03-04-2015 Santa Marta, Colombia



Even though we were exhausted from our passage, we booked a shuttle van from the marina to Cartagena on the next day. Our cruiser friends, Sharon and Kim, had passed this way last year and they told us not to miss Cartagena. After a bumpy and scary four hour ride we arrived at Cartagena. We had picked a Trip Adviser top rated hotel in the Getsemani district of Cartagena which is older and quieter than the City Center district. When we tried to check in the desk person told us that our room had a plumbing problem and we were to be taken to another hotel—I was tired and not happy. The next hotel was really brand new and nice, but the room we were given was not as large as the first hotel—but we said yes, we would stay. We had just had our bags brought up when the hotel manager told us that there was a mistake and this was not the hotel we were supposed to be in—of course, now I was really getting mad. Were they going to shuffle us off to some old hotel or dump?
Back into the taxi and they took us to the Armira Real hotel which turned out to be much nicer than the other two hotels. They gave us a two floor, two bedroom suite with a kitchenette and a bathtub. Now, to you non-cruisers a bathtub may not be a big deal—but we cruisers cherish a bathtub above running water. We also had blessed air conditioning—heaven! This room cost more than our first one and we were happy.
Cartagena is an old city which at one time was the capital of 'Gran Colombia'--a city state that included most of the north of Latin America, and central America as well. At one time Gran Colombia had more people and land mass than all of Europe. Cartagena was a wealthy trading center guarded by the encircling city walls and Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. We toured the castle and was amazed to hear that the British attacked the castle in 1741 to loot the gold and treasures of the city. The British troops were made up of English, Scottish, Irish, and American Colonial soldiers. The colonial soldiers were commanded by George Washington's brother. Of course, with the British lining up their troops in a straight line and marching into the castle's cannon fire the battle was soon over and the British troops withdrew—defeated by the castle and the diseases of the swamp land around the castle.
The old part of town was fun to walk around and shop in the many stalls and shops. Colombian emeralds are prized and sold here as well as coffee. We stayed four days in Cartagena and did not see it all—it is an amazing place. By the way, we never felt in danger or threatened. There was an armed policeman almost on every corner and the crime rate of the city is lower than most big cities in the U.S.A. The Colombians are very nice and helpful—they are a beautiful people with a rich and full history.