Colombia 2009

Our afternoon arrival in Cartagena on Saturday was perfect because as we were welcomed by all the Colombian people at the airport, the sun was low on the horizon and would be setting in the next few hours. Excitement as well as exhaustion from a long day of traveling took over, and on the ten minute drive to the hotel, I did not take much in of the city. My first realization of the beauty of Cartagena was Sunday morning as our little bus approached the historic district. The bus pulled over in order to let us get out so we could view the historic district from outside its walls as well as to look at the pretty pond being guarded by statues of Pegasus. This picture of the city walls with the clock tower in the background shown above was the first view, as well as the first picture, I had of the city and it represents so much about the city's history. Cartagena's location on the northern coast of Colombia made it the perfect sea port, possibly even the most important port on the Caribbean since it was founded in 1533 as a Spanish settlement. As the port became very widely used, greatly for the transportation of the country's gold and silver to Europe, the city knew it needed to protect itself from shipping as well as the slave trade. Additionally, the city's wealth attracted pirates time and time again. Buccaneers of Sir Francis Drake ravaged the city repeatedly over the years of 1544 to 1586 and so, walls were constructed as part of a walled fort to protect the city. The clock tower that is peaking out from behind the city walls in this photo, represents the people of the city attempting to stay safe within the walls. The traditional Spanish clock tower of this church really shows the culture and wealth of the people living in the walls, just peeking out and trying to save themselves from all the new, unfamiliar aspects of the world that were coming at them from all directions and having an impact on them.