For mature visitors, Cartagena is the number one place of interest within Colombia, just as New York is for the United States, or Paris is for France. It is not the capital, but it is the city that offers itself as both a seaside resort as well as a picturesque historic destination.   For this reason, you will find no shortage of articles about its attractions, but I hope to give you a more practical guide to La Heroica (the Heroic), as Cartagena is known here.

Barranquilla's carnival slogan, quien lo viven es quien lo goza, translates to who lives it, is who enjoys it. After missing the past two Carnivals while in Colombia, I was finally able to attend one this year and found out for myself that the slogan holds true.

Bogotá's Ave. Septima, normally clogged with traffic, noisy and polluted, looks like this these days - at least between 19th St. and 26th.