The Comeback Story of Cartagena!

A rebel crackdown in Colombia has led to a renaissance for the colonial beach city; the new Hollywood connection.,
By Matt Moffett-THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Cartagena, Colombia -- Shortly before Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was inaugurated in 2002, Marxist rebels welcomed him by blowing up a small bomb in a government office in the Caribbean tourist center of Cartagena. It was about that time, amid a surge in violence throughout Colombia, that Royal Caribbean Cruises and other cruise lines stopped docking ships here due to safety concerns. It looked like Cartagena's future as a tourist town was bleak.
But four years later, the city is making a striking turnaround. President Uribe has surprised nearly everyone by fulfilling his pledge to take an "iron fist" against the guerrillas. These days the rebels are on the run and the tourists are returning. The number of kidnappings by armed groups has fallen by 90% from its 2002 levels, to around 250, according to the Colombian government; the overwhelming majority of victims of violent crimes like kidnapping are Colombian citizens. Meanwhile, the number of visitors to the country has since 2002 almost doubled to around a million -- a quarter of them from the U.S.

Cartagena has become symbolic of broader progress in Colombia. In the past couple of years, a host of international notables, including Mick Jagger, Queen Sofía of Spain and Julio Iglesias, have come to Cartagena on vacation. The number of cruise ships docking this winter season is up 70% from its low point in 2002-2003. And there have been a number of elegant, yet intimate, new boutique hotels -- such as Quadrifolio, La Merced and Hotel Casa del Arzobispado -- opening up to cater to a growing number of tourists and conventioneers.

TRIP PLANNER: CARTAGENA

• How to Get There: You can fly directly from Miami. But some tourists come through Bogotá, the capital, which is worth a visit in its own right.
 
• Where to Stay: In the Old Town, the two converted convents, the Santa Clara and the Charleston, have good reputations, with rates starting at about $300 and $270 respectively (www.hotelsantaclara.com/, www.hotelescharleston.com/). There are also several charming boutique hotels, including La Merced, where rates

• What to do: The Gold Museum features pre-Colombian metal and ceramic treasures. Set above the Old Town is San Felipe Castle, which local historians tout as the most formidable Spanish military fortification in the New World. In the Palace of the Inquisition, there is a replica of the rack used during interrogations. Also, a 45-minute boat ride away is Barú Island, which offers crystal-clear water and one of Colombia's finest beaches.
 
• Where to Eat: The city has good restaurants featuring a variety of cuisines, including Italian, Spanish, Arab and Japanese. But seafood is what Cartagena's chefs do best. Stalwarts include La Vitrola (Tel: 575-664-8243) and the Club de Pesca (www.clubdepesca.com/), where dishes start at just under $20. Try the cazuela, a steaming seafood stew. -- Matt Moffett
 
I've spent the past 20 years in Latin America reporting for The Wall Street Journal and have visited Cartagena -- with its unusual blend of colonial architecture, easily accessible beaches and wide variety of water sports -- three times in the past five years. I've always felt at ease here, and the other American visitors I've met while traveling have told me they felt the same way. Andrea Greenberg, who works at Fortune International, a Miami real-estate development company, has been to Cartagena twice in the past few years. "The first day you might have some worries, but then you just get caught up in all of the beautiful things there are to see," says Ms. Greenberg, who enjoys dining in the array of restaurants, from Caribbean to Italian, and sitting in a café watching all the movement on Cartagena's bustling plazas.
This is still a country at war, as it has been for four decades. The State Department warns that terrorist-related violence affects all parts of the country and U.S. citizens continue to be "victims of threats, kidnappings, and other criminal acts." But it says that urban areas like Cartagena have become markedly less violent.
The surge in tourists over the past several years has been a shot in the arm for the local economy. While the city still suffers from high unemployment, there has been a rise in investment and business startups. "There were some lean years when no one much was coming around to dance," says Tania Gomez, a pianist for a local music group. It's much easier getting gigs these days, she says.
In the walled Old Town, visitors can take in a concert or cultural event at the Heredia Theater or walk the leafy garden of the 18th-century San Pedro Claver Church. Gabriel García Márquez, Colombia's Nobel Prize-winning author, owns a newer house with a wall and watchtower that has become a tourist attraction in its own right. Just a short ferry ride away is Barú Island, with its white-sand beach, and the Rosario Islands, a coral reef archipelago that is popular for snorkeling, fishing and surfing.
In my trips around the region, I've seen classic colonial architecture in places as distinct as the venerable mining town of Guanajuato, Mexico, and bustling Old Havana. But what's unusual about Cartagena is the creative way it has taken the buildings that have won the city recognition as a United Nations World Heritage Site and adapted them for tourism.
Sofitel's Santa Clara Hotel, which occupies the site of a 17th-century convent, has a bar built into the choir and a restaurant in the refectory. Set on a parapet with canons pointing out to the sea, the Café del Mar bar is a romantic spot with drinks such as fiery aguardiente, a sugar-cane spirit and limonada de coco, a mix of coconut milk and lemon juice…