I must admit, it is a pet peeve of mine to see people reference the country of Colombia as Columbia, all the time. Columbia is a outdoor sporting goods company, it's a university, it's a city in South Carolina, but it's not a South American country. That marvelous country's name is Colombia, with an "o". Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about a fabulous country called Colombia, home to some of the best musical artists, such as Carlos Vibes, Joe Arroyo, Juanes, Shakira Shakira (have to sing that out loud -if you know you know), J Balvin, and ChocQuibTown. Also it's home to some of the best musical genres of Cumbia, Vallenato also spelled Ballenato, Salsa Choke, to name a few. Some of my favorite foods are from that amazing country, pan de bono, buñuelos, empanadas Colombianas which are made of cornmeal and not flour, bandeja paisas, and the list goes on.
Colombia has some amazing cities, such as Bogota, Medellin, Cali. I however, only have made it to Cartagena. (Which leads me to the next pet peeve, I've heard people pronounce it Cartageña as if the n had a tilde (ñ), it doesn't. It's Cartagena no tilde on the n. Say Car-ta-hey-nah, it's easy. Not over do it!)
I was on a three day trip to Cartagena, it was just enough. It was amazing. If you are a lover of history and architecture, the old city is your place. Here are the places to visit in Cartagena:
Walled City of Cartagena
Barrio Getsemani (Colorful vibe, street art, performers)
Plaza Santo Domingo
Rosario Islands Rosario Islands are the perfect day trip from Cartagena. This archipelago is made up of 28 islands and reefs that are protected as part of the only underwater National Parks in Colombia. A short boat ride away from the city.
Day Trip to San Basilio de Palenque
San Basilio de Palenque The village of San Basilio is inhabited mainly by Afro-Colombians which are direct descendants of enslaved Africans brought by the Europeans during the Colonization of the Americas and have preserved their ancestral traditions. Palenque, which means "walled city" was the first free African town in the Americas, and in 2005 was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The free lands of San Basilio de Palenque were founded more than two hundred years before Colombia achieved independence from Spain. A ‘capitulation of peace’ was signed between the Spaniards and the former slaves in 1603 and, in 1713, the Spanish crown issued a Royal Decree that officially freed the people of the palenque from slavery.
If you cannot make it to San Basilio de Palenque, you can meet some palenqueras in the old town of Cartagena. They are usually in town selling fruits and sweets.
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