Day Trip to San Basilio Palenque from Cartagena with Experience Real Cartagena

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When I planned my trip to Colombia I knew there was no way that I would miss the historical Afro- Colombian village of San Basilio de Palenque. If you’ve never heard of Palenque, its cool. Hopefully this post will inspire you learn more and even visit yourself. I learned about it recently through scrolling on Instagram and seeing other travelers posting pictures throughout the village. First I was blown away by the many dark face and then I saw a backdrop that read “I ❤️Being Black” written beautifully in black and red, I immediately said to myself “I MUST GO THERE!”. I strive to find black diaspora when I am in foreign countries. We have really contributed to the history of many countries in a positive manner. It always good to be reminded of how far we have come.

Now to make things a little bit more familiar, I know you’ve seen the beautiful chocolate sistas dressed to the nines in their colorful ensembles and head wraps selling their fruits and candy in Cartagena. Those gorgeous women are referred to as Palenqueras, reigning from the village of Palenque. Many tourists know them for creating a picturesque colorful op in the streets of Cartegena, but know very little about their home.

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Some History

Not to be confused with the ancient and abandoned Mayan city of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, Palenque de San Basilio is about 50 km from Cartagena making it an attainable day trip.

San Basilio de Palenque is home of the the first FREE Africans in America. WOW! As an African-American woman it is mind blowing to actually say that I’ve visit this town. In 2005 the village was declared Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Palenque means “walled-city”, San Basilio De Palenque is one of the many walled cities escaped African refugees founded in the 17th century. Founded by Benkos Bioho, of the many palenques that existed in former times, only San Basilio has survived until the present day and developed to a cultural space. Bioha was a disruptive (we love disruptive)slave from West Africa who shook shxt up, rebelled and escaped from Cartagena. Someone should share this information with Kanye West since he thinks slavery was a choice 🥴.

As the founding father of this town, he brought along other brave slaves with him and went back to continue to help others be free. His statue and mural can be seen throughout the town as he stretches to freedom while breaking through chains. The village has about 3,500 inhabitants and about half the people in the town can still speak Palenquero which is the only South American language that derives from a combination of Spanish and several African dialects.

Chris, our tour guide can speak this language and communicate with the people of this village. He served as a phenomenal translator between us and the natives.

The community is huge on preserving their history that they do not allow outsiders in. If a native chooses to leave, you are not allowed to come back.They marry within each other and do not have much desire for the material world as we Americans do such as T.V.’s etc. There’s even a cemetery just a few meters away.

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The Experience

This tour was on the more expensive side of day trips in Cartagena. You can only visit with a tour guide who has ties to the community like Experience Real Cartagena, or ERC. So if you thought you can just drive up to their village and they’ll let you in, you thought WRONG! These natives are big on preserving their village as I’ve stated, which I respect 100%. It is best to book in advance to ensure availability. If you are interested contact them via Instagram @experiencerealcartagena or through my favorite tour guide @chris_0113 you can definitely tell them Abi sent you, they’re good peoples.

All of Experience Real Cartagena tours incorporate Afro Colombian history. After picking up all patrons our tour van headed out at around 9 am for the hour and a half drive down the “off beaten path”. The van was filled with just black women from all over America of all ages, I loved every moment of it. We all quickly got acquainted and became family. We even hung out later that night.

As we drove to Palenque, Chris made a few stops to give us insightful knowledge and see beautiful picture worthy murals.

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Since the ride is quite a distance, we did make a stop for a bathroom break and to pick up any snacks or drinks. The ladies and I salud to a great experience over this delicious and fruity fresh pineapple-mango smoothie.

Once we arrived we were welcomed by the locals with open arms. Some even called us over to say hi. We interacted with locals, learned the history, drank some Colombian beer (I don’t like beer lol), explored the town and (my highlight) watched a beautiful orchestrated performance by the children of the community complete with drums and rhythmic dancers.

As a former African dancer and musically influenced person, the sound of drums pierce through my soul and naturally makes by body want to move 💃🏾. These youth were amazing, always on beat, and kept their energy up the whole time. After we were given a chance to play their instruments as well, now playing instruments on the other hand was never my strong point, but I don’t think we were too shabby. What do you guys think? We were able to purchase sweets made by the locals and other souvenirs like hats and keychains so definitely bring cash. Before we headed back to Cartagena, we received a delicious traditional Colombian meal for lunch as we all organized to meet up later that night. It’s amazing how people can connect over a common interest. Check out my photography highlights below.

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If you are heading to Colombia, regardless of race, I advise you to visit Palenque, you will be visiting a deep part of history that no book or blog can tell you about. It is truly an extraordinary place, just walking around will have you feeling astounded by the pride of history of the locals. Make sure you book with Experience Real Cartagena for the best experience and support a local black owned business✊🏾.

Have you ever been to San Basilio Palenque? Share your experience below!