Historic Old Town within the walled city
Wouldn’t you think that if we were visiting a Caribbean coastal town that we’d be hitting the beach? Not us.
We came for the food.
Scott and the ladies of Cartagena
Scott and I have spent the last month in Colombia, and we loved it. But we were literally hungry for flavorful, spicy foods. We had heard that Cartagena was known for an extraordinary food experience, so we went all in.
But first, a note about this town…
Like much of Colombia, Cartagena also has a violent history. The walled fortress around the city is known as ‘Old Town’ — for an overview of town, you can walk on top of the perimeter wall. Inside the walls, nice upscale shops and restaurants. It’s quite beautiful and romantic. But it’s hot. And full of tourists. But who cares.
Graffiti here is less pervasive than in other parts of Colombia; but the art still conveys important messages of celebration, empowerment and the hope of a peaceful future.
There is a nice design aesthetic here, too. It shows in their architecture, interior design shops, clothing stores, hotels and restaurants. And if you’re nosey (like me), a quick glance into some of the windows leaves me shouting “Scott, look at this one!” Homes with elegant interior courtyards with small pools and vine-filled balconies. Beautiful hand-woven hammocks hanging in archways with large potted plants. Handmade woven baskets in impressive living rooms with velvet tufted couches, plush rugs and book-filled libraries. I’m in design heaven!
Now back to the food…
So, here we are, eating our way through Cartagena, and loving it. The seafood here is amazing! Lobster, muscles, calamari, clams, ceviche, paella, coconut rice…beyond our expectations. Great coffee, too. And gelato! Scott tasted a basil gelato that was beyond words. We are in foodie heaven! The combination of wealth, style and tourism has attracted many international chefs, and it is appreciated.
The food was so good, in fact, that we forgot to take many pics…
Folklore had magic beans!
ADDITIONAL TRIP NOTES
Climate…
Did I mention, it’s HOT here (oh, I did). Not a cloud in the sky. We set out early to explore the town but, even at 8am, the heat is already radiating from the stone streets and buildings and the sun was in full throttle mode.
Restaurants we loved…
Folklore Cafe’ - by far the best espresso drinks we’ve EVER had!
Carmen - Las Cochinas (snail croquettes with fish & coconut rice, cured yolk, green banana pepper & curry). Simply awesome!
Celele - I had the most lovely passionfruit margaritas - with Tequila, mango & passion fruit liqueur, almond & orange liqueur, with touch of chili pepper and a powdery fine-grained salted rim (see banner photo at top). Yes, plural. I had two! Scott had a rum drink with a wooden toy boat on top. We had to laugh. We shared conch soup as an appetizer (with conch foam, lumps of conch meat and crunchy rice), and for lunch, crab meat empanadas with salsa. Scott had ossobuco tacos. So good!
La Laguna Azul - Ceviche! Some of the best we’ve ever had at this hole-in-the-wall, super cheap place.
Alma - a truly lovely evening on the patio of this beautiful hotel restaurant with live music and a delicious meal of seafood and rice for me and fish soup of the day for Scott.
Ely - located on the peninsula near the Bocagrande beach, lunch here was delicious! Seared Ahi tuna salad for me and Scott had a bowl of something yummy. More Limonada de Coco again for me cuz’ I’m now addicted. Scott had Mango Limonada. After lunch I walked to the beach nearby while Scott got a shave. Our travel blog resources warned us that these beaches weren’t great. They were right. Just too many vendors and panhandlers here.
Length of stay… Four days was just right.
Where we stayed…
Casa de las Palmas - located outside of the walled city in Getsemani, but within walking distance. We’re glad we didn’t stay in old town — just too many tourist. This hotel was simple and clean with good AC, with breakfast included. We picked it for the price and because it had a small pool, but for some reason we never used it. Cost: $44/night. Getsemani used to be the dangerous part of town but it’s now filled with funky restaurants, hostels and young hipsters. We felt right at home. Ha!
When we weren’t being travelers we…
Watched Formula One on Netflix.
Scott tried to stay up late enough to watch the Laker’s play.
People we met along the way…
Arman and his boyfriend, two travelers from Toronto. They shared their favorite restaurants (see above). We loved them all!
News from home…
Coronavirus is spreading. We’re concerned about our family and friends and if this will effect our travels. So far so good.
What’s next…
Panama City! We found a low cost flight from Cartagena to Rio de Janeiro via Panama City on Copa Airlines - which allows us to get off in Panama and stay up to five days without an extra charge. We thought it would be a great opportunity to see the locks and the shipping channels.