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“Did we turn a corner?”
“No.” We had crossed an intersection, but certainly hadn’t altered
our path.
“Well, now we’re on Calle de la Cruz,” she said, and pointed to
the sign.
Turns out, the street names change from block to block, even if
you maintain your course. What’s convenient about a walled city,
though, is that as long as you walk straight, you’ll eventually find a
wall. Which is exactly what we did, and, like the night before, we
couldn’t have planned it any better.
“This is amazing,” Michelle said. We had “navigated” to one of
the end points of Las Murallas, where the wall overlooks Avenue
Venezuela, the main thoroughfare into the Old Town. Even with all the
historical attractions concentrated in this part of Cartagena, it’s very
much a working sector of the city, so at 8:30 in the morning, the
masses are commuting into El Centro and San Diego. As Michelle
noted, “There are scooters and buses and taxis galore.”
So many vacation destinations are measured in terms of tran-
quility. Noted for providing the opportunity to escape the real world.
That’s not Cartagena’s game. Here you’re thrust
into
the real world,
among business people going to their offices, kids going to school,
merchants pushing massive carts of fruit, and generous bartenders
who keep a personal supply of aguardiente at the ready. And as
Michelle said, it really can be amazing to feel a part of such a lively
community, even if only for a few days.
A Walk On The Wall
We stood atop the city wall at the northernmost corner of Old Town.
Here the bulwark thickens, and we discovered an exercise group
making use of the wide, flat surface —with a prime, sun-facing posi-
tion — for a morning yoga session. Directly below this section is Las
Bóvedas, a collection of 23 narrow chambers that over the cen-
turies have served as military storerooms and a dungeon, and are
now occupied by various souvenir shops.
“Why don’t we just stay up here and start walking,” I suggested.
So we headed south, stopping for photos in front of different lookouts
and with a battery of cannons that are still in place. The wall doesn’t
necessarily provide a bird’s-eye view of the city, but the elevated per-
spective is pretty tough to beat, especially from the long segment
that hugs the coastline, creating a juxtaposed spectacle of wide open
Caribbean Sea in one direction and bustling urban core to the other.
When we arrived at the end of Las Murallas, it was early after-
noon, and time for some food. “I definitely want to try El Burlador de
Sevilla tonight,” Michelle said. “Their paella is supposed to be very
good. [It is.] Let’s just have some snacks now.”
Perfect. A midday snack in Cartagena often equals street food,
and I’m a big fan. Fruit sellers roam the city throughout the day. And
you can’t miss them: The women wear bright colors and balance big
bowls of fresh produce on their heads (top right), and the gentlemen
typically push carts with all the fixings for a quick smoothie. Other
vendors can usually be found where locals tend to gather: parks,
IntervalWorld.com INTERVAL WORLD Summer 2015
53
ABOVE: For hundreds of years, the massive stone walls
surrounding Cartagena protected the city’s strategic location on
the Caribbean Sea. TOP: Colorfully dressed vendors balance large
bowls of pineapple, bananas, and exotic fruits on their heads.
FACING: A series of whimsical metal sculptures populates the
plaza in front of the Church of San Pedro Claver.