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Cartagena Trip Report
Topic Started: Mar 16 2018, 05:37 AM (150 Views)
jon-nyc
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Cheers
Ok, this was last Thanksgiving but, as they say, better late than never.

We did a quick (5 day) trip to Cartagena, on the north coast of Colombia. It's actually a good sized and modern city, but the attraction is the 'old city' which is maybe a square mile of colonial era buildings surrounded by a wall built in the 1500s to keep out pirates and the fvcking British.


This first picture isn't mine (the rest are). You can see the 'old city' and part of the new city in the background. (a lot more of the new part is off to the left of what's pictured).

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Here's a close up of the wall, on the north side by the sea, you can see the 'new city' in the background. This we took standing on the wall, its really 15+ feet high, here you just see the parapet.

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2 more of the wall, better for scale:

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My favorite people on the wall:

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The boy standing on the parapet freaking out mom.

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This beautiful building on the right is where we stayed. We rented an apartment. Note the street ends just north of the apartment, you can see the wall there.

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The apartment had a small footprint but was vertical. Three floors of living space and on the fourth floor a balcony. Here's the view from our balcony.

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The first thing we did after getting there was go shopping. That's always a fun part of international trips, checking out funky items in the local grocery store.

Like this bread, actually a Mexican brand. Excellent for those who like their Bimbos white.

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I'm guessing these aren't for export:

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Now the real reason people visit Cartagena. The beautiful streetscapes. I'll just post a bunch, no descriptions needed.

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I caught Rachel in this one.

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This is actually the courtyard of a high end hotel:

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Second set of photos coming shortly.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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George K
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Finally
Fantastic. When I grow up, I wanna travel like you.
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jon-nyc
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Rachel and the boy:

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The boy's standard posing face.


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A picture of a picture being taken. Every parent will recognize this 'pose'. Some threats and/or bribery eventually got him to stand up straight and smile.

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This is in one of the plazas. The same sculptor did the similar, larger, and more famous sculpture outside the Galleria in Milan.

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My son's least favorite restaurant:

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(it says 'We don't have WiFi. Talk amongst yourselves.')


And then, Brooklyn. Because, of course.

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Finally, on Thanksgiving day we took a day trip on boat our to an island resort, maybe an hour off the coast of Cartagena.

The first photo is leaving the port.

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Further out in the deep blue. That's my lovely bride in front of me.

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Where we spent the day. (beach off to the right):

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That face again:

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I posted this following picture on Thanksgiving day, some might remember. The other thing we did on the day trip was go to an aquarium. The boy got to do this:

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In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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bachophile
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HOLY CARP!!!
wonderful pics

kikes have great big balls
"I don't know much about classical music. For years I thought the Goldberg Variations were something Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg did on their wedding night." Woody Allen
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
What an absolutely beautiful place. And that blue sky, wow.

The boy is gonna have big feet. Such a cutie :)
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Awesome!
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Copper
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jon-nyc
Mar 16 2018, 05:37 AM

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This made me think of this street in Naples, FL

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.0732405,-81.6931654,3a,75y,29.6h,85.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNfPkiI2gpR8j0izywq-H9g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Copper
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Shortstop

Same colors, similar architecture

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The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Friday
Senior Carp
Your apartment looked lovely. It's always nice to have a view.

How was the food?
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xenon
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Senior Carp
Great pictures
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Tav D
Junior Carp
Nice pics! Were you ever nervous about security? I was in Acapulco and Mazatlan years ago. I wouldn’t set foot in those places today.
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jon-nyc
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I'm pretty comfortable in Mexico, i used to live there and I've been to both those places, Acapulco maybe half a dozen times, as it's only a couple hours from where I lived. Of course the drug violence wasn't as bad when I lived there (90s), but I've been back with the wife and boy in 2009, 2010, and 2012.

Cartagena I wasn't worried about at all. Colombia is much safer than it used to be. I actually worked in Bogota briefly in the late 90s, when it more dicey. Of course I didn't have a family with me then.


We were in Lima over xmas (trip report coming soon) and have already booked Brazil for June.


None of it concerns me too much, but I have a pretty good feel for where to go and not to go, and when.


In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Rainman
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Fulla-Carp
Jon, do you speak Spanish?
Curious how easy it is to get around without being able to speak the language let alone the local dialect (or Portuguese I guess, in Brazil).
Do the locals "like" American tourists, outside of those that make money off of tourism?

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jon-nyc
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My Spanish and Portuguese were both excellent in their day, like, I've spent time fully immersed in work environments in both languages, including writing. I've even stood up in auditoriums and given presentations in each language. And I've had girlfriends who only spoke one or the other. Of course I've slipped a bit over time. My Spanish is definitely better, it so easy to use even here (I've pretty much always had cleaning ladies and/or nanny that spoke to me in just Spanish) but Portuguese comes back pretty quickly when I'm down there (last visit 2012, I think).


Cartagena with just english would be fine, you'd find yourself gesturing to vendors and downscale establishments, but they're used to that and would have experience with enough words (like prices) to get you through. All the upscale establishments would be fine with english.

I didn't feel any serious hostility toward tourists in Cartagena. Its touristy enough to have too many street vendors and you feel the tiny daggers when you say no the second and third time to their repeated pitches. But nothing major.

In other parts of Colombia tourists are more of a curiosity, they don't have enough to form resentments.







In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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brenda
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..............
Lovely pics and lovely family, Jon. :)

The old walled cities are very fun. How great that you could stay in the historic part of the city. That's the best.

And yes, tell about the foods you enjoyed there.
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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taiwan_girl
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Fulla-Carp
those are great pictures! Really looks like a neat place to visit. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I have also heard good things about Medillen, Columbia. A friend told me that 15-20 years, it was the center of the drugs in South America. But, I guess now, it is quite a nice place to visit.

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The first thing we did after getting there was go shopping. That's always a fun part of international trips, checking out funky items in the local grocery store.


When I was growing up, the most popular toothpaste was one called "Darkie", and it had a picture of a black person on the box with big bright white teeth. Nobody thought there was anything wrong or offensive with it, as most people had not seen a black person before. The name has since been changed and the picture is different. Below is the one from Thailand, but the package was the same in Taiwan, just with different writing.

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rich galassini
Junior Carp
Great pics. Jon.

I love where you stayed and it looks like a beautiful place to visit. Add one to my bucket list.
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