Castillo San Felipe de Barajas 4-01-11

The following day we woke up a bit later from the late night before. We started the day off at the beach enjoying some sun and a dip in the beautiful sea. We then got ready and drove to the castle which protected the back side of the walled city from the pirates. The castle was purely for defence so it was rather basic and only contained one 'house' at the top where the governor would live. The fortress was marked by four turrets that outlooked each corner. The grand stone walls were terraced and contained canons in each of the holes. We walked around the walls of the old fortress admiring it and imagining what went on 400 years ago. We realised the best part was yet to come as we entered the maze of tunnels under the castle. We navigated our way through the 6" tall arched tunnels where the guards slept and  protected the city. We made our way through all of the tunnels before descending down an escape route tunnel which drops a metre below sea level. It seemed to wind down forever as we noticed the walls getting damper and damper. Next thing our path had run out unless we wanted to start wading and eventually swimming through the water to the exit by the sea somewhere. We decided against that idea and headed back up the tunnel to the castle. We arrived just in time to enjoy a Caribbean sunset as the big orange sun dropped behind the horizon. We overlooked the city as the view showed the contrast of the old city opposed by the imposing towering apartment buildings on either side of the sun. We headed home after another amazing day in Cartagena.