June 29, 2016-July 5, 2016

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This summer has been quite an eventful summer. Not only did I attend two weddings as the Maid of Honor, but also one of those weddings occurred in Cartagena, Colombia, thus adding another country to my list of places I’ve traveled. On July 2, 2016, my sister married her now husband in Cartagena, Colombia. This wedding gave me an opportunity to photograph, not only one of the most beautiful cities that I have seen, but also a city filled with life and character. I must say, it was quite difficult to decide which photos to feature on my blog, but hopefully the ones I chose portray the beauty of Cartagena, especially at night.

I arrived in Cartagena on Wednesday, June 29, the wedding occurred Saturday, July 2, and I left Tuesday, July 5. When I was not actively helping out with the wedding, I made the time to explore the city, catch up with my sister’s friends, and do a little swimming at a nearby beach. We mostly spent our time in Old Town Cartagena. Surrounded by a fortress, Old Town Cartagena architecture consists mostly of brightly colored, colonial style buildings and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated along the southern border of the fortress wall, the three major landmarks, Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, La Catedral, and Monumento Torre Del Reloj are the central points to most activity during all hours of the day and especially at night. People constantly fill the plazas surrounding the monuments as they enjoy their late-night dinners, friendly engagements, and just people-watching activities. My sister and her husband were quite lucky to be able to hold their wedding ceremony at the church, Iglesia de San Pedro Claver. As a popular venue for many Colombian weddings, the church had only one opening for three years, which happened to land on the couple’s anniversary. This church holds the remains of San Pedro Claver, the patron saint of slaves. I must say it did feel a little odd to be able to see the remains at the back of the alter during the wedding. Despite that, the church was beautiful, inside and outside.

After the wedding, I finally had time to relax and enjoy the last few days in Cartagena. We visited the newer part of Cartagena, where many resort hotels were located. There, we walked along a beach and just spent the day relaxing. Since Old Town Cartagena does not have a beach, and the beach in the newer part of Cartagena is not that great, we (my partner, my sister’s friends, and myself) took a boat to a nearby beach, called Playa Blanca, where many Colombians visit on their days off. It was quite a journey just to get on the boat. Since only one person in my group had a significant understanding of Spanish and we had to navigate through many hawkers, we finally found a public boat to take us to the beach. Once at the beach, all we did was relax and enjoyed drinks in pineapples. Later that evening and on the last night, one of my sister’s friends rented an AirBnB apartment with rooftop access. From there, we saw the whole city and could hear the life reverberating throughout. I could not have ever imagined a better way to spend my last night in Cartagena.

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