Cartegna

Cartagena is a city of about a million people located in the North East corner of Columbia. One of Spain’s earliest settlements in the new world, it was a major port for sending gold and silver back to Spain. For that reason, it was a prime target for pirate raiders, England and France. Eventually Spain decided to build a fortress and extensive walls, which succeeded in protecting the city well into the eighteenth century. Today, Cartagena is an important port located ideally near the Panama Canal.

We didn’t do an excursion for this stop. We took a taxi to the old town area to do our typical walk about and explore. The original wall (11 Kilometers) still surrounds the town. Our walk eventually found the old Cathedral with a shady square full of local color and the ever present street vendors. We took a café break, did a little shopping and visited the Naval Museum before returning to the ship.