Bocagrande, Cartagena de Indias

Bocagrande

Bocagrande (Big Mouth) is the most modern area of the city, with many hotels, shops, restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries. It forms part of a land extension delimited by Cartagena bay to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west, where you will find El Laguito (The Little Lake) and Castillogrande (Big Castle), two renowned neighborhoods. Its particular appeal are the beaches and nightlife. All over Avenida San Martín (San Martin Avenue), which is the backbone of the area, you will find several business premises, restaurants and hotels.

The beaches of BocaGrande, laying along the Northern shore, are muddy affairs. There are breakwaters about every two hundred yards and the desired azure of the Caribbean is lost by the almost sea level rise of the beach and the lack of proper waste disposal in the city. It takes about seven minutes worth of a boat ride out to sea to see the color that you desire of the Caribbean.

On the bay side of the pensinsula of Boca Grande is a spectacular seawalk. The centre of the Bay holds a statue of the Virgin Mary. The seawalk is the site of an interesting showing of the various contestants of the Miss Colombia Pageant during that festival.

Originally constructed for foreign oil workers, the majority of the land which makes up Bocagrande was established through land reclamation. Bocagrande is now considered the city's most popular area for tourists.