Old Piles of Words Because the word is mightier than the stone.

The Castillo San Felipe

Those of you who are really astute will notice that this is not the first time that we write about the Castillo de San Felipe: the first time was here, in Guatemala. But this time I am writing about a place has very little to do with the puny little castle to the north, but rather the homonymous fortress that overlooks the city of Cartegena. As we mentioned yesterday, this fortress is the biggest one that the Spanish built anywhere in their colonies. And it shows.

The original complex on this hilltop was a rather weak outpost with just 8 cannon and 20 soldiers up until a French privateer invaded in 1697 and turned the fort's guns on the city, using them to breach its walls. With the location's tactical importance made so blindingly obvious, the Spanish consequently decided to make the hilltop invincible. The fortress they built consists of a series of batteries encircling the hilltop, connected via a complex system of tunnels and parapets designed in such a way that it was impossible to take any one battery without taking fire from every other battery. They finished this mighty citadel in 1796, just 15 years before the wars of independence began. Once completed, the fortress never fell again, and made Cartagena a stronghold of Royalist forces throughout the war.

Today, the Castillo is one of the more accessible destinations in Cartagena. With a small entrance fee, one can wander about its tunnels, parapets and batteries, admire the walled city and watch life in the neighborhood from a bird's eye view (we caught an impromptu softball game). The place is hot and sun scorched, but luckily some of the best lemonade in the city is available at the top of the highest battery.

We took some nice shots of the place, and we hope you enjoy them.

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