A Peak at Cartagena

• This is Semana Santa (Easter/Holy Week). As in all Latin American countries, this is one of the most important times of the year. There have been many celebrations as the city shifts into holiday mode. Its a tourist city so some business carries on, but the change in pace has been noticable.
• I was told by a fellow hotel guest that all museums were free on the last Sunday of the month, even the Castillo de San Felipe Barajas. This is a huge fortress built at the eastern edge of the city in the 1600s. So I headed over to check it out...but the guard at the gate said, "No, because of Semana Santa they were not allowing free entry." He was polite and friendly and my mild cajoling ("But I've come such a long way", big smile) quickly unravelled his need to enforce the rules. He asked where I was from and when I told him Los Estados Unidos he remarked to his coworker that yes, I even resembled the American Ambassador. Now, I'll bet there is not one among us who could identify the Colombian Ambassador given a line up of ambassadors. But because of my likeness, he let me in for free.

Trish and the girls from our hotel at the Castillo de San Felipe

Castillo de San Felipe

• There is a small plaza in front of the church at the end of our street. Every night people gather there to enjoy the evening. Clearly, the heat plays a role in bringing people out. The plaza fills with kids, adults and elders; tourists and locals alike. The design of the plaza encourages people to congregate and benches are set in such a way as to provide a measure of privacy if wanted or a chance to interact; your choice. Food vendors set up and dinner can be had for about $2.50. Last night there was a concert with four bands, great music and a fun atmosphere. Another night they showed a movie projected on a wall across the plaza.

On the plaza

On the plaza

Our favorite food vendor
• The Carribean influence here is unmistakable, noticed in the music and the attitude of the locals. 'Sultry' is a word that has found its way into my conversations when describing Cartagena to friends.The city is much more than the small historic area at its core and things get more real in these areas. Because of our dealings with the van and the dog we've had the opportunity to meet people who live and work here, not just those serving the tourist industry. Invariably they are friendly, warm, polite and helpful.
• There is a strong police presence in Cartagena and we've been told elsewhere as well. The current president has been in office 8 years and is very well liked. He is credited with improving safety by stepping up police presence. While it can be disquieting at first, you quickly realize they are there for the general good. They are friendly and keep a low profile, just present enough to be seen but not intimidate. Many of them joke with the locals and play with the kids.
• This week a political prisoner of 12 years was released by FARC, the guerrilla faction, and the remains of another prisoner were returned to his widow. This was covered heavily in the papers and on the news. While in a restaurant a man at a nearby table asked the waiter to switch the TV channel from sports to the news. In a show of typical politeness he first asked us if we were watching the other program and looked for assurance that he would not be offending us by having the channel changed. Then, he shared with us the importance of these events for the prisoner's families as well as for the country. There are further plans to release other prisoners.
• And about speaking Spanish....here they speak with a bit of slur and as in a few other countries we've been in (notably, El Salvador) they often drop the 's'. Now, I grew up in New England, where the R's aren't, so I know about regional accents. But as students of Spanish it makes it that much more difficult when words like 'dos' become 'doe', 'esquina' becomes 'ekeena' and 'bosque' becomes 'bokay'. Sometimes people speak so fast that it's hard to identify where one word ends and the next word starts and I find myself repeating a word or phrase and thinking, 'Now if there was an 's' in here somewhere would it sound like something I know'.