Beautiful Life: Antidote to nomadic wanderings
Within weeks, he had purchased a run-down, three-storey mansion overlooking a square in the San Diego quarter of the colonial district. And, over the next six months, he spent 1,120m pesos ($458,615) transforming it into an 11-bedroom bed and breakfast complete with courtyard and rooftop whirlpool. He and his Colombian partner now live in an adjoining two bedroom flat. "I didn’t want to be idle during my retirement and so buying a house that I could convert into a small hotel and live in at the same time was the perfect combination," he says.
Chew and his hotel, Casa La Fe, are part of a burgeoning renaissance in Cartagena’s historic centre. Although the city’s salsa bars and squares have long been a playground for the rich and famous of South America, including novelist and holiday home owner Gabriel Garcia M?rquez, some areas were until a few years ago in serious decline. The conquistador-era buildings around Chew’s square, for example, were home to cheap hostels, dives and brothels.
Recently, however, the seedier businesses have closed, churches have been restored and fa?ades repainted. Visitors, arriving by aircraft from Bogota, Miami or European cities, or by boat from Panama, can see bougainvillea cascading from the ornate wooden balconies and catch glimpses of courtyards filled with tropical flowers and birds behind arched doorways.
Street vendors, shoe shiners and other locals, mostly descended from African slaves, fill the narrow streets. And the areas within the city’s ramparts, which were originally built to repel British pirates, are now buzzing with annual festivals, beauty pageants and music events. "The seafood is excellent, the architecture is stunning and the cultural life is vibrant," Chew says.
Perhaps not surprisingly, "property prices have doubled in the past two years", he says. "In 2004, a square foot in the historic centre cost 45 pounds and now it costs 90 pounds."
There is more development along the 60-mile coastal stretch to Barranquilla, Colombia’s other big port. Donald Trump has reportedly acquired land to build a golf resort and Chew recently paid 228m pesos for a spacious modern beach condominium nearby.
But wealthy Colombians and in-the-know foreigners, particularly from Europe, have focused most of their attention on Cartagena’s city centre.
Next door to Casa La Fe is another house that has been gutted for renovation. Guy Davies, a financial consultant from London whose wife is Colombian, bought the dilapidated six-bedroom property last year and plans to use it as a family holiday retreat before retiring there.
"When I told my friends I was buying a home in Cartagena they thought I was mad because of Colombia’s notorious reputation" for crime and drug-trafficking, Davies says. But, like many city residents, he thinks security has improved during Alvaro Uribe’s presidency, especially in urban areas and along the country’s motorways. Some dimly lit alleys in Cartagena can feel slightly unwelcoming at night but most streets feel safe. "Within the walls, it is a well guarded city," he adds, "with tourist police in the main squares and friendly residents."
Beyond the inner ramparts and across one of the busy main roads encircling the walls lies a public park where iguanas share benches with office workers taking a lunchtime nap. A little further away lies the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Getseman?. It’s less developed and poorer in comparison with the main historic centre but its colonial onestorey buildings are also quickly being bought up and renovated.
Michele Grirnot’s story about moving to Getseman? is similar to Chew’s. The Frenchman had been looking for a place by the sea where he could live and work, and when he docked his yacht in Cartagena’s port he was hooked almost instantaneously.
"Cartagena is not a walking museum but a residential town where everyday life goes on as it has been for centuries," he explains. Getseman?, in particular, retains a sense of authenticity rarely found in popular tourist spots. Schoolchildren play football in the lanes while locals sit on rocking chairs on porches.
In 2003, Grirnot bought "almost a ruin with no roof", which he then spent five months converting into a 10-room bed and breakfast with a swimming pool, palm trees and chattering parrots. He lives in a bedroom in the corner of the house reached by a spiral staircase.
Foreigners often face a few problems buying property in Cartagena. Chew, for example, couldn’t transfer money from a British bank account to a Colombian one because of rules designed to prevent money laundering, so he had to open a local bank account, which is only possible with a tricky-to-obtain Colombian identity card.
"There was a lot of bureaucracy involved and time spent proving that the money I was bringing in was clean. [And] I was afraid that during the time it took to clear the transfer I would be gazumped," he recalls.
As a Unesco World Heritage site, Cartagena also has stringent building regulations, mainly to preserve original facades, doors, windows and balconies. Owners who want to make extensive changes to a property must first obtain a demolition permit, which means submitting detailed architectural plans of the property to a local planning committee that meets only once every three months or so. Architects can also be hard to find. "The quality of work is good but it’s difficult to find someone who you can really trust," Grirnot explains.
Still, Cartagena’s newest residents seem more than content. Looking out from Casa La Fe as the Caribbean sun sets and local restaurateurs set up tables for a busy night ahead, Chew smiles. "I’m lucky to be living here," he says. "It’s probably the most beautiful city in South America."