CARTAGENA!
Our luna de miel begins...
We arrived from Miami to Cartagena de Indias, The White City. It was the perfect place to start our trip - rich in history, beauty… and romance. The indigenous Carib settlement was conquered and the city established in 1533, making it the second oldest city in the country. Set on a deep bay, it quickly became the Spanish foothold and primary port in Colombia. As the most important outpost, almost all trade passed through its port, making the city rich - and a tempting target for pirates, including the infamous Sir Francis Drake. In response, a series of massive walls and forts were built around the city. Las Murallas, as it is called, took nearly two centuries to complete - battered by pirate attack and vicious storms it was finally finished in 1796, just 25 years before the Spanish were expelled.
Within these walls, the old city is a colonial treat. Packed full of hulking churches shading cool plazas, palaces and mansions with breezy balconies spilling bright bougainvillea out over the cobbled streets, we spent our days getting lost in El Centro, and our nights sipping drinks in open air restaurants and leafy plazas. We stayed in a lovely little room with a balcony, where we reclined watching horse drawn carts - the sound of their hooves on stone and the occasional serenade from the cart echoing through the quiet evening. (Thanks Dad and MaryLuz!)
Tamara’s 31st birthday was our third night in town and we celebrated in style! Under candlelight and red roses, we sipped chilled white wine and feasted on sea bass in a light tamarind sauce.
We arrived from Miami to Cartagena de Indias, The White City. It was the perfect place to start our trip - rich in history, beauty… and romance. The indigenous Carib settlement was conquered and the city established in 1533, making it the second oldest city in the country. Set on a deep bay, it quickly became the Spanish foothold and primary port in Colombia. As the most important outpost, almost all trade passed through its port, making the city rich - and a tempting target for pirates, including the infamous Sir Francis Drake. In response, a series of massive walls and forts were built around the city. Las Murallas, as it is called, took nearly two centuries to complete - battered by pirate attack and vicious storms it was finally finished in 1796, just 25 years before the Spanish were expelled.
Within these walls, the old city is a colonial treat. Packed full of hulking churches shading cool plazas, palaces and mansions with breezy balconies spilling bright bougainvillea out over the cobbled streets, we spent our days getting lost in El Centro, and our nights sipping drinks in open air restaurants and leafy plazas. We stayed in a lovely little room with a balcony, where we reclined watching horse drawn carts - the sound of their hooves on stone and the occasional serenade from the cart echoing through the quiet evening. (Thanks Dad and MaryLuz!)
Tamara’s 31st birthday was our third night in town and we celebrated in style! Under candlelight and red roses, we sipped chilled white wine and feasted on sea bass in a light tamarind sauce.
posted by paulandtamara @ 12:59 PM
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