Cartagena

Before the cruise I knew a little about Cartegena, basically by looking at Web sites before leaving. My murky-view-at-a-remove resolved into sharp, vibrant immediacy when Susie and visited this city of Colombia on the Carribean. From the ship we could see both the extended skyline of modern skyscrapers along much of the shore and the old city with its churches and fortifications. Our tour, which focused on museums, took us mainly into some of the gracious residential districts and into the heart of the old city.Walking through old Cartagena, you immediately notice the narrowness of the streets, the Spanish architecture, the colors, and the flowers.

The Spanish founded Cartagena in 1533. The city became rich from the trade in gold and emeralds. Indeed, the city became so wealthy that by the mid-16th Century it was subject to constant attacks from English and French pirates and corsairs. In 1586, Francis Drake captured, plundered, and ransomed the city. The Spanish responded by building extensive fortifications.

From one of the narrow streets, you can see the cathedral's tower. Construction on the cathedral began in 1575, restarted after Drake partially demolished the structure, and was completed in 1602. Just beyond the Cathedral, the visitor finds the Plaza de Bolivar, the lush park that is heart of the city.

The city's Spanish fortifications run all the way around the old city, both toward the land and, as seen here, toward the sea.
The most impressive fortification is the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, which stands on the mainland just east of the old city, defending the city's deep-water approach.
The fort served the Spanish in defending Cartagena from an overwhelming attack by the English, who massed 25, 000 English soldiers and a fleet of 186 ships. The Spanish had only 2,500 soldiers, but they had a leader who would become legend, Admiral Blas de Lezo, a one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged star of the Spanish navy. Blas de Lezo came to Cartagena having already captured eleven British ships in the Siege of Barcelona, driving English and Dutch pirates from the coasts of the Americas and capturing twelve ships in the process, commanding Spain's Mediterranean fleet, and recapturing Oran from the Ottoman Empire. In Cartagena, Blaz de Lezo sank his own fleet to block the English from advancing on the city. This, with fighting by Spanish forces held off the English. Time and malaria accomplished the rest, and the decimated English fleet went home in defeat.

The residential neigborhoods southeast of the old city boast wider streets and gracious mansions. Here's one of the most interesting that Susie and I saw.
One of the mansions has special historical significance for Cartagena and for Colombia: the house of Rafael Núñez, the country's three-time president after independence. His political accomplishments were complemented by his cultural contribution: authorship of Columbia's national anthem.
While we were at the Rafael Núñez house, a wedding was taking place at the small church across the street. The groom was a policeman, and so an official police carriage pulled up, waiting for for the happy couple at the end of the ceremony.

In the old city, the streets bustle with both tourists and with local life, even on a Sunday. Street vendors sell treats like shave-ice and freshly squeezed orange juice.

On a field, next to a line of idle carriages, two teams played a soccer match.

Some of the people on Cartagena's streets are a little less animated. These figures are by the Cartagenan sculptor Enrique Grau, who directed the Cartagena Museum of Modern Art for 20 years. Susie and I visited an extensive exhibition of his work, and we were tickled when we came across this conversing couple as we neared the end of our tour.
The sculpture of Cartagena runs back from Grau all the way back in time to prehistoric. The Zenú people, who flourished between 200 and 1000 BCE and developed an amazing system of irrigation, left a legacy of stunning gold figures. Ornaments such as this one would have been carried or worn by a governor.

Jumping ahead to present, I should mention that Cartagena is also a thriving modern city. As our ship left the harbor, it circled the rows of skyscrapers that define Cartagena's contemporary skyline.