Cartagena, Colombia

After leaving the Dominican Republic, our next port of call was Cartagena in Colombia. This was my first time to Colombia, as a visit in Jan 2022 was cancelled as the ship wasn't allowed in.

Was out on deck just before 7 am as we were approaching the large bay of Cartagena de Indias. 

 The modern skyscrapers again looked like Panama City. It was more built up than I expected. It is a major port on the Caribbean. It is named after Cartagena in Spain and was founded 1533. Saw pelicans and gulls and terns. The cruise port is on an island opposite the city.

Monument to the Virgin -

Leaving the cruise terminal you walk through the Port Oasis eco park. This was a wonderful place and my next blog will be just on the park. Outside the terminal gates, I negotiated a taxi with 3 other people and this took us into town. The traffic was awful and it took ages. We passed the fort on the hill. This along with the port and other monuments make up the UNESCO World Heritage status, "Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena". "Situated in a bay in the Caribbean Sea, Cartagena has the most extensive fortifications in South America. A system of zones divides the city into three neighbourhoods: San Pedro, with the cathedral and many Andalusian-style palaces; San Diego, where merchants and the middle class lived; and Gethsemani, the 'popular quarter'."

The taxi dropped us off in the centre and we started to walk around. 

Plaza de La Trinidad (Trinity Square) and Iglesia de la Trinidad (Church of the Holy Trinity) in Getsemaní. The declaration of independence took place here in 1811. The church dates to 1643 -

Getsemaní used to be a rough and dangerous area, a slum, but now it is full of culture with colour everywhere, lots of backpacker hostels and trendy bars and hotels.

Our next stop was Centenario Park, between Getsemani and the city walls. This is in the heart of the city and I was amazed to find there are sloths and tamarins here. It is not sure how they got here, they must have been brought in by people. According to Shoestring Safari, the tamarins are of 2 species, the white-footed and cotton-top. The sloths are brown-throated sloths. There are guides in the park that can show visitors the animals and they are also there to protect them. However it was easy to locate the animals as there was a large group of humans below them, pointing cameras. My photos aren't that good as the sloths were high in the trees and the sun was bright -

We then headed over to the city walls and the main gate, Puerta del Reloj-

Inside the city walls, the buildings are mostly all renovated and very colourful. It reminded me of Penang or Malacca in Malaysia.

After a lot of wandering we were in need of a beer -

Then after a quick look at some shops we got a taxi back to the terminal and the Eco Park.