Carmen was an excellent tour guide. She took us to all the burroughs in and around Cartagena Amurall

Getsemaní is the hip nightlife zone in the old city. It was originally homes for the working class.

We caught this photo shoot while on our evening bike tour of the old city.

This upscale centro comercial was once a bull fighting ring.

Carlos gave us an interesting and fun tour of old and new Cartagena.

Juan, our guide at the naval history museum, made Cartagena and naval history come alive.

These fitness parks are all over Colombia. I used one in Santa Marta, too.

Yuck! Diesel fuel from our tanks shouldn't look like this.

Cartagena de Indias

Oct 4–16, 2025 in Colombia ⋅ 🌩️ 27 °C

Twelve days in Cartagena de Indias flew by in the blink of an eye.

“De Indias” is often added to distinguish it from its namesake Cartagena, Spain. In fact, our first of two bicycle tours was to have been with another couple. But it turned out they were in Cartagena, Spain, but mistakenly booked an old town tour in Colombia. The upside for us was we had a private tour.

In addition to the bike tours, we also visited the Naval History Museum, which really shouldn’t be missed.

Our first observation of this port city is as hot and sticky as Santa Marta was, it’s hotter and stickier in Cartagena. And much more sophisticated, too.

The foodie scene in Cartagena is alive and well, and so is shopping. Vicki bought her dress for our son’s wedding in mid-November. It wasn’t much of a shopping experience, though. First store, second dress. Voila! It’s as though it was made for her.

In addition to sightseeing and shopping, we did some heavy lifting boat work, too. We removed and discarded 100 gallons of diesel from the port tank (again), and took great pains to clean the walls and bottom of the tank with rags. Not easy through 3 one-inch ports.

We also added wooden decking in the cockpit, and made some minor fiberglass repairs to the dinghy.

But when it’s time to move on it’s time to move on. So, we got our departure zarpe and our passports stamped. Next destination is Panama, but a few island stops off the Colombian Coast in between.Read more