History of Cartagena

I never heard of the city Cartagena until it was mentioned as a possibility of vacation a couple months ago. Now, after being here for 2 weeks, I'm realizing how important the history of this city is - not only to Colombia, but to the whole world. Between the confrontations of the French, British, Americans, and the Colombians... hmm, I dunno how to explain it all. The story is told in the Museo Naval here in Cartagena. You just have to come to experience it yourself if you're interested.

First, you have a guy named Rafael Núñez. He is the only 4 time president of Colombia and he also wrote the country's National Anthem named ¡Oh Gloria Inmarcesible! (Oh, Unfading Glory). Núñez was born in Cartagena and the airport here is named after him. It goes without saying how much he is respected.

This is a bust of his stature in the park that houses his masoleum.









Here is the house he lived in the last 17 years of his life. His wife remained here for 30 additional years after his death. It's now a historical momument.



Here's where he rests with his wife.












One of the next places we went to was the Palacio de la Inquisición. It was the torture house in the 16th and 17th century. They tortured people for any reason possible. The list is endless. You walk through the place and it reeks of death and suffering. I don't think I was allowed to take photos but I still did.





The Guillotine.














La Horca - hanging post









You can't really see it, but there a contraption with sharp points that hold his chin up and the other end presses against the trachea.







They're having a great time.






















If you can't tell what this is, a person is laid flat and one piece of rope ties to each limb. The wheels tighten them and pretty much pull your arms and legs out of their sockets. Now, this is some pretty kinky stuff. Not my cup of tea though.





These last two pictures are of a dungeon cell. There is only one small one and many people were squeezed into here at a time. The second picture doesn't really capture it, but that a hole from above at ground level where they dropped people in. Being in there gave me absolute chills, and since I'm claustrophobic, I wasn't in there any longer than it took to take those pictures.

In the end, I've seen the similarities and disparities of the history of North and South America in general. Each was taken over and most indigenous persons were tormented and forced off their land, each had slaves from Africa and that were stationed at the Carribean islands, and each had a period of torture and torment to those that were believed to be non-religious - witches. You come to realize that the history of any place is really fucked up, but back then, it was normal thinking and doing. Hopefully, we've learned from our past and this will never happen again. However, unfortunately, race is still a huge unspoken issue in both of the Americas. We each have laws that prevent blatant and direct discrimination, but it still happens in an indirect and passive aggressive manner. If you don't believe me, then you are absolutely delusional.

Anyway, this is my last weekend in Cartagena before I go to Buenos Aires. This officially marks my vacation as being half over =( BOOO!! But whatever. After nine days in Buenos Aires, I'll be in Bogotá for a couple days. This is because Aerolineas Argentina decided to cancel our return flight on the 15th and return back to Bogotá on the 13th instead. Yup - just like that. Oh well, we'll get a chance to see Bogotá for a couple nights. We'll make the best of it!