01 Jun Cartegena

Four days in Cartegena was not enough. We thoroughly enjoyed walking the marble pedestrian streets of the city which were full of places to shop and eat. We did a boat tour of the harbor – the home of the Spanish Navy, went up to the Castle above the city for the panoramic view, and saw the Roman Amphitheater.

I was in Cartegena in 1990 while serving in the U.S. Navy. Unknown to me the ruins of the First Century Roman site were discovered about that time under the ruins of a bull ring in the center of town. You enter via a museum which includes a model of the amphitheater at the time it was built, ancient statues and some crossbeams honoring different Caesers.

We were in Cartegena during La Semana Santa (Easter Week) and religious parades of various sizes occurred day and night. We even found the church that hosted all the floats which were used in different parades as the week progressed. It was very similar to being in New York City the day before the Macy’s parade and going to see all the balloons on display for the event.