Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 513

fortifications that are now the city's
hallmark. Cartagena's monopoly on
the Caribbean slave trade in the early
seventeenth century is evident in its diverse
population, the rhythms of its music,
its songs, dances and traditions.

pluck sweets of your choice out of a sea
of huge glass jars. In the evening, several
lively bars open up above the arcade.

5

Plaza de la Aduana and around
The largest and oldest square, the
Plaza de la Aduana , formerly used as
a parade ground, features the restored
Royal Customs House, which is now the
City Hall, and a statue of Columbus.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Bursting with history, Cartagena's
supremely photogenic walled Old City is a
colourful assault on the senses and where
the bulk of the sightseeing is. The greatest
pleasure here is wandering the narrow
streets, lined with colonial buildings
painted in bold colours with their
wrought-iron detail, bougainvillea
tumbling down from balconies, peddlers
trying to sell you all manner of tat, and
horse-drawn carriages passing by. You
might get a little lost, but the city's many
plazas can guide you, acting not only as
convenient landmarks but as distinct
social hangouts. You can take in the city
by strolling the 11km of stone ramparts
that encircle it, though it's best to avoid
this late at night.
San Diego , home to a good number of
mid-priced hostals and several hostels,
offers a more mellow, though still lively,
version of the Old City. Grittier
Getsemaní , in pockets of which shirtless
men play dominoes and cumbia music
blasts out in the plazas, lacks some of the
architectural grandeur of the walled city
but offers a better taste of local life. The
most raucous nightlife and nearly all
budget accommodation are found here.
South of the Old City is Bocagrande ,
Cartagena's modern tourist sector, a thin
isthmus dotted with high-rise hotels
catering to Colombian holidaymakers.

Convento and Iglesia de
San Pedro Claver
Standing on the quiet plaza of the same
name, the imposing Convento de San
Pedro Claver (Mon-Sat 8am-5pm,
Sun 8am-4.30pm; COP$9000) was
founded by Jesuits in 1603, and is where
Spanish-born priest Pedro Claver lived
and died, in 1654. Called the “slave of
the slaves” for his lifelong ministering to
the city's slaves, aghast at the conditions
in which they lived, the ascetic monk
was canonized two centuries after his
death. His skull and bones are guarded in
a glass coffin at the altar of the adjacent
church (9.30am-noon & 3-5pm; free).
The convent itself is a grand three-storey
building surrounding a large courtyard
bursting with greenery; besides exhibits
of religious art and pre-Colombian
ceramics, there's a superb display on
the top floor featuring colourful,
contemporary Haitian art and intricate
African wooden masks and carvings.

Plaza de Bolívar
Locals and tourists alike come to find
respite from the heat in this leafy,
shaded square, with a statue of Simón
de Bolívar as its centrepiece. Formerly
the Plaza de Inquisición, the square is
surrounded by some of Cartagena's
most opulent buildings.

Plaza de los Coches and around
The city's main entranceway is the
triple-arched Puerta del Reloj , which
gives way to the Plaza de los Coches , a
triangular former slave-trading square.
Today, it's where horse-drawn carriages
can be hired for romantic tours around
the city, and the stage for street
performances. In the centre stands a
statue of the city's founder Pedro de
Heredia . In the plaza's covered arcade,
Portal de los Dulces , vendors adeptly

Palacio de la Inquisición
On the west side of Plaza de Bolívar
stands the Palacio de la Inquisición
( Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm;
COP$15,000), a splendid block-long
example of late colonial architecture.
The seat of the dreaded Inquisition for
two hundred years from 1611 onwards,
it wasn't completed until 1776, and is