A visit to Colombia is not complete without a few days spent in the beautiful coastal town of Cartagena. The big draw is the Spanish-influenced old walled city with narrow cobblestone streets, 400-year-old plazas, brightly colored churches, wooden terraces overflowing with exotic flowers, and stylish, open-air restaurants serving fresh, vibrant cuisine. We were excited to get out and explore the city upon arrival; however, we had to wait about 30min for our hotel room to be ready. Man, our life is so hard…we had to relax by the pool with a couple drinks and some amazing appetizers…fried plantain “boats” filled with mini shrimp in a buttery, avocado sauce.
Our first stop was Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the largest fortress built in the Americas by the Spanish Empire. Construction took place in several phases, beginning in 1656, atop San Lazaro hill, and the primary material was coral mined from the region’s reefs.
After a scorching-hot walk up the ramps to the top, you are rewarded with some incredible views overlooking the city.
The audio guide tour was fantastic and gave an in-depth description and history of the fort as we wandered through it. We learned about the bell tower and the bright red stairs leading up to it. These wooden stairs used to be the only entrance to the old fort, so if invaders ever got too close, the stairs could be burned down to prevent easy access.
We learned about the nearby leper colony and the muddy, mosquito-infested swamp that once was between the fort and the distant Mount Popa, making any invasion of the fort more treacherous.
We learned about the canons and how each one had a name.
On one of the batteries, there were 12 canons lined up in one direction called the 12 Apostles, each with an appropriate apostle name. The fort is huge with 7 defensive units, which intimidated invaders and made it difficult to figure out the best way to penetrate the multi-layer defenses.
Unfortunately, we never learned anything about this guy.
We guess that he is in remembrance of all the people that lost their lives (or body parts) fighting here. If you look closely, you can see that this man has lost a leg, an arm, and an eye.
As the sun was starting to set on our first day in Cartegena, we made our way from the fort to a popular bar, Cafe del Mar, set up on the historic walls around the old town to watch the sunset.
We had a few drinks while enjoying the atmosphere before heading to dinner at a famous restaurant called La Cevicheria. This restaurant was made famous by none other than Anthony Bourdain. Of course we had to stick to our tradition of going to a restaurant highlighted in one of his TV shows. Due to the intimate setting and popularity, we had to wait for awhile for a table. But, hey, just like earlier in the day, we don’t mind waiting when there are good drinks available like the Coco Loco – local Colombian rum, tequila, vodka, lime juice, coconut cream, and coconut water.
The wait was totally worth it as the food lived up to the hype. The ceviche in South America has been amazing with this restaurant leading the way. We shared two spectacular dishes. One had squid, conch, and the fish of the day in coconut and lemon while the other dish had lobster, shrimp, conch, and clams with coconut, mint, and oyster sauce curry with plantain chips.
Our first day in Cartagena was full of history, drinking, and eating. Definitely a winning combination! So, we filled Day 2 with more of the same, but we now took to exploring inside the walls of the old town.
The well-preserved walls, built in the late 16th century, extend 2.5 miles around the historic old town. The main entrance is home to the famous Torre del Reloj (clock tower) finished in 1601.
Behind the beautiful clock tower and across Plaza de los Coches is an arched walkway called Portal de los Dulces. Here I was pumped to find rows of vendors selling traditional Colombian and Cartagena treats. We bought a couple to try immediately and then some to-go for later….because I can never choose just one!
Plantain tortilla with guava and panela (unrefined whole cane sugar)
Colombian cocadas – coconut milk, dulce de leche, and guava
Nearby is another square with a beautiful stone church and interesting iron sculptures.
Two of the busiest squares in old town Cartagena are Plaza de Santo Domingo and Plaza de Bolívar. Santo Domingo square is home to the oldest church in town (built in the 1570s), numerous eateries with umbrellas and tables spilling into the plaza, Palenque women walking around in traditional brightly-colored dresses, and another Botero statue like the ones in Medellin.
Under the palm trees in Plaza de Bolívar stands the iconic statue in honor of the man that liberated South America, Simon Bolívar.
One of the most beautiful churches in town is adjacent to the square.
