Cartagena in More Detail

After dinner last night we sketched out a game plan for the day.  We get started early and by 8:15 am we are in a taxi on our way to Castillo San Felipe.  We are hoping to see most of the castle before the sun beats down too heavily.  We walk up to the top and work our way down the castle, which was originally built in the mid-1500's and expanded or rebuilt through the 1700's.  It's well preserved, having gained UNESCO world heritage status in the 1980's.

As we are walking out of the castle around 10:30 am we see the Hop-On Hop-Off bus approaching.  We wave to the driver and take it to one of the entrances to the Walled City.  Wandering the narrow streets we find an air-conditioned restaurant and coffee shop.   Time for breakfast!

While we sip coffee we Google Map the locations of things we want to see, which includes Iglesias Santa Catarina de Alexandria, the gold museum and the Inglesia y Santuario San Pedro Claver.  Off we go!  In addition to our plan, in the square in front of San Pedro Claver we find a a number of small sculptures and several people in the square displaying interesting character.

We pay to go into the Museum of San Pedro Claver, otherwise we will not be able to get into the church until 5 pm when it opens in preparation for evening mass.  We go through the museum cloisters and garden before entering the church.  We learn that Pedro Claver was a Jesuit priest who devoted much of his life to evangelizing and improving conditions of the black slaves of the area. On the alter are the remains of the Saint who died in 1654.  That's a little unique.

Along a side street of the church we find a series of small shops.  William spots a cigar shop and Elsie finds a store selling chocolate covered coffee beans. Yeah! I am developing a cold and starting to lose my voice, so I sit in one of the comfortable chairs and watch them shop. Charlie joins me in also watching the people walking through the street.