Voyage of Discovery 3

"It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old,  they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Today we visit another UNESCO World Heritage Site - and quite a contrast to Blaenafon!  It's Cartagena - the Colombian one, named after the Spanish one.  Basically a walled city founded in 1533 as an outpost of Empire for Spain, with solid defences against pirate attacks - including Drake no doubt, who was known in these parts as a notorious  pirate and illicit slave trader.  It was a key port for exporting Peruvian silver to Spain and for the import of African slaves, not exactly a great foundation to build on, but that's the nature of Empire.  Today it's better known for pharmaceuticals and tourism.  Oh, nearly forgot, Colombian flower exports to the US are over $1.3 billion too.

We decided on another independent shore excursion, if a little tentative given the reputation of Colombia in the Western media and the cautionary note in the information from the cruise line.  As soon as we left the terminal we were pounced upon by taxi drivers and tour guides - all very friendly but possibly a bit overwhelming for some.  We got together with another couple to share a taxi into the town, not that far but probably a 30 minute walk so not recommended for us as we planned to hoof it around town anyway.  For all my ill-informed speculation about what the place may be like, the old walled city is delightful, welcoming place for a tourist - if a little "enthusiastic" to encourage us to part with our cash.

I'd planned on a carriage ride around the town first, to get our bearings - but the first ones we came across weren't interested.  With the cruise ships in port they are booked out until 4pm!  Fortunately a local approached K - "come and see the emerald shop".  No thanks, I'm looking for a carriage.  "No problem, follow me"...  And so the four of us head off through the narrow side streets following a complete stranger who occasionally disappears, then reappears and beckons us to follow.  Next thing we know there's a horse and carriage, he'll be our guide for an hour and a price is agreed.  Easy when you don't know how.

The city was still waking up when we did our tour, the streets relatively quiet but preparing for another bustling day.  Our tour over, we pay the driver and our "guide" takes the girls to the emerald shop while I wander around getting photos and sampling street fare.

We part company with the other couple, our "guide" has arranged to take them across the bay to a beach, while we opted to wander around the old city.  It's a lovely maze of streets on a medieval scale with overhanging balconies and shaded colonnaded plazas.  More passengers from the ships have arrived and some streets are now clogged with "carriage jams", queues of carriages sedately crawling around the side streets in monotonous lines with rather bored looking occupants.  There's plenty of life in the place now, the city has woken up and there's plenty of activity, from the street entertainers, juice vendors and gaily dressed Carmen Miranda's with fruit salads on their heads.  There are occasional reminders -  a block here, a gallows there - of a darker past, when the Inquisition terrorised the Empire in their relentless search for witches.  But today it's a real tourist attraction and I'm so glad I've visited here, a real gem of a place.