“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.” ― Elizabeth Taylor
Two of the best reasons to live in Nicaragua are the low-cost of living and location, location, location. Since we are centrally located to many areas of the world and we don’t spend a lot of money to live comfortably, we can pursue our passions for travel.
We just returned from Cartagena, Colombia. What an amazing cosmopolitan city it is! We booked a cozy apartment in the walled Old City through Airbnb, Martha’s Place. Leaving our little hobbit door in our loft bedroom, we explored the old and the new from one vibrant door to another.
Cartagena’s character can be found in the variety of colorful and whimsical doors throughout the city. Flowering Bougainvillea spills over the archways, and twisting vines climb the walls. I found the doors impossibly irresistible, and I had to photograph every door I passed.
The rising barrio, Getsemaní, contained the best street art I have ever seen. I’ll save the street art for a separate post, yet the doors were intriguing, too.
Wandering through the maze of colonial restorations along the narrow streets, I found myself peeking through the slats to see the underbelly of the old construction.
Most of the doors had ornate and unique door knockers. The majority were iguanas, and there were a few fish, starfish, lion heads, and copper hands. Of course, I had to photograph all the door knockers, too. I hunted throughout the city to find an iguana door knocker to buy…but, I didn’t have any luck.
The balconies overlooking the city streets were spectacular.
The church and cathedral doors were massive.
Now, this door has an unusual door knocker. It looks like Zeus.
I took many photos of doors, so I joined them into a poster. I may have this enlarged and framed.
At night, the city vibrated with music. The sounds of horse-drawn carriages with horse hooves clip-clopping along the narrow streets signaled the end of our day exploring and opening doors. It was time to return to our hobbit door bedroom. Hasta mañana, Cartagena. There will be more doors to open tomorrow.
Your visit and articles are timely Deb, it has been on my radar for a long time and you have just helped me make the decision to go there much sooner rather than later. Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing
I would fall in love with this town Debbie! So beautiful! Oh how I want to go!
Excellent post, as always. I’m headed to Cartagenia in about 6 weeks. This was a beautiful preview.
Lauren, you will love, love, love Cartagena. It is such a beautiful city.
what a great visit, I also love the unusual doors. Looking forward to seeing the street art.
Thanks, John and Mary. The street art was the most spectacular street art I have ever seen.
Great post! Lovely shots. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Loved seeing your photos of Cartagena’s vibrantly painted doors and especially your mention of Getsemani, which we wandered into one day for a memorable walk! Anita
Anita, where did you stay when you were in Cartagena? I was surprised at how easy it was to walk around the city. We only took taxis when we got trapped in the scorching sun in the afternoon.
Each one looks like a beautiful work of art 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing and have a beautiful day ahead 🙂
Thanks, Sreejith. Wait until you see the street art of Cartagena. It was magnificent.
You’ve got some beautiful pictures there. I love doors too.
Thanks Sunni. I have always photographed doors. I don’t know why, but they fascinate me. Maybe it is because you can get a glimpse of the personality of the homeowners just by looking at their doors.