Cartagena Off The Beaten Path

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On the return journey from Volcán de Lodo El Totumo we made a stop for lunch in a lovely pueblo Manzanillo del Mar. It's a little fishing village with the population of nearly 1.200, just a short drive from Cartagena. Basic infrastructure is deficient; the community has electricity but no sewage or potable water. Its seaside is vulnerable to sea storms that occasionally wash off the road on the seaside edge of the village. The community depends on fishing and handicraft production for their living, and lately also on tourism. There is not much to do here except for the beach, which is rather empty during the week, with more people coming from Cartagena on weekends.

The lunch was not ready yet when we arried in Manzanillo del Mar so I took the opportunity to take a walk along the long sand beach. There were only a few local people on the beach and us tourists who came with the tour for lunch in one of the simple restaurants under the thatched roof. I enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and would gladly spend the whole day here. Well, perhaps another time.

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This is hardly off the beaten but not exactly a must see anymore either though surely it its day it was! The old port of Cartagena has been reduced to a much smaller function than its industrious past but still retains a certain charm with large old sailing vessels still on display. It is also the departure port for boats going to Playa Blanca and Isla del Rosario, the two main places tourists are likely to be heading by boat.

You can get some great shots of the walls of Cartagena as well as its skyline from here at dusk.

La Iglesia de San Roque will likely escape your attention unless you are staying in the Getsemani section of Cartagena but it is a very pretty small church built in 1674. It was named after the patron saint of pandemic diseases, San Roque who died before the plague reached Europe.

At the wall end of Calle de la Media Luna in Getsemani

El Monumento a la India Catalina is a simple if touching tribute to the native people who lived in this area prior to the Spanish Conquest. The strong and beautiful woman depicted is Catalina who was Pedro de Heredia's interpreter so obviously a key figure in the town's development. It dates back to only 1974 and is not overly impressive but it's worth the small walk to see not only in its own right but also to see the surrounding area which gives you a small glimpse into the “real” Cartagena that is less about a fairy tale town and more of a typical South American metropolitan area. It's a great area for authentic and cheap snacks too!

At the far end of Avenida Venezuela on the way out of the walled city.

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Parque del Centario looks very promising on the free map the tourist information center gives you. It is by far the biggest park in town and the entranceways are painted in a luscious yellow with white trim and picturesque statues atop. It was right next to the area we were staying to it was easy enough for us to visit and we hoped for a lush green oasis to escape the city's noted heat. So, it was not unusual that we walked through it our very first day in town en route to the more famed Old Town area. It was spacious and there were a fair amount of trees though not as lush as we had anticipated. That said, it would have been a perfectly pleasant place to sit and read a book if it were not for the preponderance of derelicts that seemed to have the same idea as us albeit the book. It was also generally run down compared to the gorgeous entranceways that beckoned us in. We never went back into the park again but passed it often and took many photos of what we found to be its best feature, those very entrances we first noticed.

The large area between Avenida Daniel Lemaitre, Cale de la Media Luna, and Avenida del Centario

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The tour boats to Islas del Rosario stops at Isla de San Martin de Pajarales where there is an aquarium. I was the only one from my boat who visited the aquarium, but there were many other boats there and lots of visitors. We had to go in a group with a guide. In the big pools of the aquarium there are dolphins, sharks, turtles and rays. There are also a few small aquariums with small fish and there is a crocodile. They had a dolphin show and as this was the first time I saw one I absolutely think I made the right decision to visit the aquarium (and not go snorkelling, or just wait outside the aquarium as some other tourists did.). By the entrance there are snacks and a few souvenirs for sale.
Admission to the aquarium was 15 000 pesos (August 2008).

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Islas del Rosario is an archipelago situated about 35 km southwest of Cartagena. The islands and the reefs are part of a national park, Parque Nacional Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo. The archipelago consists of around 30 coral islands with low vegetation. Some of the islands are very small with only one house. Many of those smaller islands are privately owned. But for those who want to stay over night there are a few hotels and houses for rent on the bigger islands. Most people visit Islas del Rosario on a daytrip from Cartagena though, and so did I.
There are no big beaches on the islands but there are smaller strips of white sand where you can swim (if you are visiting on a daytrip you will probably stop at the larger Playa Blanca on the way back to Cartagena) and the reefs are good for snorkelling and diving. But unfortunately the reefs are not as good as they used to be as warm water currents have destroyed much. On one of the islands there is also an aquarium to visit.

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Playa Blanca with its fine white sand is supposed to be the best beach around Cartagena. I only visited for a few hours as part of an Isla Rosario trip (and so do many other people). We came here to eat lunch (a good fish meal) and then we had time for swimming and sun bathing. Before going to Isla Rosario the boat had dropped a few people who were spending more time at Playa Blanca. You can rent snorkel equipment on the beach. I didn’t so I don’t know how much it cost and what there is to see, but it is supposed to be quite good conditions.

Playa Blanca is not exactly an off the beaten path place, but it is outside Cartagena. It is situated about 20 km southwest of Cartagena.