(Drivebycuriosity) - My wife and I are just back from Cartagena, our second visit of the Colombian harbor town, which lays on the south coast of the Caribbean City. The place is an undiscovered jewel. It seems the city is neglected by American & European tourists because of the violent Colombian history. But the country has changed and got peaceful (here my travel report colombia) Again we had a lot of pleasure in Cartagena.
The Caribbean city has a population of about 900,000, roughly the same
as San Francisco. Parts of the city look like Manhattan, thanks to a
parade of new & ambitious hotel towers set along the coastline. Cartagena is build around a bay which is used as harbor.
There is a historic old town build in
colonial style and surrounded by a city wall, which once should protect from the pirates who frequently raided the Caribbean coast. Cartagena's walled city
and fortress are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and looks very colorful.
I enjoyed the flamboyant stiles & colors of the historical streets, place & buildings, but otherwise the old town is too touristy for my taste.
We were attracted by the pleasant climate. Even that the tropical city is close to the equator we didn`t suffer the
steamy tropical heat I had experienced in Singapore at the same time of
the year. Early December we enjoyed temperatures mostly in the upper 80s F (low 30s C) and a low humidity and strong breezes made the climate even more
comfortable.We didn´t experience any rain and the sky was mostly bright. Fortunately there were no mosquitoes, bugs, moths and other insects who
are typical for such an environment. I seems they had fought a
successful war against the bugs. The flip side is they I didn`´t spot
any butterflies. There are no geckos who feed from flies. Instead we
spotted flocks of majestic Frigatebird birds who were sailing in the
sky.
On our visits we stayed in 2 hotels, both on the beach. Above pictures from Hyatt Regency, one of the hotel towers on Bocagrande, a semi island which protects the harbor from the open sea. The name means "big mouth" and refers to the wide entry into the Cartagena bay where the harbor is located.
Staying there was a perfect escape from New York´s cold winter climate and a place to relax, to read & to meditate.
Above a shot form Bocagrande, which has only 3 avenues, running parallel along the water front.
The dry weather allowed spotting perfect sunsets and I indulged into the the color plays of the dusk.
Staying there was fun. Someday day we might come back.
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