I can’t say how many times we have returned to the Old City in our time here in Cartagena so far. And I am certain we will visit again in the next few days. It’s big enough to present a new street or area to see each time we pass through. There are plazas where …
Author Archives: janie.weeks
Bazurto
Cartagena is a city of three rather elongated-shaped areas that might appear to be two closely-spaced islands and a section on the mainland. The old colonial walled city and fortress, The Walled City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located on a peninsula on the island of Getsemaní. The city sprawls over the island of …
Bocagrande, Cartagena
Yesterday, Thursday, we took that little un-air-conditioned bus that passes our apartment to the main station where thought we might pick up a city bus to see the newer, more modern, and certainly more affluent area of Cartagena called Bocagrande. It is on an extremely elongated piece of land between two waters. The Bahia of …
Cartagena, La Heroica
Old town Cartagena was the Spanish banking center for South America in the period from the 1500s to the 1800s. Gold mined and stolen from the Incas was shipped from Cartagena and later Colon, Panama, back to the Spanish monarchy to pay off debts and stock Spanish war chests. Because there was so much gold …
La Playa – Cartagena
As we made our final approach toward Rafael Nunez International Airport, the view from the window told us this place would be different from any we’ve visited on this adventure. The land is flat and the vegetation is primarily brown. As we departed the plane onto the tarmac, a brisk wind, blinding sunlight and intense …
Leaving Medellin
We are leaving Medellin but not forgetting. Some of the good tidbits worth recalling: Good packaging – The detergent bottle with a top dispenser – just put your sponge or cleaning clothe on top and press down on the spring-loaded dispenser and just enough to wash dishes from a meal for two come out on …
Cramming It All In
We are in our last few days here in Medellin. Check-marks are being placed on our list of important to-dos. After our fantastic, over-the-top paragliding experience everything else might seem downhill or a bit anticlimactic. No, oh no! It all was still fun, exciting, and educational. El Castillo Museo This elegant castle was built in …
Best Adventure Yet
The car picked us up at 9 am, right on time. We drove through heavy city traffic toward the mountains. It’s doubly hard for drivers here. Not only do they have to drive defensively among so many cars, but motorcycles that almost outnumber the cars, dash in and out, create new lanes of traffic, cut …
Completing the Walking Tour
Of course, we looked for the phone first thing today. Find My Phone app said it was on Carrera 50, 53-54, a legitimate address here. What could we lose? We knew the area. We were just there yesterday. Maybe the owner of the establishment would like a reward instead of having to deal with a …
Self-Guided Walking Tour of Medellin
We got a bit of a late start and the weather looked threatening, still, we set out. We needed to restock pesos. We are using more cash here than in Panama because the restaurants we seek most often cater to locals with local food. Most do not accept credit cards. Plus what seems like a …