Northern South America Travel Diary

2012

Northern South America Travel Diary 2012

 

Although still overcast, Bogotá was a little brighter this morning than it had been for most of my visit, so I took the opportunity to have breakfast on the 17th floor of my hotel.  Yesterday I had chosen to eat on the ground floor (well, not ON the floor, you know what I mean!), and the street scenery outside had been a dismal mix of a car-clogged street backed with an overdose of graffiti on the walls of the buildings.  With higher clouds this morning, there were reasonable views across Bogotá, a city which I have learnt is far more attractive from a distance than close up.  The top row of four photos in the “bonus” photos below show aspects of Bogotá this morning.

My flight to Cartagena was scheduled to depart at 12:30 pm, which meant catching the 10:00 am shuttle bus from the hotel.  This departure time did not allow time for any meaningful morning exploration, but it did give sufficient time for a more leisurely start than normal.

The drive to the airport took a little less than half an hour, following the same graffitied expressway that had been my introduction to Bogotá a few days ago.  My flight today was with LAN Colombia, and everything went fairly smoothly – the check-in was quick and courteous, security was relaxed and speedy, and there were some good views of the runway action to look at while I waited for boarding to commence.  The flight lasted an hour and ten minutes in a new Airbus A320, and it was smooth and comfortable.  The in-flight refreshment comprised only a cup of coffee and a bag of mixed nuts, but the quantity of nuts in the bag must have been six or eight times greater than anything I have seen for decades on flights in the US, maybe even ten times – which was all it took to make me a very happy passenger.

Cartagena Airport is very basic, being one of those aerodromes where passengers walk across the tarmac from the plane to the terminal (which I really like – it makes it much easier to catch the plane’s registration!).  Upon disembarking the plane, it was immediately obvious that I had returned to the hot, humid climate I had experienced in Paramaribo and Georgetown, which of course was not surprising as I was back at sea level on the Caribbean coastline.

After a short (4 kilometres) taxi ride, I was in my hotel and checking the weather forecast.  The forecast for tomorrow is not good – thunderstorms overnight and for most of tomorrow, especially in the afternoon.  Although the weather this afternoon was overcast, the clouds were fairly high and the chance of precipitation seemed low.  On that basis, I decided that I would start my exploration of Cartagena’s old city centre this afternoon rather than waiting for tomorrow.

I have broken my normal ‘rule’ of choosing a hotel in a central location, but fortunately the trip to the old town was not too far – just under nine kilometres – and taxis are cheap and plentiful in Cartagena.  I was soon driving past the low city walls that surround Cartagena’s old town, eagerly anticipating my walk.

As background information, Cartagena was founded by the Spanish as a port on the Caribbean in 1533.  It was through Cartagena that much of the gold and precious stones plundered from Spain’s South American colonies was shipped across the Atlantic back to Spain.  Because of the wealth passing through it, Cartagena attracted pirates with frustrating frequency, and during the 16th century alone it lay under siege on five occasions, most famously in 1586 by Sir Francis Drake.  It was because of those sieges that Cartagena’s fortifications were built, including the wall that remains intact today.  Today, the city has over a million people, although there is no sense in the old town centre that this is a city the size of Adelaide or Dallas.

My focus of walking this afternoon was simply to get a feel of the old town.  I deliberately resisted the temptation to go into a museum or two because I thought that might be a better thing to do tomorrow if the weather is wet.

Describing Cartagena, my guidebook says: “A fairy-tale city of romance, legends and sheer beauty, Cartagena de Indias is the most beautiful city in Colombia, with cobbled alleys, enormous balconies shrouded in bougainvillea and massive churches casting their shadows across leafy plazas”.  That is a great description of what I saw during my walk this afternoon (with the exception of the shadows; it was a bit too overcast for any shadows to be seen).

I spent a couple of hours walking the streets and the walls of old Cartagena before heading back to the hotel.  Rather than trying to describe what I saw, I will let some photos speak for themselves.

I hope you enjoy them.






Day 13 - Bogotá to Cartagena

Friday

6 July 2012

Today’s extra bonus images