A good day to rest after much travel and restoring a sleep routine, overcoming jet lag, and back to sea level after being at 2,625m (8,660 feet) of altitude at Bogota.

Day one in Cartagena was restful in the morning, although we woke up early so had breakfast early, before the crowd. Very nice and fresh food. Had booked a half-day afternoon tour of the old city and port. Weather warm, sunny, quite humid but clear.

The fort is impressive. What a impressive structure. Constructed by the Spanish, but sadly, using all slave labour. It certainly gave the Spanish a very good means of protecting their city from invaders some centuries ago. Given Pedro de Heredia (what a rogue and not a pleasant one) established he city of Cartagena on behalf of the Spanish colonialists in 1533, the fort was built sometime around that era. Given Cartagena was quite a gateway to the Americas (Indias) in those times, it was also often attacked by other European nations or pirates. It was also a central port for the slave trade of those centuries.

The old town, with some pictures below, was completely walled for security, with the fort as the first line of defence. Initially many of the buildings there were built with timber, but after many fires, eventually they were mostly constructed from stone. Refer below for various pictures.

Day two was meant to be a day tour to Baru but we baulked as it was mainly a day on the beach, not so appealing to these tired and fair-skinned travellers. Instead, we enjoyed the pool environment at Hotel Caribe, lazed about most morning, and afternoon too, with a massage for this privileged author. Very relaxing, although hard to communicate when you know little (un poco) Espanola and the masseur knows un poco Ingles.

In the afternoon we also encountered a resident sloth. Yes they do move so slowly, almost in slow motion, its seems like they are either infirm or being melodramatic. Funny creature though, mostly harmless if you leave them alone, very strong apparently with big claws, and vulnerable to predators so dependent upon their camouflage to stay hidden in the trees. Their greatest threat to their existence is humans of course, as their habitat is diminishing.

Now into day three and aiming to do some local shopping. Cartagena is safe in this tourist district, and if you stay in areas suggested, and be sensible, although we have avoided venturing into the noisy and party, we feel good here. The weather is balmy and locals are friendly, especially if you try to use Spanish.