Where We Be
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a massive fortress meant to protect the
treasure stored in Cartagena before galleons could ship it back to Spain
Outside the Walls -- Cartagena, Colombia
In the 16th century alone Cartagena suffered
five sieges by pirates! The most successful one
was led by Sir Francis Drake in 1586: it resulted
in Spain having to pay a massive ransom of 10
million pesos to save the city from being razed
to the ground. So it's no wonder this is where
the Spanish chose to build their greatest
fortress ever in any of their colonies. It stands
outside the walls but in a prime defensive spot.

Also outside the city walls is the neighborhood
of Getsemani. Many of its buildings are covered
in cool street art. This is a fun place to wander
around in the evening. It has a vibe all its own
and is a popular hangout with backpackers.

One other place of note just outside the walls is
Parque del Centenario. This small leafy park is
home to a small population of sloths, monkeys,
and iguanas. To our amazement we actually saw
two sloths up close during a visit at dusk.
Over the next hour or so we explored the fortress's ramps,
fortifications, battlements, turrets, cannons, and tunnels
Looking out from the top of the fortress. To its credit,
Castillo San Felipe was never defeated in battle.
The ancient walls of the fortress look like a Jackson Pollock painting
A lot of thought went into the fortress's design,
with one battlement protecting another lower down
From here you get an excellent view of the
modern city of Cartagena with its skyscrapers
And panning to the right, you can see Old Town
and a section of the defensive wall surrounding it
This statue honors Blas de Lezo, a Spanish officer who had already lost an arm, a leg, and an eye in previous battles.
He commanded the successful defense of the city in 1741 against an English army and navy ten times as big as his own!
We arrived just as the fortress was opening at 8 am
and paid 25,000 pesos (~$7.50) each for entry
Castillo de San Felipe
Near Getsemani are a few other worthwhile sights -- like this pirate ship musuem and the statue
of La India Catalina, a local indigenous woman whose image has become an icon of Cartagena
Getsemani is just outside the city walls and has
become one of Cartagena's hippest neighborhoods
Street art is what Getsemani is best known for --
that and a vibrant bar and restaurant scene
Trinidad Square is a popular gathering spot in Getsemani. At 6 pm
it was still quiet, but later it's supposed to be hopping with action.
Seeing sloths up close like this in a city park absolutely amazed us!
Our second sloth sighting. For you best chances, come at
dusk -- and look for other people looking up into the trees!
Getsemani
Parque del Centenario
We had the place mostly to ourselves -- nice!
It's a 20-minute walk outside the city walls and across a bridge to Castillo San
Felipe de Barajas -- the primary fortress that protected Cartagena from pirates
We also beat the worst of the heat by going early -- a good
plan since it takes quite a bit of climbing to get to the top
Some of the street art here is simply fantastic!