As a reporter for el universal in Cartagena, Colombia, Gabriel García Márquez, then a young journalist in training, was assigned to cover a morbid, and rather unusual, affair. The year was 1949 and the occasion was the emptying of the crypts of the famed Convent of the Nuns of the Order of Saint Clare. There, as the future novelist and Nobel laureate would later recall, “three generations of bishops and abbesses and other eminent personages were still buried.” What struck him most though was the skull of a young girl, found in the niche of a high altar, and from it streaming 70 feet of “living hair the intense color of copper.”

So reads the preface of the work inspired by that event, García Márquez’s 1994 novella Of Love and Other Demons. Set in 18th century Cartagena, it’s a love story infused with the literary flourishes and magical realism for which García Márquez is renowned.

But it’s also a brilliant portrait of the port city at its peak, then the most prized possession of the Spanish empire. For both its strategic location at the gateway of the continent and the wealth of the plundered riches within its vaults, Cartagena was a prime piece of real estate. And though the Spanish had arrived first, their claim to the coastal gem was only as good as their ability to defend it.

For nearly two-and-a-half centuries following its founding in 1533, Cartagena was attacked repeatedly. One after another, Dutch, French, and English pirates all laid siege — and some rather successfully. In 1586, the English buccaneer Sir Francis Drake dealt the city of Cartagena what might have been its final blow. After overwhelming the city’s defenses, he forced the inhabitants to flee and demanded a 10- million-peso ransom in exchange for his mercy. Drake was as good as his word and left the city standing, but the Spanish learned an expensive lesson: They’d best build a wall.

Construction began soon thereafter, and over the next century, thanks to a steady supply of slave labor, a series of fortresses came to dominate the coastline.Many of the stunning structures, like the massive Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, remain intact today, and along with the rest of the Ciudad Amurallada (“Walled City”), a UNESCO World Heritage site, serve to bring in far more people than they ever kept out. In fact, Cartagena receives more visitors every year than any other place in Colombia, and given current trends, that’s saying a lot.

While a seemingly intractable civil conflict had long dissuaded all but the most adventurous travelers from coming to Colombia, the last five years have seen a dramatic improvement in the security situation and equally impressive increases in the number of tourists. In 2005, after Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines decided to add Cartagena to its ports of call, more than 34,000 travelers arrived in the city. The following year, Lonely Planet named Colombia one of its top 10 travel destinations, while publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal weighed in with stories praising Cartagena’s stunning architecture and pulsing nightlife. This year, ashost of the 18th annual World Tourism Organization meeting with its 40,000- plus attendees, the city is in the spotlight as never before.

Accompanying the rise in tourism has been major improvement — and clever use of space — in Cartagena’s capacity to handle it. Centuries-old stone buildings now house new hotels, including the Sofitel Santa Clara ensconced in what was the crypt-bearing convent of the same name, and the luxurious Charleston Cartagena in the converted 17th century Santa Teresa cloister. There’s also the quaint, comfortable Casa La Fe, founded two years ago by an Englishman and his Cartagenian wife. Among its many amenities is a private boat for trips to Playa Blanca, considered Cartagena’s best beach, or the Rosario Archipelago, a chain of 127 coral islands scattered over a crystal blue sea.

For a look at what lurks under that surface, check out the Oceanario, a sort of open-sea aquarium showcasing the local shark and stingray species as well as a dolphin show to rival anything in Orlando. Yet, easily the most impressive oceanic offerings are the ones served up in the restaurants responsible for the coastal cuisine the rest of Colombia raves about. Grilled, steamed, soaked in coconut sauce or fried up and folded into buttered arepas, the seafood here compels one to consider permanent residence.

No less intoxicating is the sheer beauty of the Walled City’s urban environment, all sun-baked stone and bright bougainvillea. Cobblestone streets curl around cathedrals and crisscross plazas, as horse-drawn taxis, called huelepedos or “farties,” idle in the shade and the sounds of cumbia music fill the air in a city said to be “more Spanish than Spain.” But there are layers to this place, and beneath a covering of colonial charm, a vibrant, contemporary Cartagena is striding ahead. As of March, 41 highrises were under construction — most in “la Matuna,” the chief financial district — including the 58-story Torre de la Escollera, Colombia’s tallest-to-be. With incentives like a 30-year income tax exemption period for construction of new hotels (20 years for ecotourism projects), the Colombian government has its sights set on big investments in a tourist sector that’s just beginning to take off. As the country sets about a campaign of image change — from war-torn danger zone to safe, secure vacation paradise — Cartagena figures prominently in the plan.

So, too, does Gabriel García Márquez, who, as he turns 80 this year, will for the first time in his life see one of his novels in the form of a big-budget Hollywood picture — a temptation he’s long resisted. Love in the Time Cholera, second only in popularity to his epic, One Hundred Years of Solitude, was filmed in Cartagena recently. With a $40-million budget, it’s the biggest production in the city’s history and it stands to send thousands flocking to the Colombian coast. If that happens — when it does — it won’t be the first time. Cartagena can handle invasions — even when the invaders want hotel rooms.

Entry Requirements

U.S. citizens who are not also Colombian citizens must present a valid U.S. passport to enter and depart Colombia. Dual-national U.S-Colombian citizens must present a Colombian passport to enter Colombia, and both a Colombian passport and U.S. passport to exit the country and return to the United States. Any person born in Colombia may be considered a Colombian citizen, even if never documented as such. If you are an American citizen who was born in Colombia or who otherwise has Colombian citizenship, you will need both a Colombian passport and a U.S. passport during your trip. To avoid delays in your return to the United States, it is recommended that you obtain your U.S. passport before departing the United States. U.S. citizens do not need a Colombian visa for a tourist stay of 60 days or less.

More Information

Colombian Embassy
2118 Leroy Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
tel 202 387 8338
http://www.colombiaemb.org