Our final stop in the old town was the Getsemani neighborhood. Most tourists don’t quite venture this far because it used to be the seedier part of town. But, gentrification is underway, and the area is now home to innovative restaurants and the best clubs in town. This photo captures the drastic change from the well-kept, vine-covered old town to the grittier, urban art side.
Getsemani was where the revolution against Spain began, so there are statues in the main square remembering the individuals that rallied in the streets of this neighborhood. One of the statues is Pedro Romero, who led the revolt in 1811 that was organized in front of the church in this square, Plaza de Trinidad.
In a park built in 1911 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of independence, we caught a glimpse of some local wildlife enjoying the fallen fruit from the mango trees.
Of course, as I mentioned that this neighborhood now has some great restaurants, I have to highlight our cute lunch spot. Praised in multiple news articles and magazines that now grace the entryway to the restaurant, La Cocina de Pepina belongs to one of Colombia’s most well-known chefs, Maria Josefina Yances (or Pepina). This cozy little spot specializes in Colombian cuisine from century-old recipes and techniques. We did a little tapas tasting to get a wider variety of what the restaurant has to offer. Our favorite was the combo of yucca, plantain (green and yellow), and yam balls flavored with butter and sour cream. Used often in Colombian cuisine, we enjoyed tasting the subtle differences between the four.
We also enjoyed Fiambre de Res, a traditional dish of thinly-cut, slow-cooked beef preserved in olive oil and vinegar, and some spare ribs.
After lunch, we headed on a tour outside of town to visit El Totumo to add a little adventure to our weekend full of history and food. El Totumo is a 50-foot-tall active mud volcano located a short drive outside Cartagena. Folklore tells the story of a priest who transformed the active volcano with holy water into this mud pit with therapeutic qualities.
The activity is quite simple. In your swimsuit, you hike up the stairs to the top of the volcano. A ladder leads down into the gray, squishy mud pit. You step in and sink down but never touch the bottom. You just kind of “float”. The locals are there to assist (for a fee, of course). They help you to lie back into the mud as you are trying to get used to the strange feeling and then literally push you around to get you lined up for your massage.
After the brief massage, you get to hang out for a few minutes just “enjoying” the gooey therapeutic mud. The sensation is quite strange. You kind of scoot around often losing control of your legs that may end up flailing behind you or accidentally wrapped around some random stranger. It is quite a production with at least 15-20 people hanging out in the pit at a time.
Afterwards, you climb back out using the ladder, enjoy the beautiful views from the top, and then head to the edge of the lake for a bath where the local ladies help you to get all the mud off.
One more crazy experience to add to the list of all the unique activities we have done around the world this year.
Our time along the Colombian coast was rounded out on our final day with lounging on the beach at the Rosario Islands and eating at one last creative restaurant in old town. Lounging by the ocean and enjoying a frozen cocktail is not a bad way to spend a day.
But, our favorite part of the last day was dinner. Why was dinner so special, you may be wondering? Well, if you follow our blog, you know that we are obsessed with Japanese cuisine. So, we couldn’t help but go to a Japanese-Colombian fusion restaurant called Moshi. Moshi is the sister restaurant of Carmen, the restaurant that we went to in Medellin started by highly-acclaimed chefs. We were a bit nervous that we would be disappointed, given that we were just in Japan. But, this restaurant truly delivered a unique blend of Japanese cuisine with a Colombian flare that was creative and delicious. We even got seated at the special chef’s table after picking the most expensive options on the menu.
We indulged in the 12-course tasting menu with sake and wine pairing. A couple of our favorites:
Seared foie gras sushi with miso-cured egg yolk and tonka bean aioli
Pork belly steam bun with Amazonian tucupi and tamarind ‘hoisin’ and pickled yacon
Rock shrimp with Caribbean crème fraiche and lime-pickled shallot in nori
Even the nigiri course, which definitely didn’t look as pretty as the sushi in Japan, was surprisingly delicious with a unique spin using Caribbean ingredients to produce a unique creation.
Chilean salmon with coconut ponzu & preserved lemon/kimchi-cured Chilean salmon with pickled rocoto pepper
This dinner truly impressed us and was the perfect ending to our weekend get-away in Cartagena. The history and beauty of this old, colonial city combined with a thriving modern Colombian food scene makes Cartagena an unforgettable destination.
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