• Nature Colombia: the best country in the world for bird watching
  • Music Cali, this is the world capital of salsa

In Simón Bolívar Park, two steps from the palace in which the Inquisition operated for two centuries, he spent his first night in the city at the age of 21. In the open, yes. He had no money for a hotel and the police arrested him for breaking the curfew. This was the initial contact of Gabriel García Márquez with Cartagena de Indias in 1948. It is also the starting point of the routes that track its passage through the city. The relationship between the two then improved (a lot) until it became the one that inspired him the most, including an entire book, Love in the Time of Cholera.

Even so, his footprint extends throughout the Colombian Caribbean, the destination that concerns us, from his native Aracataca to Barranquilla, Santa Marta or Tayrona Park. Pure coastal essence that crosses photogenic beaches of turquoise waters (how else?), but also tropical jungles, rainforests, snowy mountains and indigenous communities that continue to invoke, among the yellow butterflies of Gabo's novels, the pachamama (mother earth).

'Skyline' of the neighborhood of Bocagrande.I. GARCIA

As if that were not enough, one can not forget salsa, cumbia, vallonato, chambeta (typical Cartagena street dance that can be known through a guided tour, with class included) and other local rhythms. Welcome to the land of savory. And the piecework seafood. And of the infinite party. And magical realism. For this reason, García Márquez is one of the protagonists of the walk, which starts in the cobbled Cartagena to sneak into the newsroom of the newspaper El Universal, on San Juan de Dios Street, where he delved into journalism.

Walk through the neighborhood of Getsemaní.I. GARCIA

In the Plaza de los Mártires, on the other hand, his father told him that he would end up eating "paper" if he did not cease in his efforts to be a writer. Then there would be the Clock Gate, the one he saw "in all its grandeur in the mauve light of six o'clock in the afternoon" and could no longer "suppress the feeling of having been born again." He expressed it this way in Living to tell the tale, the first of the three volumes of autobiographical stories of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Colorful facades of downtown Cartagena.SHUTTERSTOCK

The itinerary would continue in the squares of the Cathedral, Santo Domingo, the Customs and the Cars, in the Vaults full of craft and souvenir shops and in the Portal de los Dulces, where you can get all kinds of megacaloric sins. If not, there will always be the fruit carried on their heads by the palenqueras, those voluptuous women of striking clothing turned into authentic icons of the place.

Between pirates and graffiti

Its name is due to the fact that "they descend from the black slaves they brought from Africa and stayed in Palenque, about 50 kilometers away," explains guide Amaurys Martelo while following the tour of the old town designed by the travel agency Baquianos Travel, specialized in the Caribbean since 1977, when its founder, Jairo Portillo, He was a pioneer in local nature tours such as trekking through the Tayrona Park and the Lost City of Santa Marta. Today, it is his children who are responsible for organizing all kinds of itineraries through Colombia. As a guarantee, he has won one of the National Tourism Awards of ProColombia (a government entity dedicated to promoting exports, international tourism and foreign investment in the country) in 2021.

Graffiti with García Márquez and other Colombian figures.I. GARCÍA

It's time to climb the castle of San Felipe de Barajas, built by the Spaniards as a fortress -pirates like Francis Drake made theirs here-, to contemplate the city in 360º. From the Miami skyline of the commercial and financial area of rascaielos of Bocagrande to Getsemaní, the neighborhood of the rumba (march), with night temples dedicated to salsa such as Café Havana -Hillary Clinton was disheveled in it and that image went around the world- or Bazurto Social Club.

Dish from Celele restaurant.

There is also no shortage of antique shops, art galleries, handmade artisan shops and alleys dotted with graffiti (García Márquez's universe is repeated everywhere). And all dotted with elegant colonial houses of bright tones (the yellow albero wins by a landslide) with multicolored wooden balustrades transformed into hotels and boutique restaurants with charm and rooftop like Monaguillo or Celele (see practical guide). Take a look at its original knockers, another symbol of the metropolis. If they are shaped like a lion, a military man lived here. Lizard? Royalty. Mermaid? A fisherman... Another curiosity of the land of savory.

PRACTICAL GUIDE

HOW TO GET THERE

Iberia offers direct flights to Cartagena de Indias from Spain from 350 euros each way depending on the season. More information at www.iberia.com

WHERE TO SLEEP

Monaguillo Hotel. Beautiful boutique accommodation built in a colonial house in the neighborhood of Getsemaní. Its roof terrace is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner with views of the city. Website: www.hotelmonaguillo.com

WHERE TO EAT

Celele. Contemporary haute cuisine in Cartagena that travels the Colombian Caribbean through the investigation of the territory and its gastronomy. Located in the most atmospheric area of the Getsemaní neighborhood, it is one of the culinary essentials of the city and the whole country. Not surprisingly, it is considered one of the best restaurants in Latin America. Website: www.celelerestaurante.com

Palo Santo. Creative dishes in the historic center of Cartagena with special attention to fish and seafood. Watch out for the red mojarra, the lobster marinera, the rice with prawns and crispy salmon, the ceviches or the trilogy of Carthaginian fried foods. You should also try their desserts such as passion fruit fluffy or coconut pie with ice cream. Website: www.restaurantepalosanto.com

MORE INFORMATION

On the websites of Turismo de Colombia: www.procolombia.co and www.colombia.travel.

Baquianos Travel. Travel agency with an eye on sustainable tourism specializing in the Colombian Caribbean, although it also organizes tours throughout the country. Professionalism and great variety of proposals and budgets to know Colombia first hand in a close way with special attention to local communities. More information at www.baquianos.com

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