Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 515

Barajas (daily 8am-6pm; COP$17,000),
a towering stone fort just east of the
walled city along Avenida Pedro de
Heredia. The sacking of the city by
Sir Frances Drake highlighted the need
for protection, and so this mighty fort
was built between 1656 and 1798 with
plans from a Dutch engineer. The fort is
an ideal spot from which to watch the
sunset, and getting the audioguide is
well worth it, as you can walk around the
fort walls and underground passages at
your leisure, learning about its history,
functions and other important
landmarks, such as the leper hospital.
Alternatively, you can talk to one of the
guides who hang around at the entrance.

Muelle Turística , the wharf across from the
Convention Center. For COP$70,000 you
can get a round-trip ride on a large boat to
Playa Blanca with about twenty others,
plus a tasty lunch of fried fish, patacones
(smashed, fried plantains), rice and salad.
Larger boats, such as the Alcatraz , tend to
be slower, and you do spend a lot of time
on the boat, while smaller boats whizz
around too quickly (several have sunk),
so make your choice carefully.
All the boats sail through Bocachica
Strait, passing between Fuerte de San
Fernando and Batería de San José (see
above), and stopping for lunch on Playa
Blanca on Isla de Barú where you're let
loose for a couple of hours.
If you want to stay on the island and
enjoy the peace once day-trippers return
to Cartagena, there are a few basic
accommodation options, with hammocks
available for around COP$10,000.
Snorkelling costs COP$20,000 extra
- COP$5000 if you bring your own gear
- and entrance to the open-water aquarium
that's a stop on some trips (ask ahead) is
COP$25,000. A COP$12,000 park fee
applies to all those leaving from the port.

5

Other forts
The majority of Cartagena's other
remaining defences, most of them nearer
to the sea than San Felipe, were built
much later, during the dawning of the
Spanish Empire in the late eighteenth
century. Visible on excursions to Islas del
Rosario (see below), the Fuerte de San
Fernando on Tierrabomba Island was
built to seal off Bocachica, which, after
a sandbar blocked Bocagrande in 1640,
was the only access to the city's harbour.
As part of the complex engineering feat,
a heavy bronze chain was dangled across
the entrance, beneath the water, to the
restored fort Batería de San José . Boats to
Tierrabomba Island depart every 30-45
minutes from the Muelle Turística
(10min; COP$7000).

Volcán de Lodo El Totumo
The small, mud-blowing Volcán de Lodo
El Totumo , 50km northeast of Cartagena,
makes for another popular day-trip. You
can clamber down into the crater for a
refreshing wallow in the mud (COP$5000)
that allegedly has therapeutic properties,
while helpful locals gather nearby, offering
to photograph you in your Creature From
the Black Lagoon guise, and to give you an
energetic but not terribly professional
massage. Most hostels arrange this trip
(around COP$50,000).
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
By plane Cartagena's Rafael Nuñez International Airport
is 10min by taxi (COP$12,000) or a slightly longer bus ride
(COP$1600) from the city centre.
Destinations Multiple flights daily to Bogotá (1hr 20min),
Cali (1hr 25min) and Medellín (1hr 20min). Twice-daily
flights to San Andrés (2hr).
By bus The city's large bus terminal is 45min by bus north-
west from the city centre; a taxi will set you back COP$15,000;
otherwise catch one of the frequent green-and-red Metrocar
buses from Av Santander (40min; COP$2200).

Islas del Rosario
At least fifty minutes out to sea from
Cartagena, 35km southwest of the city,
lies an archipelago of small coral islands
known as the Islas del Rosario , sunk in
transparent turquoise waters. In total
there are 27 islands, many of them
private islets barely large enough for a
bungalow. Not technically part of the
chain, Playa Blanca , on Barú island, is
one of the more popular beach spots.
For day-trips by boat , all of which depart
in the morning around 8-9am and return
around 4-6pm, you can either book
through your accommodation (around
COP$40,000) or head straight to the