San Filipe Fort

We had a food tour booked for the afternoon, and the typically hot weather in the region meant we didn't want to do too much before a lot of walking. We did, however, want to explore one of the militaristic artefacts of the city and saw the San Filipe Fortress. This was a colossal concrete monument that shadowed the ancient city and protected its citizens from attack from the sea and land. Although a brutal walk during the heat, the size and height of the fortress meant that you got a great view of the city of Cartegena. As well as providing fantastic defensive structure during the colonial periods. Defences that extend all the way around the city through the city walls that are still present. Unfortunately, we didn't get much about its uses due to being mostly in Spanish. The fort was last used during the 16th century, and the structure was, of course, not overcome. As you explored, you can see why. Multiple levels with many cannons meant any attack from any angle would face endless cannons fire. Along with it was a seemingly endless maze of alleyways and hidden corridors. Whether for defence or just liveability, I don't know, but it was interesting to walk through. After this, we were desperate to escape the heat and found a nice cafe for some coffee and juice. This killed some time for a while before we decided to explore Getsemani some more and see the other parts we missed. They ended up being some of the most beautiful. We explored some beautiful street art, colourful buildings, and streets before eventually going back to the sloth park to kill time. We saw another 4 sloths and many monkeys again and watched them for some time until the tour started. When the food tour did start, we started as it began to cool down, which we were very thankful for. We tried 9 different types of local food. Although all were good, some were much better than others. The attached photos are the highlights. Ceviche-type dishes, arepas, and patacones were the best. But to go with this was different fruits, sweets, juices, and soups. Overall, it was very interesting. We finished off with an ice cream and headed home for some drinks. We found a sports bar, and we got to watch some NBA and enjoy a few more drinks before getting Hungry Jack's on our way home.Read more