Today, Hugo, my Marine Mammal Observer friend, who I worked with on the ship during this last job (see post from December 2) and I'm now traveling with, and I decided to explore the beautiful old town of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. After a tasty breakfast on the rooftop of the sister hotel to our hotel, Casa Villa Colonial, in Getsmaní, Cartagena's up and coming neighborhood near the old town, we took the day to walk around and explore the old city. We lost ourselves in the beautiful streets of this UNESCO World Heritage Site with the sounds of horse drawn carriages echoing off the beautiful, colourful buildings adorned in Bougainvillia. We wandered along Las Murallas, the walls that surround this military fortress from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Of course, in addition to taking in the sites and sounds of the old city, we had to enjoy some of the culinary delights. We had a simple but delicious fish lunch at one of the local cafes and then dinner at a lively restaurant called El Bistro. El Bistro appeared to be a very popular spot, it was packed when we arrived (so we figured it must be good!), so we sat at the bar with a delicious local beer and bar snacks until a table freed up for us. The food was delicious and the art on the wall added a funky, fun atmosphere!
The photo of the day is a picture of The Fat Lady sculpture by Fernando Botero was taken in Plaza Santo Domingo square in the old part of Cartagena.
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| The Fat Lady by Fernando Botero |
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| Old cannons on the old city wall (Las murallas) of Cartagena |
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| View to the newer part of the city from the old city wall |
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| View from the old city wall to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas |
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| Circo Teatro, which is now abandoned, was built at the beginning of the XX century and used to be used for bull fights coming from Spain and Mexico |
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| Front of Circo Teatro |
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| Southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) |
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| The little cafe we had a delicious (and very affordable!) lunch at, yum! |
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| Inside the former school converted to the Casa Museo La Presentación where there were cool hanging bottle sculptures, a beautiful inner garden courtyard and art displays and antiques to peruse |
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| Each of the bottles in this display contained this image of the Virgin Mary |
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| Looks like I created some art while in the culture center...this is what happened when I took a panoramic shot of one of the gallery rooms. |
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| Views of the streets of the old city of Cartagena from the hotel balcony |
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| Views of the streets of the old city of Cartagena from the hotel balcony. The building with the bell tower is part of the University of Cartagena |
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| Building across the street from our hotel...with a black vulture (Coragyps atratus) sitting on top looking down on the activities below |
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| Hugo, who worked with me on this last job and is my travel buddy, also having a photographic moment from the other hotel balcony :) |
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| Great spot for people watching! |
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| A couple of black vultures (Coragyps atratus) hanging out in the bell tower at the university |
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| This black vulture (Coragyps atratus) appeared to be waiting for something...a little ominous! |
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| Rock doves (Columba livia) roosting on the rooftops |
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| Wandering the streets, draped in beautiful bougainvillea vines, in the old part of Cartagena |
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| Love the colourful buildings! |
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| Antikapistalismas! |
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| Ha ha! This Pub sign was awesome! |
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| I love these doors...they reminded me so much of the ones in the old town of Stonetown, Zanzibar |
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| Plaza Santo Domingo |
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| The Fat Lady sculpture completed by Fernando Botero in Plaza Santo Domingo |
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| The Fat Lady by Fernando Botero |
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| I think a few hands have touched that buttocks! The Fat Lady by Fernando Botero |
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| Female great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) |
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| Cafe Del Mar...the best spot for sundowners! |
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| Enjoying a sundowner looking towards the newer part of Cartagena |
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| Enjoying a sundowner looking towards the newer part of Cartagena...with the background in focus :) |
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| Hugo, enjoying the surroundings :) |
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| Inside El Bistro restaurant |
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| Painting of Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez who passed away in April, 2014 |
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