Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Mirador Gastro Rooftop Bar

at Hotel Torres del Reloj

Cartagena, Colombia

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

By this time, our visit of Cartagena took a pattern.

We'd go out during the morning, walk around town to see the gorgeous Colonial-Caribbean style buildings, walk around the fortified wall, then go to our favorite coffee shop for a mid-morning break.

By this time, it was so, so hot, it was barely manageable for us, and we'd be reaching for our centrally located air-conditioned hotel room to get some relief from the heat.

Soon, the afternoon breeze kicked in, and we'd go to lunch and walk around the town some more.

In the evenings, we tried to find enticing rooftop bars. They'd each have a view, a delectable menu (we'd share appetizers) and then we'd walk around the walled city at night.

It was then that we'd imagine what it must have been like in this vibrant city; life with horse drawn carriages, ladies with long dresses, pirates, and human traffickers.

This night, we chose to go to Mirador Gastro Bar, located on the rooftop of Hotel Torres del Reloj, by the clock tower and the Plaza de las Coches.

Mirador Gastro Bar

We knew the general location of this rooftop bar but finding the entrance to go upstairs took a little doing.

At the time, we hadn't realized that the bar itself had a different name than its location in the Hotel Torres del Reloj, so we did several double takes.

Finally, we found the entrance!

Proud Armenian bartender

To the right of the stairs up to Mirador Gastro Bar was the Mirador Lobby. This man was a proud emigrant to Colombia from Armenia and chatted with Billy in English.

Here, he's shouting that he's Armenian!!

On the rooftop

We tend to like to watch the sunset from these rooftop bars, eat a little earlier and then walk around town. Here, it seems nothing has started yet, and we were some of the first to arrive.

The young and beautiful crowd arrives a bit later, and enjoy the delights of the evening.

The view from Mirador Gastro Bar down into the Plaza de los Coches

Here you see the famous clock tower and the Plaza de los Coches. This Plaza was where, centuries ago, human beings from Africa were sold to the international market.

In the photo to the right, you see where the canal from the ocean reaches the town itself. This is where the ships landed and either dropped off their cargo and paid import taxes on it, or picked up cargo to be taken elsewhere.

We are looking from inside the fortified wall out into the modern city of Cartagena outside the wall.

Looking back into the Colonial City from Mirador Gastro Bar

From the edge of the rooftop, we are taking a look back into the Colonial walled city of Cartagena.

The church on the left is the one dedicated to St. Peter Claver, the patron saint of seafarers and of the Afro-Colombian slaves. St. Peter Claver administered to these human beings from the moment they arrived off the ships. He gave them food, treated their wounds, and from his point of view, loved them as Jesus commanded us to love others.

Romantic couple on their cell phones

The lights are coming up and shining into the palm trees here at Mirador.

I suppose, as with any date nowadays, people choose phone time as a companion also.

Yours truly

The afternoon seabreeze has come up and it feels great, blowing my hair off my face.

The sun is setting and the lights are going up

Here you notice that the sun is setting and the colored lights at the bar are going on.

In the center of the photo you get a better view of the ocean canal where the ships dropped off their cargo to the international seaport of Cartagena, centuries ago.

The night view of the Torres del Reloj

Here is the night view of the Plaza below, the Clock Tower, and on into the modern city of Cartagena.

A Palenquera at the Plaza de los Coches

These Palenqueras are the direct descendants of the Africans brought to the seaport centuries ago. They demanded and received their freedom in the early 1600s and they live in a town called Palenque.

The fruit she has on her tray is from the jungles surrounding Palenque, and she sells this sweet, juicy fruit in town daily.

Peruvian menu

We hadn't realized that the Mirador served Peruvian food.

We were about to be in on a tasty surprise.

On the menu you see listed hot and cold piqueos, plates to "engage your mind" with flavors and textures.

At the top of the menu you will see Tiradito (like sashimi) and Tataki which shows the Japanese influence on Peruvian foods.

Our dinner

We ordered a Fuerte plate with stuffed chicken breast with bacon and caramelized apples. The mashed plantains are underneath the parmesan crisp.

This was surprisingly delicious, and I would rate it an 8 out of 10. The flavor was remarkable, and the dish itself was very creative in presentation, variety and taste.

The chicken was just a touch overcooked, but the parmesan crisp was a welcome change from fried plantains.

Our bill

Our shared stuffed chicken and 2 rums, plus tip, came to just over $27USD.

Palenquero Security Guard at Mirador Gastro Bar

As we left the rooftop bar, Billy went off to speak with the Armenian bartender in the lounge.

I stayed back a bit just to people-watch as they walked by and exchanged pleasantries.

This handsome Afro-Colombian man began speaking with a beautiful Afro-Colombian woman who had her young son with her who was about 4 or 5. This giant-of-a-man bent down and gave the young boy one of those handshake/bumps and smiled a broad smile. The way he spoke with the woman and her son was familiar. Maybe she was a girlfriend wanna-be, or a relative, a neighbor or a sister It was something close, you could feel it. It was a love and friendship shared.

I felt privileged to observe this tenderness.

When Billy got out of the bar, he decided to take a photo of me and this gentle giant. I asked him if he was ok with that. He was easily 18 inches taller than I was and he was so gracious, so kind.

Normally, when I have a photo taken, I reach my hand out to touch the man’s heart… and here I am touching his stomach! That's how much taller he was than I.

 And when we were done, he grabbed my hand in both of his, and mine was swallowed up! It was just such a moment, a respect shared between people, between ages, between races between man and woman.

I thought of his history, and mine of immigrant grandparents from Europe.

What a memorable moment.

We would certainly recommend the Mirador Gastro Bar to try out other tasty options on the menu, and we look forward to our next visit!

Mirador Gastro Bar

Cra. 7, Cartagena, Cartagena Province, Bolívar, Colombia

Tele: +57 5 6646666

Open Daily 5pm - 3am

Website: https://www.miradorgastrobar.com/

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Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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