Cartagena: the Walled City and the Caribbean at Sunset

Cartagena sits on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, with the Old City enclosed within 11 kilometers of 16th-century colonial walls. The city faces north and northwest into the Caribbean Sea. Bocagrande peninsula extends north, giving a clear northern horizon for Caribbean sunrises from the beach promenade. The city walls, built 1533 to 1796, run along the western and northern edges of the old city; from the Baluarte de Santa Catalina (a corner bastion), the Caribbean stretches west and sunset turns the colonial facades amber. Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, a 17th-century fortress on a 40-meter hill east of the old city, gives the panoramic reverse view looking west across the old city roofline toward the sea at golden hour. At 10.4°N, golden hour lasts 22 minutes. The Caribbean coast here is driest December through April, peak season for clear golden-hour photography.