Las Bovedas shopping?

[Joy2theWorld]

We are looking at doing a historic walking tour of the city and it mentions a 10 minute stop there for shopping. Most of the excursions only allow for 10 or 15 minutes at this stop. I am curious why the time is so short. Is there very little? Is it unsafe?

[cp556]

Las Bovedas is a string of small shops in what used to be dungeons. The shops are side by side, and numbered. Most/many of them carry the same merchandise. There are some that have different items, such as art and handicrafts. There are also t-shirt vendors outside the stores soliciting your business.

 

We did not feel at all unsafe there, but our tour guide made certain to come over to us when we were negotiating with the t-shirt vendors.

 

I don't know why the stops at Las Bovedas are so short ... it takes more time than a few minutes to see all the shops. I know we felt very rushed.

[Joy2theWorld]

Thanks for the reply. Can you tell me if you had to change currency to shop there or did you use American dollars or credit cards? I do know my husband will want to bring back a few dollars worth of Colombian money.

Thanks!

[cp556]

We used only US dollars and credit cards (be sure to call your card company before leaving to advise that atypical usage will occur).

 

IIRC, our guide used Colombian money to purchase our entry tickets into the Naval Museum and Monastery ... we repaid her in US dollars.

[lcalle]

I was in cartagena not long ago visiting family. This is THE place if you are looking to buy stuff to take back (this includes souveniers or small gifts or some pretty amazing jewelry and accessories for yourself..)

 

It is cheap and there are BEAUTIFUL things to buy.

 

Just to give you an example..

 

i bought a beautiful shell necklace for 10,000 pesos- like 5 dollars

a pair of hand crafter earrings for 4,000 -- 2 bucks

a ring made out of tree bar for 2,000 pesos-- less than a dollar

 

small souveniers were in the 2,000 peso range.- once again less than a dollar

 

ladies... they have some amaaaazing purses.. i am very trendy and this is the type of stuff i like.. If anyone wants I can put pictures up.

 

just so you have an idea, nothing goes above 5 dollars unless you want to get something really intricate.. and even then it's probably worth the money.

[Travel To Be Free]

Would you be able to post some photos? I'll be there in 3/09 with my parents on their 50th. Interested in seeing what type of merchandise is there.

[dfb]

We got a picture inside one of the shops in Las Bovedas. Not sure you can tell much about the merchandise though. It was just the kind of stuff you would expect to find in a souvenir shop. As I recall, all the shops seemed about the same too. I guess if you were looking for something in particular you might have noticed some variation in selection. Here is a link to our blog entry for the day in Cartagena with the photo link, I think it was about picture #17.

http://circle-south-america-2008-aboard.blogspot.com/2008/01/day-5-tuesday-jan-8-cartagena-columbia.html

[Doughball]

We will be going to this area aboard the Jewel Of The Seas, in March 2009. It looked like you had a nice tour or something. Who was your guide?

Doughball

[dfb]

We will be going to this area aboard the Jewel Of The Seas, in March 2009. It looked like you had a nice tour or something. Who was your guide?

Doughball

 

We booked through Lee Miles http://www.misteremerald.com

If you wish for more info. Lee's email address is leland@misteremerald.com

Our customized tour was actually with Alfonso Arroyo. (contact numbers Tel:6621810 Cell: 6557820)

[lcalle]

[lcalle]

 

Just to give you a description of each neclace and bracelet...

 

green one is made of bark.. lots of stuff in this material at that place.

 

the white one after that is made out of fish scales... the picture doesnt do it justice but it is by far my favorite.

 

the one that looks like a swirl is a special shell.. theres tons of neclaces there that come with the earrings for 10,000 for the set. about 4.00 usd.

 

the bracelet is also fishscales and the other one is wood..

[Grego]

Thanks, we were wondering where was a good place to buy local handicraft items rather than next to the ship.