Travel to Columbia. Another Cartagena
To cut a long phrase short, Cartagena de Indias is a city resort, a dream of bright colors. If you come to it from the ocean, then on the shores of the traveler you will be met by expensive yachts, skyscrapers of glass and concrete, comfortable hotels, expensive boutiques, beaches, flamingos strolling along the pier and parrots, and so strive to get into the bag. This is a new modern part of the city, which is conditionally divided into three districts. Here live the wealthy citizens of Cartagenas.
Photo radionica.rocks
It gathered business centers, offices of foreign companies, on the roads are signaling new car industry, until night restaurants and bars are opened offering dishes from all over the world and, of course, fresh Caribbean lobsters, lobsters, oysters. The fact that this international resort is especially experienced in the evening. Then the crowds rush to the beaches. Local and foreigners quickly dismantle sun loungers and canopies, sipping cocktails. Workers go out to work here, offering food and souvenirs, massage therapists ready to massage their shoulders after a hard day. Music plays: reggae, bossa nova, latina. Animators invite holidaymakers to play. The greatest originality, perhaps, stands out when the organizers offer people to join hands and stand in a circle. Then one of the participants in the game is given a tool with bare electrodes and turn on the current. And let him not great strength, but everyone "gets". This causes fun and laughter, but more for those watching the attraction. No less exciting is the walk in the jewelers' salons of the district. Here they offer unique Caribbean pearls and bright high-quality green emeralds, which Columbia is famous for.
Photo pinterest.com
The second part of the city is historical. Old colonial buildings decorated with bright warm colors are adjacent to museums, galleries, dance floors, cozy cafes and souvenir shops. Here you can wander for hours in the labyrinths of stone-paved streets, admire the numerous churches, palaces, fortifications erected during the reign of the Spaniards, parks and avenues with many sculptures. By the way, the majority of the museums and exhibitions in the map are free. Walking in the Old City is not possible to tear your eyes from the balconies. For the inhabitants of Cartagena the decoration of the balconies is akin to sport. Everyone tries to emphasize this part of the dwelling: flowers, bright colors, lace curtains, decorative details, orchards, canopies. They do it not accidentally. Earlier in the year, Cartagena was chosen the most beautiful balcony. After that, the winner, as a prize, was allowed a whole year not to pay tax on real estate. Now such contests are not held, but the desire for beauty remained. You can look at the door handles. Citizens of Cartagena like to throw dust in the eyes and adore all sorts of catchy details. Handles on the doors in the city are striking in their diversity. More often they cut out in the form of some beast mythical or present. Underneath each such handle is a beater so that the guest can reach the owner.
Photo wendyperrin.com
Underneath each handle like that is a beater so that the guest can reach the owner. In the evening on the streets of Cartagena entertaining buses are going. The trip lasts about four hours. At this time passengers are entertained with live music, and the presenter tells about the city. At the same time, everyone is treated to rum, fed snacks, and at the end of the route is planted near one of the night discos. Unusual taxis also go along the Old Town. Drivers do not close or simply remove doors from cars. And this is not only to save on the air conditioner, but also so that passengers can sit down and jump out of the car on the go. Well, or cry out passing by the beauty of a couple of compliments. And there are many in Colombia. Women in this country are famous for their attractive features and figure. And Cartagena is considered the site of their greatest concentration. Perhaps, therefore, every year there is a beauty contest. But even those who do not reach the catwalk, try to embellish themselves in every possible way. Although without it, Colombians are among the top ten most attractive women on the planet. But, unlike many countries here appreciate the forms. For many years on one of the squares of Cartagena lies the sculpture of a naked full woman. It is her Colombians who consider the female attractiveness. Not forms, and fruit baskets draw attention of passers-by elderly ladies. In the Old Town there are many. They are dressed in national dresses. It's a fruit vendor. In the tray they have fresh freshly scrubbed fruits of watermelon, melon, mango, kiwi, papaya and pepinhos.
Photo wendyperrin.com
In the third part of Cartagena there live those who are less fortunate in their luck. This is the poor quarters. One or two-storey houses in this area stretch far beyond the city. But despite this, tourists come here as well in search of an inexpensive hostel or to admire the small old churches, which are many.
Citizens of Cartagena are very friendly and often smile. They like to talk with strangers about the weather, distant countries and of course Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And although, in recent years, the writer lived in Mexico, the citizens of Cartagena consider him to be his own and even the personification of the spirit of the city. After all, it was Cartagena who made the once famous young journalist Marquez famous. When it comes to his creativity and fantasies, the interlocutors become serious. They are ready to argue that everything described in his books is the real truth. After all, in Colombia, anything can happen, and what the visitors can know about this, the inhabitants of Cartagena insist.
Photo ciaobambino.com
Another person who local people like to chat about is Pablo Escabar. Ambiguous figure, the famous drug lord once lived near the city on a separate island. There he was shot in a shootout. Now the villa in which he lived was open to tourists.
Cartagena often meets tourists. Here come Argentines, Spaniards, US citizens. Many people come to Colombia for one or other festivals, which are constantly organized in Cartagena. The most famous of them are the International Film Festival, the Festival of Caribbean Music, the Latin American Theater Festival, the Cali Fair and the National Beauty Contest.
Photo gap360.com
Both visitors and citizens of Cartagena often admire the sunset climbing the walls of the fort, which surrounds the entire Old Town of the city. There are a lot of loving couples, young people, that pile around and sort out the strings of guitars, escorting the sun. From the height of the fortifications, you can see the port, the modern part of the city and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. People are sitting near the guns, which more than once defended Cartagena from pirates and other conquerors, the air is soaring, as the Colombians themselves assure, the best coffee in the world.
Cover photo picssr.com
