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We arrived at our first port of call, Cartagena, Colombia,
right on schedule, and we were very happy to stop the rolling and pitching that
we’d been experiencing for the past day and a half. We wanted to get away from Chicago winters,
and we certainly did! It is very warm
outside!
Colombia has a population of about 48 million, and 1.25
million live in Cartagena. Thinking of Cartagena brings to mind one of my
favorite movies from the 1980s, Romancing
the Stone. It’s been years since
I’ve seen that movie, but I believe they arrive in Cartagena and venture into
the interior of Colombia in search of emeralds. Colombia is certainly known for
its gems, as well as its coffee. Those
who know me know which I prefer!
Cartagena’s Old Town is the original settlement, surrounded
by a wall to keep out the pirates that were prevalent in the 17th
Century. Even the privateer Sir Francis
Drake made an appearance here.
Considering that this was our very first time on this cruise
for a shore excursion, things went very smoothly! We so appreciate the way this team handles
getting people out on excursions, but we are not surprised since the same
excursions manager is back again this year.
We were very quickly on our way for our tour, Medieval Cartagena by Horse Carriage.
We boarded a minibus that transported us through the narrow and
bustling streets of the newer part of the town to the walled city. In groups of four we climbed into the small
horse-drawn carriages for our tour of Old Town.
If we thought the streets of the new part of the city were narrow, these
were miniscule! Despite this, though,
the driver skillfully maneuvered the carriage through the cobblestoned
labyrinth with seemingly little effort.
Talk about a vibrant and colorful place! In many ways, it reminded us of our visit to
Cuzco, Peru, back in 2008 with the Lincoln-Way group. Everywhere we looked, we
saw brightly-painted buildings, often with balconies laden with beautiful
flowers. It was amazing to see trees and
vines snaking up the sides of the buildings, their roots having apparently been
planted in tiny areas at the foundations of the homes. The city was teeming with people, many of
them street vendors with their vividly-colored wares. The woven cloths and handbags were a
veritable feast for the eyes. Many
opportunities were presented to buy Panama hats, none of which we took. Tropical fruits were available at the turn of
every corner, and many vendors were chopping coconuts in hopes of selling the
tourists coconut milk. One vendor had a
juicer and a cart full of oranges. It
was hard to know which way to look first.
At one point we seemed to be riding under a canopy completely made of
lace doilies, probably having just been made, washed, and hung on clotheslines
that ran from one side of the narrow street to the other.
All too soon, we were climbing down from the carriage and reboarding
the bus. There was an obligatory
shopping stop so we could do some shopping, supposedly in order to purchase
emeralds. Despite loving emeralds, I
passed on the opportunity to spend my entire duty-free allowance on one
purchase on the first stop of our entire grand voyage!
After one final photo stop at the Este Castillo San Filipe
de Bara Jases Conservado (a castle of some kind), we headed back to the ship.
Cartagena was a very brief stop. In order to make it to the Panama Canal at
our scheduled time, we set sail at 1:00 PM.
This was only our third ever Caribbean port, and our first time in
Colombia. Having seen the lively city
with its vibrant colors, it’s a place I definitely wouldn’t mind coming back
and seeing more!
During the explorations lecture on the Panama Canal, speaker
Dan Ostler informed us that people at home could watch our ship passing through
the Panama Canal in real time on Wednesday, January 9th by visiting
the website www.pancanal.com . We will enter the canal at about 6:30 AM
Eastern time, be passing through Pedro Miguel Locks at about 12:55 PM, Miraflores
Locks at about 2:15 PM, and passing Balboa at about 4:15 PM.
BT
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