4 March 2017 - Cartagena

On our last day in Colombia, we had a few hours to actually play tourist before we left for the airport. We decided on history and went to Old Town, the historic walled city of Cartegena. In the late 1600s, the wall was begun as a defense against pirates. Completed in 1786, it took almost 200 years to build the walls around the city. It is a massive fortification complete with bastions. 

Lynn, in one of the tiny bastions which stand at all the corners in the wall, so the guards could keep watch in multiple directions. You can see how close the city is to the edge of the ocean, making it easy prey for the French and Spanish corsairs. 

Here's a view of the wall from  inside the city. The wall is two times or more taller from the outside. 

Inside the walls, the city is a riot of color. Two story buildings feature balconies overhanging the narrow sidewalks and streets. Most of the balconies are also covered in flowering plants. 

Adding to the color were the street signs made of tile work affixed onto the sides of the buildings.

The city also boasts plazas, fountains, cathedrals and clock towers, but my favorite part?  The door knockers. First, the doors were huge. Almost every one was a double door, but there was usually a much smaller door set inside one of the larger doors. 

Here you can see the large set of double doors and the smaller, head-banger door. Most of these doors had me coveting their very whimsical door knockers. If I had found any for sale, they would have come back with me. 

The Octopus was my favorite. The leg over my finger is the one used as a knocker--it thunks down on the starfish. 

These are not dainty little adornments, but fairly massive metal fixtures. Here you can get an idea of the scale. This lovely lizard is attached to one of the over-sized double doors. You can see the smaller door inside the right hand door. 

There were many more but you get the idea of how much fun these are. 

Even though we were exploring the history and culture of the city, we were looking at all the birds as well, ending our time in the city with a magnificent frigatebird and a yellow-bellied elaenia. 

Needless to say, this was a wonderful trip and I look forward to visiting Colombia again.