We stayed at Hyatt Regency in Cartagena in a high rise building by the beach. The view from the place was wonderful.
As we walked along the beach, we found many beach scenery, including the sunset.
Cartagena's Old City is filled with its maze of cobbled alleys and has several volcanic beaches. Restaurants and open-air cafes abound on the lively coastline with superb cuisine and fish fresh from the sea.
We went to a Mexican restaurant, Entre Cuates as recommended by Alejandra and it was fabulous! The ocean view was breath-taking and the foods were delicious. Totilla soap, calamari tacos and octopus dish were all excellent! After that, however, we both had food coma for a while. We checked into Hyatt Regency Cartagena, a top quality hotel with a fabulous bay view. We collapsed and took a power nap. How refreshing!
We ended up going to the same restaurant again because their foods were really good.
We went to the walled city by bus in the evening. There we had a pleasant surprise of riding horse carriages to peruse the city alleys. For a 20 minute ride, we were able to acquire a bird's eye view of the city.
We were given a free time and Kristin and I walked around the area to the extent of almost getting lost, but we eventually found the gathering place of Plaza de San Diego and had a beer over Peruvian style mariscos. There were a lot of activities going on in the plaza.
Palenques are known to be the first people who have become freed from their slavery and decided to live together, preserving their African culture. They have also developed their own language mixing five languages. They continue wearing the African bright-colored attires even to date.
In addition to Cartagena's designation as the UNESCO World Heritage made in 1984, Palenques were also designated as the UNESCO heritage in 2005 for their vivid color culture and unique language preserved to this date.
At the walled city, we walked through the multicolored houses and buildings of the Old City of Cartagena. Along the alleys were houses and buildings that contrasted colonial style buildings with wooden verandas and republic style buildings with concrete verandas.
We visited San Pedro Claver Sanctuary and Church built in the mid-17th century. San Pedro Claver was a priest who helped and baptized hundreds of thousands of slaves left behind by the slave traders due to their illness. He gave them their baptism names for their new life. He was a forefather of many slaves to start a new life in Cartagena. At the church was his skeleton visible in the coffin.
In front of the Sanctuary and the Church is the Plaza that showed a fantastic signature scenery of Cartagena's color and architecture.
We proceeded to the city's colonial district beginning at Bolivar Park shaded by large trees and a statue of the great Liberator in the middle. Surrounding the square is the Gold Museum, which exhibits its fine collection of archaeological objects dating back to the pre-Colombian period. The visit continued to Santo Domingo Cathedral.
The colonial houses had doors with four types of symbols depending on their vocation, which also represented their social status. Iguanas represented their relationship with the royalty, lions military power, hands clergyman and sea creatures merchants. How interesting!
We passed by the house of the famous Nobel Prize Laureate novelist, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The Cartagena local guide and I were wearing the same colorful hat that is unique to the coastal areas of Colombia. I look not too shabby.
We visited the Emerald Museum and learned about the history of emerald mining and production in Colombia.
We also participated in the optional Emerald Jewelry Workshop. We learned the art of jewelry making from trained craftsmen at FEJOCAR, a private non-profit jewelry school. Using .925 sterling silver and raw emeralds we created a few sets of jewelry.
These are my products made during the jewelry making class. Not bad at all...?
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Upon completion of the class, we received a diploma and one piece of jewelry that we designed.
On Sunday, we went to a church, expecting an English service, but the English translation service took place at 9:00am and we ended up attending Spanish-speaking worship service. But it was still beneficial for us to experience the Spanish speaking worship service.
There were other optional tours, including a birth watching at the Colombian National Aviary. Apparently, it is the second biggest aviary in Latin America, and sixth in the world with more than 1,750 birds, representing 135 species.
At the last night, we joined the group for the farewell dinner with our fellow travelers. We took a selfie with Alejandra and said goodbye to all.
The following morning, we left Cartagena to return to Medellin for a total of 13 days of stay. The sunrise seen from the hotel room was showing our way back to Medellin.
The tour of Colombian cities was informative and exciting since we are considering Medellin or Pereira as a place for us to live in retirement. - Jeffrey
