyscrapers line the “Playa de Bocagrande”, a long, thin beach area. The largest skyscraper hotels are found near the beach. For those who want a ‘beach experience’, Bocagrande is the place to visit. The history and culture of old Cartagena, though, is found in the architecture, narrow streets, and historical sites of the walled portion of the city. From personal experience riding a large tour bus, the traffic in mid-day Cartagena can only be described as “impossible and impassible.”

About the photo: Two images were necessary to capture the entirety of Bocagrande. This panoramic image came from my Samsung S6 cellphone, the images merged via Adobe Lightroom’s Panorama mode and then transferred to Aurora 2019 for final processing. In most browsers, you can click on the image to enlarge it for a better view. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple, the image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner

This week, Jen H. asks us to share a wish. Her visit to Japan acquainted her to the ema, a Shinto shrine upon which people can share their hopes and dreams. You can read the entire challenge post here. For my entry, I chose a clock tower inside the walled city of Cartagena. Having a very comfortable lifestyle in my retirement, at this stage in my life, my wish is for time. Time to travel, time to view more of this wonderful world and time to enjoy being around family and friends.

One of the precepts of Shinto is not to forget that the world is one great family. I wish for time and health to all my friends wherever you may travel.

John Steiner

Somewhere in Latin America.

This week, Michelle W. asks us to share an image that brings out the Fun! in life. You can read the entire challenge post here. Of course, virtually all of my pics were taken for the fun of it, however in this sampling, I chose to select some photos of fun activities. The photo above features a clown that hopped on our horse-drawn carriage and whistled his way to a photo and a tip.  The story of our day trip to Cartagena, Colombia can be found here. 

On the beach at Mazatlan, there are many avenues for fun. In the image above, this group of intrepid tourists will find their fun in the surf and sea. You can check out a gallery of fun things to do on the beach at Mazatlan here.

If you pick the right time to visit the Pearl of the Pacific, you can enjoy Mazatlan’s Carnaval celebration, one of the best in the world. Check out the gallery of images I captured during Carnaval Mazatlan 2015 here.

Fun is where you make it.

John

Cartagena, Colombia

This week, my entry in the photo challenge takes us to South America. Krista challenges us to share our interpretation of “enveloped”. You can read her entire challenge post here. In scanning my library of photos, I came upon a handful of images, mostly of cloud-shrouded mountains. Some of those images are interesting, and I may just do a second post featuring them if time permits. In any case, when I got to the folder containing images of Cartagena, I immediately knew the direction of my challenge entry. According to the online dictionary, dictionary.com, envelop means to surround, cover, wrap or sheath. In the photo above, our carriage is flanked by a long protective wall.

Due to an accident of geography, Cartagena grew and developed into a wealthy trading port in the 16^th century. The town was so wealthy; it became the target of many a sea captain flying the Jolly Mary (skull and crossbones) flag. Fending off pirates became much easier when the townspeople built a wall enveloping the city. Openings in the wall were provided for cannon to fire upon the pirate ships. A defensive point is depicted in the photo above.

Openings in the wall were protected by huge wooden gates and guarded; you could call Cartagena an early “gated community.” Today the gates are gone and roads freely pass through the openings as can be seen in the background of the photo above. Modern-day Cartagena has long since outgrown the confines of the walled city and modern defenses protect the city these days. But the wall still remains, a historical symbol of a time when pirates ruled the seas. More photos of our visit to Cartagena are here.

John Steiner

Cartagena, Colombia

It was 1984 when I saw Joan Wilder travel to Cartagena Colombia to rescue her sister from kidnappers. With the help of Jack Colton, Joan has an adventure in Colombia that is worthy of the protagonist in the novels she writes. Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas and a cast of characters first introduced me to the port city of Cartagena in the movie, Romancing the Stone. No other movie has enticed me to visit a foreign country like this movie did. I did not think I would ever see Cartagena until my wife, Lynn, and I started planning a Panama Canal cruise.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Cartagena, at the top of South America, to be the first stop on our way from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In typical cruise ship fashion, our stay there would only be a single day. What could I see in a single day that would provide the essence of this centuries old port city? Should we find our way to town and take a random tour operator, hope they could speak English well enough to give me a tour of historic sites? Should we get on a cruise ship recommended tour bus, ride around the city and listen to the canned narration of a bi-lingual tour guide, eventually to be dropped off at the local tourist marketplace for guided shopping? Should we get advice from someone as to where to find the heart of historic Cartagena, find a random taxi driver to take us there, and wander around taking photos, hoping that we would find our way back to the ship in time for our 4:00 PM departure?

I dislike bus tours because I like to be able to take photos as I go. While the narration is interesting, the view outside tinted bus windows is not conducive to good photography. Yet, with only a few hours available, we really didn’t have many options. We decided on a short bus tour, culminating in a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. We would get some historical background via the narrator on the bus, and then ride through the Ciudad Amurallada (Walled City) in an open air carriage. Though there would be no stops for photos, however, at least in the open air carriage, there would be no bus windows to detract from the color quality of the photos.

With so little time on shore, and on our first visit to the South American continent, a snapshot view of the city would be the best we could do. I submit for your approval, my photo essay of historic Cartagena, Colombia.

Cartagena is an old city, founded in 1533. The village grew quickly as it was in an opportune location for the Spanish to stopover in a protected bay, after plundering and pillaging the South American natives. The town grew rich and became a target for those ne’er-do-wells that flew the Jolly Mary skull and crossbones flag.

The wealthy residents, seeking protection from pirates, built a wall around the city. Apparently the residents didn’t take kindly to having their plunder plundered.  From the inside, the wall doesn’t look very formidable, but it protected the city quite well. Openings in the wall allowed for cannon and other weapons to protect the city.

Today’s Cartagena is a mixture of old and new. Skyscrapers hug the beach in the area known as Bocagrande (Big Mouth), at the edge of the bay. Traffic in the city was bustling and the sights and sounds of a modern metropolis were all around us as we traveled by bus to the old city to rendezvous with our horse and carriage.

 Riding through the city on the carriage allowed for a slow and relaxing tour. Though it was very warm and humid, thanks to provided water, generous application of sunscreen and hats, we were comfortable enough to enjoy the tour. It would not be as pleasant a trip in July. Cartagena is north of the equator, so it is Spring in April, not Fall.

Shortly after departing, a friendly clown hopped on board our carriage. He posed for photos and then, of course, expected a tip. His whistle-voice and friendly manner earned him a couple U.S. dollars. Other clowns that tried to hop on later were politely declined.

As we rode along, horseshoes clip-clopping on the pavement, we enjoyed the fragrant flowers that lined the balconies facing the narrow streets. The majority of homes that we passed were well cared for and their exteriors were painted in bright, vivid tones. Cars seemed to be out of place and horse-drawn carriages fit right in.

We passed several squares, and the entrance to the downtown area, Plaza de los Coches (Carriage Square) is overseen by a large clock tower, the Puerta del Reloj.

 Further along our route, we passed Plaza de la Merced. The centerpiece of the plaza is Teatro Heredia, a beautifully designed theater.

The Walled City is a showpiece of architectural beauty that helps to attract the many conventions and festivals that are scheduled throughout the year.

 The wall, once contiguous, is now broken up with many gates and openings to allow traffic into and out of the city. As we headed toward the exit, in only a few moments, we were sorry the bus would be waiting to whisk us away to the obligatory souvenir mall for 30 minutes of “shopping” before we headed back to the ship.

 John Steiner