Bird’s Eye View

Cartagena is the capital of the Bolívar department, it’s the fifth largest city in Colombia by population size, it’s the only city with multiple beaches within its bounds, and it’s one of the most expensive cities in the country. It's a place with a lot of history and many contrasts; old and new, wealth and poverty, natural and man-made, music and noise, chaos and organization. There is a lot to the city, and while I explored quite a bit of it, I definitely did not see everything. In my head I divide what I know of Cartagena into these chunks: Centro/Getsemaní/Bocagrande, the south and southeast, Manga, Pie de La Popa/Bazurto, the north, and then Turbaco, La Boquilla, Tierra bomba, Las Islas del Rosario and Barú on the outskirts. Today I wanted to give you a little bit of the topography of the city so that you’ll have more context for my upcoming posts.

Map of the city! Can you identify which areas are in the opening photo?

El Centro Histórico, Getsemaní, and Bocagrande are located on the peninsula of the city and are the three main areas for tourism in Cartagena. The Historic Center is where you’ll see the original colonial architecture, Getsemaní is where you’ll find colorful artwork and murals, and Bocagrande is where the most popular beaches on the coastline lie. Bocagrande is like the Miami of Cartagena; majority of the buildings are white high-rises, a stark contrast to the historic architecture of the Center and the homes in the other parts of the city. These three areas are where you find a ton of hotels, discotecas and restaurants and they’re always filled with visitors from around the world.

Manga is a residential neighborhood on an island connected to the rest of the city by bridges. On one end it is connected to the Center and on the other end it is connected to the southern zone of the city. It is connected to an area called Pie de La Popa on its third “side” and exposed to the ocean on its fourth. Manga is similar in appearance to Bocagrande from afar as there are a lot of tall, white apartment buildings, but as a whole it's a lot smaller, more compact, and there are also a few historic buildings scattered throughout the neighborhood as well.

The southern and southeastern parts of the city is where I’d say the majority of the population in Cartagena lives, and it's where I lived. There are a ton of different barrios that are comprised of either plain white or colorfully painted houses with lots of metal fencing, terraces and balconies where people sit in the afternoons, a neighborhood park or playing field for each of the bigger neighborhoods, and a handful of tiendas and other small businesses located in between or within people’s houses. There are also 3 major malls, Los Ejecutivos, La Castellana, and Sao in this area. There are 2 main avenues that run in and out of the south, avenida Crisanto Luque and avenida Pedro Heredia. There is a lot of traffic and movement along those main avenues, but the side streets are much quieter. You will see a ton of motos in this part of town. Even further southeast lies Turbaco, a pueblo just outside of Cartagena that has a lot more green space, fincas, and a center of its own.

In this video you get a great view of the southern zone of the city, Bocagrande and Manga in the distance, la avenida Pedro Heredia, La Popa and the convent on top of it, Pie de La Popa, and some of the northern zone of the city.

Pie de La Popa is the neighborhood that sits at the bottom of La Popa, a huge hill in the middle of Cartagena that has a convent at the top. These neighborhoods are similar to those in the southern zone, but this area also prominently features the Bazurto market, which is most often just referred to as El Mercado. There is always a lot of hubbub outside of the mercado as it is located along avenida Pedro Heredia, and people are constantly coming and going. Vendors sell their goods to passers-by outside the market, and inside there are tons of people buying and selling fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, prepared meals, clothes, shoes, furniture, you name it. There are also barber shops, nail salons, basically anything you want you can get in Bazurto (just as long as you can navigate through because it truly is a maze).

I have less knowledge about the north and outskirts of the city as I didn’t frequent those areas very much, but I know there are more neighborhoods north of the Center leading up towards Cartagena’s airport. Marbella and Crespo beaches are located along this northern piece of Cartagena’s coastline. La Boquilla, a fishing village north of Cartagena is located past this area and is also connected to the city via bridge. Tierra Bomba is an island southwest of the entire city that you can see from the beach in Bocagrande. You can get there in about 15 minutes by lancha. A bit farther away are Barú and the Rosario Islands, another attraction for Cartageneros and visitors alike as they are home to white sand beaches!

DISCLAIMER: This site (octaviachristopher.com) is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.

El Campestre

Sunsets & Gratitude