Cartagena is a port city located on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia.
The city was founded in 1533 and was named after another port city located in southeast Spain.
Cartagena is very popular with tourists and is best known for its beaches; colonial architecture;
and historic, walled Old Town, which was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1984.
In this video, we’ll provide an overview of our December 2021 visit to Cartagena, when
our ship – the Emerald Princess – docked at the port and we spent the day exploring
the historic Old Town using a walking tour we created.
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After our ship docked at the industrial cruise terminal in Cartagena, we boarded a Hop-On,
Hop-Off Bus that was waiting on the pier.
We decided to book a seat on the bus through our cruise ship to make it easier to get to
and from the walled Old Town and to have the option to explore other areas of the city.
Soon after we boarded, we left the cruise terminal area and headed toward the Old Town.
Along the way, we traveled through a residential neighborhood and were fascinated by the large
number of utility lines and the various types of architecture we saw.
A bit further along – as we crossed a bridge – we caught another view of the tall hotels
and other high-rise buildings located in the Bocagrande neighborhood of Cartagena.
The bus arrived at the first stop – the #2 Clock Tower stop on the Hop-On, Hop-Off
Bus sightseeing guide – about 30 minutes after we left the cruise terminal.
We hopped off the bus since the stop was the closest for us to start our self-created Old
Town walking tour.
We decided to do a self-created tour instead of the complimentary Hop-On, Hop-Off Walled
City Loop Audio Guided Walking Tour for a couple of reasons.
First, we had a few different points of interest we wanted to see and, second, we wanted to
be able to explore at our own pace, as a family.
We started our tour near the bus stop, at Martyrs Square, which was dedicated to the
nine martyrs of independence that were executed in 1816.
The name of the centerpiece monument roughly translates to “Don’t touch me,” signifying
that Cartagenans are always ready to defend their freedom.
During our visit – two days before Christmas – the square was being decorated with large,
colorful structures for a celebration of the upcoming holiday.
The impressive structures were constructed from ribbons of many colors woven through
wire mesh.
As we wandered around the square, we were approached by many vendors.
We initially thought this was just part of being in a relatively touristy area, but the
near constant solicitation ended up being a mildly annoying part of our entire walking tour.
Continuing our tour, we walked across the street from the bus stop and Martyrs Square
toward the large Convention Center to Pegasus Pier, which featured two large statues facing
the waterfront.
There is no definitive history of the origin of the pier’s name and subsequent addition
of the statues, but the large statues make for a fun and interesting photo op.
The third destination on our walking tour was the namesake of the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus
stop: the Clock Tower of Cartagena.
The tower was the main gate of the walled Old Town and different parts of it were constructed
over the centuries, dating back to the 1600’s.
The clock – which gave the tower its name – was added in the 18th century.
After stopping at the clock tower for a bit, we continued walking through the clock tower
entrance and stopped at Plaza de los Coches on the other side.
Inside the plaza was a statue of Pedro de Heredia, the Spanish conquistador who founded Cartagena.
Walking west across the plaza – away from the clock tower – to our next destination,
we noticed quite a few areas where the brick walkways and streets were damaged and hazardous
for walking.
We also saw this in other areas during our tour, so we had to stay on alert while we
were walking.
Our fifth destination was a covered walkway where local women were selling homemade sweets.
The women were mostly setting up when we first arrived and were busier when we returned a
bit later in the day.
After passing by the homemade sweets, we walked southwest to what the locals call Plaza de
la Aduana.
Before reaching the plaza, we found a public restroom that was available for a nominal
fee in Colombian Pesos.
The plaza is the oldest and largest in the walled Old Town and is lined with banks and
government buildings.
A statue of Christopher Columbus was located in the plaza, which was also being prepared
for the holiday celebration.
Walking southwest across the plaza to the far corner, we followed the walkway to our
seventh destination: the church and convent of San Pedro Claver, a Spanish Jesuit priest
who dedicated his life to caring for slaves.
The “Equal Human Rights” he enacted eventually led to the abolition of slavery in Colombia.
In addition to the church and convent, there was also a museum
and a statue of Claver with a slave.
About half a dozen metal statues created by Eduardo Carmona were located in the plaza
in front of the church and depicted various scenes of Colombian life.
As we walked around the plaza – and as we continued our tour – we noticed many upturned
corner tiles on the roofs of the surrounding buildings.
The tiles were added during the time of the Inquisition as they were believed to prevent
witches from landing on houses.
Leaving the church area, we walked north toward Plaza de Bolivar and The Palace of Inquisition.
The palace was located on the western side of the plaza and was originally used for trials
during the Spanish Inquisition.
It is now the home of the Cartagena Museum of History.
The building is considered one of the city’s “best examples of late colonial, civil architecture.”
A small window on the side of the building is a relic from the days of the Inquisition
and was used to provide anonymous tips of alleged acts against the Catholic faith.
On the southern side of the plaza, we found what appeared to be the home of the Miss Colombia
beauty pageant, with photos and information of past winners displayed on the ground like
a Miss Colombia Walk of Fame.
And on the eastern side of the plaza, the Zenu Gold Museum – which was located in
an appropriately-colored yellow building – was temporarily closed due to construction.
In the past, the museum was free to enter and had air conditioning and bathrooms available.
In the center of the area, Plaza de Bolivar was named after Simon Bolivar, who led Colombia
and other neighboring countries to independence from the Spanish Empire in the early 1800’s.
The plaza featured a statue of Bolivar riding a horse and was full of shady trees, which
made it a welcome stop during our fairly hot and sunny walking tour.
Leaving the plaza from the northeast corner, we walked to Proclamation Square, which was
the location for the signing of Colombia’s Declaration of Independence.
A statue located in the northeast corner of the square commemorated the 1996 visit of
Pope John Paul II.
Our thirteenth destination – the Cathedral of Cartagena – was located on the northern
side of Proclamation Square.
The cathedral was constructed in 1575, but was attacked and destroyed by Sir Francis
Drake in 1586.
The cathedral was rebuilt and completed in 1612 and the original limestone exterior is
still in place.
The cathedral features an 18th-century gilded altar and a marble pulpit.
Exiting the western doors of the cathedral, we walked north, then turned left and continued
to the Monumento de Botero-Gertrudis.
Legend has it that touching the sculpture’s buttocks will bring you good luck and touching
the sculpture’s chest will bring you lasting love.
We decided to go for the “good luck” side of things during our visit!
After filling up on good luck, we headed back toward the cruise terminal to explore Park Cartagena.
The pickup location for the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus back to the cruise terminal was not properly
indicated on the provided sightseeing guide and was instead located a bit southeast of
the large Convention Center, near the Convention Center parking lot.
For the return ride, our bus was an enclosed, air conditioned bus instead of the usual double-decker
bus, with an open-air upper level.
When we returned to the cruise terminal area – about three hours after we departed in
the morning – we walked through the Port Oasis Ecopark, which included several peacocks,
turtles,
monkeys,
parrots,
and ducks and ducklings.
The park also had a large “COLOMBIA” sign, which was a great photo op;
a gift shop for buying local goods, including many brands of coffee, and souvenirs;
and a Juan Valdez Cafe, where we enjoyed some of the smoothest, most delicious – and cute!
– coffee we’ve ever had.
Jellybean had never had coffee before and we had her try a sip and she gave it a big
thumbs up!
It was yummy!
We also tried some aloe vera water and ended up needing more coffee to get the taste out
of our mouths!
After enjoying our coffee, we called it a day and walked the relatively short distance
along the marked pedestrian lane back to our ship.