Fortress & Getsemani

Largest fortress in Latin America

I must have needed a lot of sleep to help me get over the light symptoms of whatever I’ve got.  Despite having slept early, we didn’t get up till around 0800.

After breakfast, we left around 1000 for a short walk across the water to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.  This is the largest fortress in Latin America and dominates the landscape in Cartagena.  It was built in 1630 on San Lazaro Hill and expanded extensively in 1762 to cover most of the hill.

The fortress is truly impregnable and never taken, despite many attempts. From the top, it reminded me of Crac de Chevalier in Syria.  We wandered along the flat areas and also into the small number of tunnels open to the public.

After about 45 mins, we wandered to a nearby mall to cool off.  I felt like eating in the cool comfort of the mall so we stayed a little longer than needed.  My lunch choice of was empanadas but they turned out to be calzones, the difference being the bready exterior.

Text continues after this gallery.

Credit Card Blocked

We walked back to the hotel a different way.  After a shower, we relaxed for a few hours.  Well, that was the plan but it wasn’t meant to be.

I received an email from my bank saying my main credit card needed to be blocked and replaced, due possible breach of card details.  I rang the bank and they confirmed that there was no other option.  It was fortunate that my trip is nearing the end and it won’t be much of an issue for me.

When I asked what would have happened if I wasn’t approaching my return to New Zealand?  They said, they would courier the replacement to me.  Probably at a cost to me though.

I reviewed my upcoming hotel bookings and also flight bookings.  Fortunately, there weren’t many that would need significant work to update the guarantees that had utilized that card.

It’s fortunate that I was nearly back to normal after my hint of an illness yesterday.  My sore throat and disappeared after just one day.  I probably wouldn’t have dealt with the situation as effectively if I had been more ill.

Getsemani Walking Tour

At 1600 we joined the walking tour of Getsemani, our neighbourhood, starting at the nearby Parque Centernario.  The guide was a local of the neighbourhood and seemed to know everyone.

He knew the stories of each mural or graffiti that adorned the walls of the neighbourhood.  Police permits are required to start painting and during the Covid-19 lockdowns, he caught a couple of young women starting one a little too late.  They had painted over a gorgeous mural already.

Real estate is pricey in Getsemani.  We were shown a place for sale worth USD3 million.  Gentrification is threatening the traditional lifestyle here, where people know each other and look out for each other.

Hotels now take up more of the landscape than families.  Locals are working hard to resist the change.

Owner-residents may be able to resist the temptation to cash-up.  But landlords may be more easily tempted and long-term residents of several generations may be displaced.

Overall, this walking tour took us to streets in Getsemani we wouldn’t have ventured to otherwise, as we were a little unwell and lazy.  We finished our stay in Cartagena with another dinner at San Augustin.  While the dinner menu was different from lunch, the food we ended up ordering was similar except that sides were a standard chips and salad during dinner (no options like at lunch).

I finally tried the coconut-limonada which was creamy, sour and delicious.  It was like a mocktail.  On the way back, two well-dressed girls approached us looking for hugs on our street.  They were drunk or acted like it but we didn’t want the chance of getting pick-pocketed or have our phone snatched.  I retreated and got tripped by the edge of the pavement ending up with a slight scrape.  They were probably just having a bit of harmless fun.