Cartagena de Indias is famous for its walled city located on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast. We stayed in the historical center, visited incredible nearby islands, and learned about its history.
Best Thing I Ate This Week
Pesca del Dia al Cabrito at Alma
In the Centro Historico of Cartagena de Indias, there are numerous upscale restaurants featuring the regional Colombian and Caribbean cuisine. After trying the street food and more modest restaurants throughout our stay, we decided to visit Alma for a special last dinner in Cartagena de Indias. The restaurant is connected to the spectacular Casa San Agustin, and the interior of the restaurant matches the grandeur of the hotel.
When we walked into the restaurant, we were told that the main dining room was full for the evening, but that there was an option for an outdoor patio or indoor bar. After taking a look at the impressive bar, we decided to sit at a high top there and the air conditioning was an added bonus. Besides an incredibly friendly host, our server was very welcoming and throughout the meal shared more about his favorite things to do around Cartagena de Indias. On our next visit we will need to spend some time at the small fishing town of La Boquilla and explore more of Baru.
Our appetizers of empanadas de langosta (similar to lobster) and ensalada de mozzarella de bufala (buffalo mozzarella salad) were incredibly fresh with exceptional flavor. It was a great start to the meal, but the main dish of pesca del dia al cabrito (fish of the day) was by far the best thing I ate while in Cartagena de Indias. It was unlike any of the other fish that we had tried throughout our visit; the white fish of the day was steam cooked in a banana leaf with creole sauce and coconut milk served alongside deviled beans. This method of preparation was a special one created by the restaurant and made me want to come back to try many of the other innovative dishes from their menu.
An Interesting Fact I Learned
San Basilio del Palenque was the first free town for Africans in the Americas
San Basilio del Palenque is located about 65km (40 miles) from the Centro Historico of Cartagena de Indias and was the first free town for Africans in the Americas. In 2005, UNESCO declared it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. We joined a tour with a local guide (Lorenzo) who grew up in the community, left to study tourism, and returned to promote his culture to the travelers from all over the world that want to learn more about this important town while visiting Cartagena de Indias.
Upon arriving at Palenque, we were given umbrellas because of the strong sun and extreme heat. Lorenzo shared the history of the town with us, which residents refer to as Palenge in their local language. This language is a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, and African languages such as Congo. When community members speak together some of the words appear familiar due to the Spanish, but much of it is indistinguishable to visitors. The town was founded in the early 1600’s when Domingo Bioho led a group of runaway slaves to establish their palenque (walled city). This was a common practice at the time, but then the Spanish would pursue them and today the only remaining former palenque is San Basilio del Palenque. After his escape, Domingo Bioho successfully repelled the Spanish but word of the success spread, so many kept escaping to join this town. This led to back and forth conflicts with the Spanish before finally being recognized as a free town for Africans.
The rest of the tour of Palenge focused on sharing the traditions that live on today in the town. This included participating in a traditional music/dance show, taking a boxing lesson at the gym founded by Antonio Cervantes (a former world champion who came from Palenge and invested heavily in the community with his wealth), learning about traditional medicine practices from the community, meeting a famous Colombian musician Afroneta who has toured around the world but keeps his studio in his hometown, and eating a traditional meal that has won acclaim at food fests as far away as China. On our way back to Cartagena de Indias, Lorenzo mentioned that he leads tours all year and is happy to see how popular visiting the town has become with travelers. His hope is that the number of visitors keeps growing, and the community can continue sharing its traditions.
My Travel Tip of the Week
Local highly rated tourist agencies can help you select activities in tourist destinations, such as Cartagena de Indias
Cartagena de Indias is one of the most popular places to visit in not only Colombia but all of South America. It is known for its Historic Walled City Center, modern high end neighborhood Bocagrande, and beautiful beaches on nearby islands such as Islas del Rosario, Isla Baru, y Tierra Bomba. Cartagena de Indias is also a popular place to take day trips to places nearby such as Volcan del Totumo, San Basilio del Palenque, La Boquilla, and many others. With so many options and activities, it can be difficult to choose what to do during your visit. To complicate matters, in most of the tourist areas of Cartagena de Indias, there are people on the streets trying to sell you a variety of different tour packages to 5 islands, 3 resorts, a party boat, and countless other combinations of activities.
To sort through all of these options, we decided to research a highly rated tourist agency that we could visit in-person at their office after completing our initial research online. Based on prior experience and preferences, we had an idea of what types of activities were the best trip for our visit but wanted to confirm with experts. While the price from the office might have ended up higher than what we could have found on the street, we were willing to pay extra to have the confidence that the guides on the tours would deliver a great product and there would not be issues with deceitful selling or up charging throughout the tours.
IS Cartagena Tours in Bocagrande was extremely helpful and allowed us to finalize our weekend in Cartagena de Indias. We spoke only in Spanish so are not sure if it would be a great place for those that only speak English, but finding an agency with similar high reviews to this one will likely help you sift through the numerous options and tailor your visit to what works best for you. At the end of our weekend we felt that we made the right choice of tours and activities to get an incredible introduction to Cartagena de Indias thanks to the additional advice from a great tourist agency.
-
- Day 1: Exploring the Walled City and Cartagena de Indias
- Day 2: Day trip to San Basilio de Palenque
- Day 3: 5 islands boat tour to see Islas Rosarios y Isla Baru
- Day 4: Day pass at a resort on Tierra Bomba
My Additional Anecdote This Week
Tourism seasonality greatly influences your visit experience
Cartagena de Indias and the surrounding Caribbean coastline are a wonderful vacation destination which makes it highly popular among domestic and international travelers. During the peak tourism season, everything is more crowded with people enjoying the area and vendors trying to make money. This means that the most popular attractions will be less relaxing and even walking around the Walled Historic Center may feel chaotic. No matter where you go in the tourist areas of Cartagena de Indias, you may feel that someone is trying to get you to buy something, which may distract you from being able to enjoy the beautiful destination. One of the best ways to avoid this situation in Cartagena de Indias and in general is to research in advance the peak tourist season dates. If you have flexibility, it can be advantageous to plan your trip outside of these windows so that you can get the best prices and many times a better overall experience.
However, if your schedule is not flexible and you end up visiting a popular tourist destination during peak travel season or during a holiday weekend, there are still ways to have a wonderful experience. In Cartagena de Indias for example, getting up early in the morning is a great way to enjoy the most popular sites without anyone around. In the early hours of the day, you can stroll through the Walled Historic Center, go to the Convent for views of the city, or climb the San Felipe de Barajas Castle almost entirely by yourself. Also, if you don’t want to be with the large crowds and vendors at popular beaches, you can choose to stay at a secluded accommodation with ocean front access if it is in your budget or take a day trip to one at a reduced price. This is a great way to enjoy the tranquility of the Caribbean and avoid some of the chaos from the more crowded beach areas.
There are some advantages to visiting in peak season in Cartagena de Indias that might be of interest based on your travel preferences. With so many people visiting, it leads to great nightlife at bars and clubs making for memorable evenings in the city with people from all around the world. Additionally during the day there are large parties at the beautiful beaches and islands, with one of the most popular being at Isla Cholon. Overall, no matter when you visit Cartagena de Indias or other popular tourist destinations, it is possible to enjoy your experience regardless of the peak tourism season. However, knowing the seasonality will help you better set expectations for what it will be like when you get there and how you can make adjustments to your visit activities so it best matches with your travel style.
