Cartagena

The next morning we arrived in Cartagena Columbia.  We arrived late, about 10:30 AM.  I had arranged a private taxi through a my Columbian friend Francia but when we disembarked he was a no show.  Instead we found a lovely man named Morales who had been a guide for 30+ years. 

Panoramic view from the top of the fort.

 Our first stop was the fort named San Filipe now a UNESCO Heritage site.  It is a massive concrete and red brick fortress originally built by the Spaniards in 1657. The fortress provided additional defense against pirates for all the gold and gems being sent back to Europe. Originally the fortress was quite small, but then in 1762 it underwent a considerable reconstruction that expanded to the size it is today, taking up the entire 130 foot tall hill. Cartagena was probably the most important trade route controlled by the Spanish colonialists at the time and bigger translated to safer.  It was so well built and designed that it endured a large-scale attack by British and American colonial troops, who arrived at Cartagena with a massive fleet of 186 ships and 23,600 men, including 12,000 infantry, against only six Spanish ships and fewer than 6,000 men.  The fort never fell and neither the fort nor the walled city was ever attacked again.

Fort San Felipe from the outside.

Tourists on the second level of the fort...good looking couples I might add.

Panorama of the top level of the fort.  We were taken through tunnels that allowed safe and quick movement of troops from one part of the fort to another.  It was really amazing with dead end traps and even shelves for candles.
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It was then on to the walled city.  This part of the city was reminiscent of Casco Viejo in Panama.  It is also being restored with the exception that any restoration must render the buildings exactly as they were when first constructed in terms of materials used. 

A street vendor following us up the street trying his darnedest to sell us a tablecloth.  The street vendors were kind of a pain in the ass they could be so pushy.  One fellow sold us a bottle of water.  He wanted $2 and I objected.  Then he said 2 for $3 so I agreed.  Harry gave him $5 and he threw another bottle of water at us (it landed on the ground) saying he didn't have change.  I threw it back and demanded our money.  He wouldn't give us our change so Harry stuffed all of the water at him and demanded his $5 back.  In the end he reached in his pocket and retrieved $2 for us so we left with our water. Jerk!

Harry and I just copping a feel...

Part of the great wall that surrounded and protected the city.
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While in the old city we stopped by one of the restored buildings.  It had been turned into a hotel.  We were so taken with the courtyard restaurant that we decided to stop for refreshments. 

 Ron and I had a beer while Harry, Donna and Morales ordered just lemonade.  .

When we went to leave we discovered to our horror that the bill was over $27 USD.  I feel we made a significant contribution to the restoration effort!

Ron about to go into shock after inquiring as to the cost of a replacement beverage.
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Our final stop was the Palace of the Inquisition in the old city which houses a museum of torture apparatus which were used against anybody who dared speak out against the Catholic Church. The Palace of the Inquistion was a purpose built two story torture chamber completed in 1770.  During the 50 years that it was in operation, up to 800 people were brutally tortured and eventually murdered in this building.  The  number of victims in the preceding 150 years is not known.  After independence, the people of the city stormed the building and burned most of the instruments of torture.  It is now a museum and memorial to the victims of the Catholic Church.  Gotta love the old time religion.  Below are a couple of photos of only a few.

 This one was for women to squeeze the breasts...hurt just to look at it.

Here you see the proverbial rack.  The human body will apparently stretch about a foot.

The tour wrapped up with the drive home and this fellow I thought noteworthy.  He was beaming as I was trying to take his picture.  It was a great day, hot at times but not uncomfortably so except in the blazing sun on the top of the fort.