A Bus Tour and More Cartagena Exploring

On our second day in Cartagena, we started out by exploring the Getsemani section of the walled city. The walk along Camellón de los Martires is very nice. This is a large palm tree-lined walkway between neighborhoods. While in Getsemani we walked through various squares and neighborhoods. I liked the way the buildings were painted. Took quite a few pictures here.

Camellón de los Martires

Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemani

We then did a popular tourist activity and rode one of Cartagena's infamous tour buses. We took a cab to the "city-fied" part of Cartagena known as Bocagrande. Here, amongst the sky scrapers, we found a tourist place, and we signed up to catch a bus.


These tour buses are all over and are very distinctive with very bright paint jobs and neat-looking designs on them. I don't know if it was me, but they also seem to be driven by mad men! They drive like they're sports cars weaving and swerving through traffic. The passenger are is totally open, so those of us on the sides can stick our legs out and touch other car roofs.

Tour Bus

Courtyard of Monasterio de La Candelaria

After being picked up in Bocagrande, we drove around this part of the city. We picked up a few people along the way, and then we headed toward older parts of Cartagena. Our next stop was at the top of Cerro La Popa (Hill of the Stern). The drive up was right through neighborhoods of regular people. They must hate seeing all these tourists bus through their backyard all hours of the day. The drive up was steep with lots of switchback. At the top, we stopped at the Monasterio de La Candelaria. The view from the monastery afforded a great panoramic view of Cartagena. We walked along w/ the tour through the monastery, and then got back on our bus. Our next stop was down the hill Los Zapatos Viejos (a sculpture of Old Shoes).

Los Zapatos Viejos

Our last stop was at Castillo De San Felipe De Barajas. This is a castle which overlooks the old city of Cartagena. Here we walked in and around the castle. It's a big castle, and looks like it was very strong, and it had to be to guard against all the pirates from back in the day. Once again we had a great view of the city from the top of the castle. We were then dropped off inside the Walled City close to the wall and a huge vendor area.

Castillo De San Felipe De Barajas

Later in the day, we took a trip back to Bocagrande, and walked around there. We ended up going to a trendy restaurant that served crepes. We had a full day and saw alot.

Here's a look at Cafe Del Mar

Making Plans At Crepe House