Cartagena was a surprise. Everything I know about Cartagena, Columbia I learned from the movie Romancing in the Stone (Kathleen turner and Michael Douglas, 1984) or from CNN reports on Columbian drug lords.
Its poor reputation was not improved by things I had heard from crew members who had been there, mostly relating to crime.
So why on earth was our ship making this miserable stop?
Because Cartagena is beautiful.
It has two primary attractions, the old city and the fort. The fort is by far the biggest stone military installation I have ever seen. I have been to castles around the world, and this fort out sizes them all by many times. It is huge. I did not have time to more than drive by it, so its grand size is all I can comment on.
The old city was an architectural delight in a style I will call brilliant new world fusion, emphasis on bright colors and architectural elements from wherever the builder felt like.
The result was ornate wooden balconies hanging below tile roofs and above hard stone walls. Somehow it all melded together into a Mediterranean-style warmth.
It was so perfect and so attractive, even in being random, that when someone said “This is like Disneyland” I understood what they meant. It was perfect, bright and colorful.
There were certain consistencies. The natural color of wood was prized and the ornate posts of the wood balconies were all the same. The colors, while of every element of the rainbow, were all equally bright. Bougainville of every color seemed to climb some portion of every building.
(I love sundials.)
I get in trouble with my co-workers regularly for saying, "It looks just like Santa Barbara." But the next picture really does look just like Santa Barbara.
In fact, it makes me think of the Wells Fargo Building on Figeroa and Anacapa, in Santa Barbara. After taking the picture, I tried to find something to prove that it is actually not in Santa Barbara, but I couldn't. So you will have to take my word on it.
All in all, Cartagena goes on my list of places I am glad I have been to, would like to go to again, but will not be a singular destination point, unless the politics change.
Cool: The beauty and surprise of Cartagena
Stupid: The politics and crime that prevent it from being the glorious destination its beauty deserves.
1 comment:
I totally understand the feeling that everything reminds you of Santa Barbara. I kept saying that in Auckland and the east coast of Australia, but I guess that was more because of the climate than the architecture.
Thanks for the pics! Especially the one of the Wells Fargo!
:^)
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