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Limerence Update #34
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Doug and Judy |
Cartagena Santa Domingo Church |
Cartagena has a long Spanish
colonial history of defending properties in the Caribbean including a major assault on the
city itself from the English in 1740. After several attempts at independence from Spain,
Cartagena finally won freedom in 1821, and Simon Bolivar gave the city the name La
Heroica, the Heroic City. Today the walled
city boasts cobblestone streets and plazas, museums, churches, shops, hotels and fine
restaurants. One can wander for hours up and down the narrow streets and discover intimate
gardens and courtyards behind wrought iron doorways . . . inviting you inside for a peek!
Several friends have their
boats docked at the Marina Club de Pesca. It is a modern secure facility adjacent to an
authentic Spanish fortress with the most spectacular views of the harbor. There is also
another facility called Club Nautico, plus an anchorage in the inner harbor of Cartagena
Bay. Because Cartagena is a cruise-ship destination full of many tourist attractions,
there is a wide selection of shopping opportunities including fantastic emerald shopping,
Colombian coffee, cigars, and hand-crafted souvenirs. With the white sand beaches of the
Caribbean, and the historic city to explore, Cartagena offers much to do for cruisers who
decide to visit.
We joined in the Thanksgiving
celebration at the home of Lee and Pachy Miles who graciously hosted a party for over 30
family and cruiser friends. Lee settled in
Cartagena over 25 years ago and operates several stores in addition to publishing a guide
to Cartagena called “Destination Cartagena”.
We feasted, told stories, talked politics and economics, and enjoyed the company of
old friends and new.
Colombia is the world center
of the wholesale emerald market, and Cartagena is loaded with shops, small factories, and
street vendors all claiming to offer the best quality and best deals. We learned a little
about carat weight and value, color, light and sparkle of emeralds from several shops. We
decided to buy several pieces of jewelry and looked up Jesus O’Campo of Casablanca
Designs who has made a reputation for fairness among cruisers. His small factory is
difficult to find behind huge wooden doors on a side street near Plaza Santa Domingo.
Inside sat Jesus at his desk with five or six piles of emeralds in front of him that he
perused and selected with tweezers. As he showed us his wares, he explained that he
custom-makes all his jewelry with 18-carat gold, and all pieces come with a written
certificate of quality and guaranty. We
decided to have him make three pair of earrings - one for me, and one pair each for our
daughters-in-law, Debra and Barbara. I made a
few sketches, selected the emeralds, and ten hours later we picked up our earrings! The experience was certainly unique for us and we
had confidence that Jesus treated us well.
 Emerald Shopping |
 Jeweler |
Flying back to Panama from
Cartagena took about an hour, and we reflected on our wonderful weekend. The Colombians we
spoke with are anxious for Americans to learn more about their country, and hope that we
become more sympathetic to their situation. They are struggling with crime and
kidnappings, and there is no an easy solution at hand.
We have decided that once in the Caribbean, we will sail back to Cartagena on
Limerence and stay at the Club de Pesca. Learning
first hand about other cultures, history and politics, and talking directly to the people,
is one of the most enriching parts of cruising.