Emeralds, Gold and Street Vendors

Cartagena, Columbia
May 2, 2006

Cartagena was founded in 1533 by the Spanish who used it as a supply centre and storehouse for their plundered Columbian riches, which included gold and the finest emeralds in the world. For obvious reasons, Cartagena was a prime target for pirates until the fortified walled city was built.

Jan and I and a number of our cruise mates were tentative about visiting Cartagena because of Columbia's reputation for drugs and violence. We were assured by the ships tour office that Cartagena was safe and so we booked a city tour, which started at 12:45 Noon.

Street vendors constantly swarmed us like flies and were equally persistent.

Vendors sold bottled water, coke and coke light for $1 kept cold in ice filled barrels wheeled around on a dolly or in a styrofoam cooler with a shoulder strap, which I bought several regularly. Black women dressed in colourful dresses carried large bowls of fruit on their heads and posed for photos for $1. Other vendors sold cheap neckalces, tea shirts (I bought a ncie blue one), hats, and cigars, supposedly Cuban Habanas. Since we were continually walking, the street vendors hounded us continuously. It was so annoying, some from our tour group retreated to the bus. Even this wasn't a barrier, the street vendors would repeatedly tap on the window and hold up what they were selling negotiating through the window.

The colonial architecture of the walled city is beautiful and our tour bus was comfortable and air conditioned, however, much of the four-hour tour involved walking in 31 C temperatures and 95% humidity. Fortunately, most of the walking was on the flat. Still, many of the places we visited were not air conditioned and most of us were sweaty, tired and grumpy after about three hours.

For our last stop we visited a small shopping plaza with air-conditioned and elegant shops. Jan bought a gold charm and pendant and a ceramic bead necklace and bracelet all from "authentic" indian designs and I bought a hand made leather computer briefcase/backpack.
We made it back to the ship at 5:30 PM but never made it to the dining room for our 5:45 dinner seating.Instead we grabbed a quick bite in the Lido, the buffet restaurant, and passed out in our room.