And again, when we wander into a local restaurant. Our Spanish is rudimentary, but the courtly manager speaks a little English. This is a no-frills eatery, but the grilled chicken is fresh and tasty, the portion generous -- and the price under $10. Fresh juices are a staple; since we've already discovered the local specialty of limeade-with-coconut milk, the manager suggests avocado juice. Why not? The concoction -- sweetened with apple juice and laced with crushed ice -- is tasty and crisp.

We need it. The equatorial humidity is brutal at mid-day, when most shops close. We quickly find the time is best spent in a museum or church, or by a pool.

Or in the islands. An hour away by boat lies Islas del Rosario, a national park covering 27 islands with beaches far more appealing than those in town. We forego the less-expensive party boat excursion and plunk down about $70 each for a day trip with lunch at Majagua, a stylish, eco-savvy hotel with private beaches, cocktail service, snorkeling and diving.

Such serenity and sophistication are part of the reason Camilo Covelli, a young doctor from Bogota, takes an annual vacation in Cartagena.

``This is the one place in Colombia that has everything -- the water, the nightlife, the old city, the nature parks -- and the restaurants.''

THE OLD CITY

For North Americans, the Old City is the draw. Founded in the 1500s, Cartagena's Caribbean perch and wide, sheltered harbor made it one of the New World's richest ports. Goods -- and slaves -- destined for cities throughout the region came here first, making Cartagena a target for both pirates and rival European powers.

The results -- both rich and dark -- are explained in museums, churches, tourist sites. The convent of San Pedro Claver is testament to the powerful legacy of a priest who ministered to slaves. The Palace of the Inquisition recalls the trials and tortures of some 800 accused heretics. Just outside the Old City wall, the never-conquered Castillo de San Felipe is still protected by 1,500-pound canons.

Still, siege by the Spaniards -- punishment for Cartagena's independent spirit -- led to the deaths of 6,000 from disease and poverty in the early 1800s. And though Cartagena rose to prominence after liberation, it suffered from cholera, plague, civic lethargy and economic malaise as the decades passed. And, then, for these past few years, renewal.

Nearly 80 percent of the 1.2 million visitors to Colombia put Cartagena on their itinerary.

''When people arrive, they imagine something small and well-restored, like Puerto Rico,'' says Carmen Otero de Millan, director of sales and marketing for the Sofitel Santa Clara hotel. ``But this is huge . . . and the city is alive.''

No matter that out-of-towners are paying $200 per square foot for houses in the historic center. In the early hours, the streets come alive with locals heading to university classes and offices. By midday the lanes are lined with carts hawking fresh fruits, icy juices, arepas filled with fried eggs, electrical gadgets, belts and cheap shoes. By evening the cafés fill, the bars open, and the air begins to sizzle with an energy that has nothing to do with the heat.

As you walk from your hotel to dinner, you may spy through the shutters an abuela watching TV in the same simple living room where she herself was raised. A man gets a haircut in the unairconditioned barber shop that might have served his father. Patrons spill into the streets from a neighborhood bar seething with champeta rhythms.

And at the trendy Café Havana, young and old who can afford the $2 entrance fee and the $7 cocktails crowd the tight aisles to dance until the wee hours to an eight-piece band. In Cartagena, the night is always young.