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 Topic: TravelogThe new items published under this topic are as follows.
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South America offers a rich experience for any traveler. This region’s variety of countries provides the tourist with a great selection of things to do and places to see. The picturesque city of Cartagena de Indias in Colombia is home to a number of exciting opportunities for every traveler. A new event that is capturing the eyes of travelers is La Cartagena Festival Internacional De Musica, or the Cartagena International Music Festival, which is held from January 9 until the 16th.
Begun in 2007 by Charles Wadsworth, Victor Salvi, and his wife Julia Salvi this festival has been held annually for four years. For the Salvis this music festival is a tool their organization, Fundación Salvi, uses to combat poverty and violence in Colombia. This festival started off simply using chamber music. The festival now, though, has added many new concerts and musical styles, including many performances by Colombian musicians. It seeks to raise the musical level in the country and raise a generation that makes music an important part of everyday life.
The tourist who takes part in this festival will surely be enriched by its program. Many activities are offered each day of the festival. Each day there is at least one concert. On some days, like Monday, January 11, there are many concerts. Featured in all of the concerts are a variety of artists and musicians. Some of the featured acts are Natalia Forero, the talented teenagers Lyon and Healy, and the Fundación Salvi. Other prominent features of the program are the exhibitions and special lectures. One notable lecture is “The Life of Mozart-The Years of Maturity”. All these events make for a memorable program.
In addition to the abundant daily features of the Festival’s program, the tourist can join in some of the highlights of the festival. The festival will include several lectures and other musical performances, such as the City of London Symphony, the Shanghai String Quartet, and pianist Stephen Prutsman.
Indeed, this festival is one that promises entertainment, excitement, and memories for a lifetime. With this festival you can make your Colombian vacation complete.
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San Francisco based travel writer Stephanie Block spent just a few days in Cartagena. In despite of travel warnings and heavy prejudices against Colombia a travel agent in Panama City managed to sell her a flight to Cartagena, Colombia.
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Australian
photograper David Jenkins not only fall in love with Cartagena - He
also gave us permission to publish some of his photos:
I was very lucky to arrive into Cartagena by the old style of travellers gone by a yacht the first time i visited in the summer of 2002 sailing in to the bay and seeing all the forts that were built to protect the city from the English pirates.
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El fotógrafo Australiano David Jenkins, un enamorado de Cartagena, nos dio permiso de publicar algunas de sus fotos.
Tuve mucha suerte al llegar a Cartagena en bote, al estilo del los antiguos viajeros, la primera vez que visite Cartagena fue en el verano del 2002, arribando por la la bahía, viendo todas las fortificaciones que fueron construidas en tiempos pasados, para proteger la ciudad de los piratas ingleses.
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The date was Friday 15th of February 2002. I had just finished writing an article about how Rigoberta Menchú had been walking around Santo Domingo the day before when my friend Ashley Rhodes raced into the internet cafe and asked me if I had my camera with me, because President Pastrana was in the Plaza Santo Domingo. We saw him walk into a historic house just off the Plaza and waited for him to come out. He emerged from the building a few minutes later with a casually dressed blonde woman and walked out to the Plaza again, surrounded by photographers and soldiers.Pastrana was in Cartagena attending the same international environmental conference that Rigoberta had. After I took a photo with my $15 camera President Pastrana smiled at me, and, seeing a pen and paper in my hand, made a gesture to suggest that he would be happy to sign an autograph.
I asked my friend Ashley to take a photo of the signing, and he tried, but handed the camera back saying it had run out of film. Damn! Oh well, at least I had his autograph. If I had known, I would have asked the blonde woman with the blacktop and sunglasses if she would mind signing for me as well. It wasn't until I read the next day's newspapers did I realize she was Queen Noor of Jordan, King Hussein's widow.
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The group consisted of the usual backpacker nationalities, some Brits, Canadians, Australians, and two Dutch girls. The agent seemed surprised at our number, thirteen in all, but was confident that we could all fit in to his four-wheel-drive vehicle. In any number of other countries another jeep would have been summoned, but we were in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where squeezing the tourist for every last peso is an art form. We did manage to get in, but myself and the other Aussie had to stand at the rear clinging onto the frame of the jeep's covering tarpaulin, the wind whistling through our ears.
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Stupid English man, lots of money.
The hotel St Martin was very comfortable and the staff accommodating to their guests every need, however for a stay of five or six weeks maybe a self catering apartment would make sense.
This is our second morning in the city and word is out, that there is a stupid English man with lots money and looking for an apartment staying in hotel St Martin. By nine thirty three Mr Fixit?s had been on the telephone offering to arrange apartments, boat trips to the islands and full time minders.
I allowed one of them to engage me in conversation about accommodation, big big mistake.
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Before I finish the first days impression of Cartagena Centro let me make it quite clear that Cartagena is by no means total mayhem, although I must admit that was my initial thought when emerging from the taxi. We did find some well kept and in my experience unique old squares with peaceful pavement cafés?.
Once you had learnt to deal with the cigar sellers, shoe shine operators and other assorted vendors who in general were much more likely to accept a ?no thank you? than those in the market place you could relax with a coffee or a beer and take in the atmosphere.
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It was in late October 1999 that I arrived in Cartagena with a friend I had met on a caribbean island, lets call her Sandra. It was early evening and we where met by Sandra?s sister who I shall call Titch, the airport is not the most exciting in the world but it serves the purpose and we where very soon in a taxi heading for town.
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 It was Saturday 19th of June 1999. For some weeks now, roughly-printed posters around Cartagena had been proclaiming "Correlejas and Fandango". When my housemate Jason and Jorge, a Colombian teacher friend asked if I wanted to go with them to a bullfight, I demurred.
"I don't like the idea of killing animals for entertainment" I protested. "There is no matador" said Jason, "just a load of people in the bullring taking a chance with the bulls...like the running of the bulls in Pamplona".
It sounded like harmless fun, so I agreed to accompany them. Little did I suspect I was to witness something that will stay in my memory for the rest of my life.
The Plaza de Toros bullring was just a short bus ride from Centro, next to Estadio Pedro Heredia, Cartagena's main football stadium. Part of the ring's brickwork had collapsed. Men on horseback milled among the spectators queuing for tickets. There were two ticket windows: Sombra, or shade, or the cheaper Sol, in the sun. We opted for the cheaper seats, and sat squinting into the setting sun beside some massive speakers blasting the sounds of various local bands into the crowd. I wished I had a hat like the men in the Sol stands - many were prudently wearing hand-made vueltiao hats.
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Cartagena
