A Toucan Named Matteo: Our Morning at the Sofitel, Cartagena
One Cartagena morning, we woke up feeling especially hot. It was nearly unbearable! To beat the heat, we decided to have a leisurely lunch at the Sofitel’s Santa Clara Hotel. There we could find sanctuary from the heat in the hotel’s shady, tropical courtyard.
Although the Santa Clara is a grand hotel, she has quite a bit of history between her walls. During the 1700’s, the Santa Clara was a convent for nuns who ran a hospital for the poor. During the 1940’s, the building was restored to its current, pristine shape while maintaining its historic charm. During the restoration, several of those prestigious enough to have been buried in the convent were exhumed and moved, and any artifacts discovered were placed on display in the hotel. The personal stories of those who lived during the convent’s “glory” days were inspiration for Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Cartagena-based book Of Love and Other Demons
We first spotted Matteo upon our arrival at the hotel. This large, colorful bird was playing in a quiet corner of the courtyard. After sitting down for lunch, (and the most delicious drink ever created, a Limonada de Coco), we realized Matteo would be a constant presence in the dining room. As people lunched, Matteo hopped from one table to another saying hello and asking for crumbs. On occasion, when he was trying to be a bit more convincing by getting a little too close, or when he became a sneaky, little thief, the hotel staff would move him to a nearby branch so he didn’t annoy the clientele. Matteo did test his tricks on us by nonchalantly approaching our basket full of bread. Although we did not give in to his begging beak, we did appreciate his company. After the majority of the guests had cleared out of the restaurant, the hotel staff brought out a bucket of water. Matteo proceeded to splash around in the bucket, cooling himself off and getting himself clean. Matteo the Toucan was definitely a highlight of our time spent at the Santa Clara.
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