The "Monumento de los Zapatos Viejos" (Monument of the old shoes), with the fort "Castillo San Felipe de Barajas" in the background. This monument is dedicated to the Colombian poet Luis Carlos Lopez who wrote "A mi ciudad Nativa" (to my native city). This poem tells romantically the story of Cartagena and how the cartagenans love their land as we love our old shoes.
Up the hill to the "Convento de la Popa" and a good view of the city.
This was founded in 1607, later used as a military headquarters, then abandoned for a long time. It has been recently restored and is an interesting place to visit. Here I am in the central courtyard of the Convent.
The fortress "Castillo San Felipe de Barajas" is an outstanding example of military engineering. It is the greatest and strongest fortress ever built by Spain in their colonies and was never taken by assault. We followed interior tunnels, viewed the defenses and appreciated the difficulties this structure presented to any attacker.
