Day 6: Cartagena, Columbia, S.A.


We had the "best" time in Cartagena...I'll get to it in a minute.

Cartagena is a really interesting town.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It has almost one million population.  There is a huge contrast between the old and new parts of town.  30 years ago the new part of town did not exist.  The government wanted to develop the new so they gave everyone who moved into a new condo, 20 years of no taxes. The new part sprung up almost overnight.

The old part is famous for its cobbled streets, plazas, very old buildings and tons of street salespeople
hawking lots of trinkets.  200 years ago they build 7 miles of stone walls around the city for protection.  The country is named for Christopher Columbus (and he has a huge statue) but he never made it to Columbia. 

Simon Bolivar was the hero of the country as he freed them from the Spanish.  There is a big statue and a park honoring him.  Juan Valdez is also a local hero.  You can find him on TV hawking coffee.

The tour brochure said that after we had a walking tour of Cartagena we were to get a 2 hour cruise through the Inner Bay.  It was to be a sightseeing boat ride.  It wasn't a sightseeing boat ride.  It was "Party Time".  They had a band, 2 dancing girls, free drinks and by the time the boat ride was over, everyone was up singing and dancing.  As we exited the boat, everyone exclaimed that they had great fun.  If you come this way, you have to sign up for this specific tour.  You won't be sorry.





Old town street scene.

The new cartagena.

95% of the world's emeralds come from Columbia.

Mark is up dancing and it is only 11 AM.
Linda takes a spin on the dance floor.



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