Bocachica forts boat trip

Every ship bound for Cartagena's harbour had to squeeze through the Bocachica channel at the southern tip of Tierra Bomba, so this is where the Spanish built their heaviest guard. The first fort, San Luis, fell to the French in 1697 and was flattened by British guns in 1741. Its replacement, the Fuerte de San Fernando, went up between 1753 and 1759: a horseshoe facing the sea, with two bastions named Rey and Reina, cisterns, vaults and sentry boxes. The small Batería de San José sits on the far side of the channel, and the two caught attackers in crossfire.

Bocachica itself is a fishing village, and most of its people are of African descent; enslaved Africans cut the stone and burned the lime for these forts. Open-air restaurants along the shore fry fish and serve coconut rice, and the beach is pleasant for a couple of hours without being anything special. Local boats run across from Muelle de los Pegasos by the old city through the day, about 15 minutes each way. Pay the ordinary fare rather than the packaged trips sold on the dock. Some Rosario Islands speedboats also make a short stop here for the fort.