Cartagena de Indias is a city in the north of Colombia, South America, located on the Caribbean Sea coast. Exploring this beautiful colonial city and its surroundings allows you to go back in time and enjoy the unique blends of cultures, the joy and kindness of its people and the variety of artistic expressions: food, music, dance, art and architecture. It is also surrounded by exuberant natural wealth, nice weather and paradisiacal beaches and islands, which is why it is considered "The Jewel of the Americas".
It was founded by Spanish colonizers in 1553. They gave to this city the same name as one of the Spanish cities and to differentiate it they gave it the surname "de Indias". The Spanish built castles and monasteries, also a fort and a walled city to protect the great riches that arrived by boat to the port. Many boats loaded with metals, precious stones and goods of all kinds came from all parts of South America with final destination to Spain.
It was also the largest trading port of African slaves in the Americas. Later, a small neighboring town of Cartagena, called San Basilio de Palenque, became the first settlement of free slaves in the Americas. When you visit the Plaza of Cartagena, you can see the Palenqueras, descendants of this town, selling fruits that they carry on their heads, with their colorful clothes and full of happiness and smiling and friendly faces.
Cartagena is also a literary center that has been the inspiration of writers and poets, such as Gabriel García Márquez, who with magical realism described this scenario in many of his stories and books.
All this history and cultural and artistic wealth that Cartagena de Indias offers, plus the comfort of modern life, make this city a very attractive and fun place to visit.
