San Felipe de Barajas Castle

It was last Sunday and the sun was shining in all its glory. Therefore, that day in the company of my girlfriend, my sister and a friend, we decided to take a tour of the museums and forts of Cartagena that, according to a law that has been in force for a couple of years now, is free for all Colombians on the last Sunday of each month.

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We embarked on an adventure in which we hoped to encounter and soak up a lot of history, culture and a whole lot of other things. The first thing we decided to do was visit the Inquisition Palace and the Zenú gold museum, the latter is one of many regional museums that are scattered throughout Colombian territory. The main one is located in the capital of Colombia, Bogota. Both places are located in Simón Bolívar Park, in the center of Cartagena, so we thought we could kill two birds with one stone. But, thanks to our bad luck, that day they were doing maintenance so both museums were closed to the public! So we decided to return a little south, looking for that fort that stood imposingly in the middle of a small hill, it is none other than the magnificent Castillo San Felipe de Barajas.

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For me, the Castle of San Felipe is the best model in Cartagena. In addition to this, for me it divides the city between the historical part and traditional part, and the zones that have grown with the passing of time over the last couple of years. After the castle, the centre is just a few minutes walk away and on its sides there are historic neighbourhoods, such as Torices, Manga and Pie de la Popa. We arrived there and it was very crowded, it is obvious that everyone wants to enjoy this place and also, the entrance is free. At that time I learned something I didn't know: it's true that entry is free, but only for Colombians! Foreigners had to pay a fee of 15, 000 pesos which is like 5 dollars, or a little more than 4 euros. They asked us for our identification, so they could verify our nationality and let us go up.

The climb was a bit difficult because the sun was almost directly over our heads and the road had a steep slope, but none of that stopped us from taking some good pictures and continuing our journey. Once up the top, we took a few minutes to rest so we could take advantage of the strong sea breeze that was so refreshing to us. From the top of the castle you can appreciate lots of beautiful parts of Cartagena, the port or the bay of Maga; also there is the "cerro de la popa" - hill of the stern, the center of town, Bocagrande and even you can see the Mangrove Spirit Park. The view was spectacular. I imagine how beautiful it would have been to witness a sunset from there, but unfortunately we did not stay there long enough. There is a huge tri-coloured flag that flies in the breeze and shows off Colombia and tells us all that you can find great beauty in every corner of this beautiful Colombian country. We also found several cannons that emphasise the power of this place in its time and the important military base that it must have been.

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After a nice long rest, the exploring began. We climbed stairs, entered loads of tunnels where some of them were illuminated, others where darkness reigned. For the amount of people who were on the site, these tunnels were quite narrow and it was very hot. We observed several prison cells where the prisoners of war were placed. The set of tunnels that the castle has looks like a complicated labyrinth with loads of entrances and exits. Due to the number of people there, it was difficult to appreciate it in full detail. Therefore, I'll give the following advice to you: if you are Colombian and you happen to be in Cartagena on the last Sunday of any month, this can be a very cool plan that you can enjoy without spending practically anything. But, if you are a foreigner, I don't recommend that you go on this day, because besides paying the full price anyway, you might not enjoy the experience fully.

Let's talk a little bit about the history...

If you don't know the history of Colombia or Latin America, you might ask yourself: What is a castle doing in Cartagena? Well, first of all, the city has more than 400 years of history and, since its creation, it has become an important port for the Spanish crown. African slaves were bought and sold in this port. Besides this, all the gold that was extracted from the Kingdom of New Granada (Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador) was taken to the city after a long process in which they had to go through the complicated geography of the Andean countries. From there, it was transported to Spain. All this made great kingdoms and empires such as the English, the Dutch and even the French very greedy and jealous of Cartagena. The castle was the solution and the only resource that the Spaniards found to be able to defend themselves from those misfortunes.

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There is a monument next to the castle of San Felipe. Many people in Colombia, and even in Cartagena, do not know who this person is and what he did to deserve this recognition. This is Blas de Lezo, a Spanish soldier who fought in many wars, even losing one of his legs and an eye to the fight. Despite this, he remained strong and in his last years of life, he defended Cartagena from the English. He acheived something that, no matter how long ago it was, is unthinkable, and he did it with only a few barges and some 3 thousand men. Among these men, there were Indians and they all won a battle against more than 20, 000 English soldiers and 100 boats. He was recognised because of all this, and so an avenue, a neighbourhood and a clinic in the city were all named after him.

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After a few hours in this magical, wonderful and historic place, we went down and left. Although the heat was so heavy inside the castle, the breeze outside compensates for that, and although it can be an exhausting experience, it is worth it with everything you learn from it! The only thing left for me to say is that this is one of the things you definitely should do when you are in Cartagena! The castle is more than just an impressive work of architectural in the city, it is also part of its identity and that of all Colombians, so much so that it is considered as one of the wonders of the country.

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