Cartagena, Columbia

Today we are in Cartagena, Columbia and we are to meet our tour excursion at 7:30 am.  Leaving the ship, we meet up with our tour guide and get on the bus.  We try to be on the first bus since there are 2 or 3 buses doing the same tour and I want to take pictures before there are a lot of people in the way.  On our way to the first destination, we pass through town where there are some nice window arrangements.

Some of the houses we passed on our way to the first stop, like these next to a small park where the trees have multi-colored painted trunks, are brightly colored.

Our first stop on the tour is Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas (Fort of San Felipe).  Construction began in 1536 by the Spanish, expanded in 1657 and then again in 1762.  Entry to the fort is by a fairly steep walkway.

Here is Carmen standing near the base of the fort wall.  You can see the height of the wall compared to Carmen’s height.  

One of the few people we saw acting in period roles and manning the fort.  He was adamant that I take his picture.  As a matter of fact, every time I passed him by, either saluting (as seen here) or blowing his horn.

Near the top of the fort, we have a good view of modern Cartagena.  You can see the bridge crossing the waterway of the bay.  Just on the right side of the picture, about 1/3 of the way up, you can see the wall of the "old walled city".  On the otherside of the high rises is the Caribbean Sea.

We are about half way to the upper level where the bell and watch towers are located.  You can see how clear it is out, not a cloud in the sky.

Another section of the fort wall with modern Cartagena's skyline in the background.  The walls are angled so that when cannon balls hit the wall, they bounce up causing less damage to the walls.

Carmen at one end of a tunnel built through the upper fort wall.  In a last ditch effort, the defenders would be able to use this as a killing field by forcing the invaders to attack through this passage.

There are several watch towers along the walls; this one of several watch towers overlooks the city and the sea. We have a clear view of the entire area.  From this tower a full 180° site of the entire city.  In the distance you can see the Caribbean Sea.

From the top level of the fort you can see the flag of Columbia flying over other levels of the fort, as well as the sea and parts of the modern day Cartagena.  There are also a couple of other tour groups passing through and learning about the fort.

While we were at the top level of the fort, I caught Carmen sitting on one of the steps which overlooks the wall.  In the background are the bell tower and the upper watch tower.  To the left is part of our tour group learning about some of the bricks and heading into a shop.

Another side of the fort: in its time it was the most important work of Spanish military engineering in South America.

I could show you many more pictures of the fort, but both time and space somewhat limits me to the pictures above.  While here, while both going up and down the fort’s ramp there are many vendors selling hats, shirts, table cloths, jewelry, you name it it’s for sale.  Here are some of the hats that were available.

As we head to our bus we get a full view of the fort, providing the size and height of the structure.  You can tell the size by the people walking up the walkway, on the left, on their way to the top of the fort.  Also there is a man next to the watch tower on top by the bell tower.

While we were leaving the fort, there were a number of people, dressed in various costumes and they would let you take a picture with them, for a price of course.  I took the picture from a distance.  We were told that this is the job they have chosen and that is why they want money for taking their picture.  

In addition to people dressed in costumes, one man had a three-toed sloth which you could hold, for a price, and have your picture taken.  While this lady held the sloth, I just took a quick picture from afar and hoped it came out.

One of the many street vendors we saw while traveling through town. This one selling oranges.

We stopped at a shopping “center” called Las Bóvedas, once dungeons, where I found another woman with fruit balanced on her head.  Not sure if she was there to sell the fruit or waiting for someone to want to take her picture.

Here is a good view of the length of the shopping area.  Each door, on the right is coupled with an arch on the street.  You can see the number of shops along this section of the building, there were more behind me.  Notice the man just to the left, at the second arch, he is selling hats and has them all stacked on his head, he'll sell you any one of them.  It is kind of hard to see, but all of the men selling hats, shirts, or whatever, all have the same flowered shirt.

We begin our walking portion of the tour through the old walled city, with its narrow streets, you get a view of the old buildings, many of which have balconies.  Each building has its own colors and styles. Without a doubt each balcony is made in a different style.  Looking down the street there isn't one that is the same.

The old Spanish Colonial buildings along the streets are each painted in their own bright colors; all different on doors, building walls, and balconies. 

There are many different types of balconies from a full balcony, as seen in the above pictures, to this “Romeo and Juliet” balcony all in bright colors. 

For our next destination, we head into the Inquisition Museum of Columbia (Palacio de la Inquisición).  Yes, a museum of the same inquisition that happened in Spain and the rest of Europe.  In the museum we see various implements for “confession”.  There were many rooms with various tools along with outside spaces for hangings and other methods.

Here are some of the street vendors we have seen trying to sell their wares.  The vendors here have their product laid out on blankets.  Most of the items for sale included jewelry, bags, hats and other items.  

Various spaces around the old walled city included churches and small alleyways with very nice architecture.  The bell tower in the background is from La catedral de Cartagena.

Iglesia San Pedro Claver Sanctuary, an old church.  The sanctuary is next to a large square with many different shops, restaurants and banks.

There are several sculptures in the square in front of Iglesia San Pedro Claver.  Here are a few of them.  The sculptures represent chess players, a women sewing, a group playing dominoes, and other activities.

Before we go into the Iglesia San Pedro Claver Sanctuary, we walked around the square and the shops when we noticed a couple of hawks in the tree.  There have been many birds around, but none have been this close to us to get a good picture.  Glad these stuck around for a while.

Inside the Sanctuary is a garden where the trees are allowed to grow.  The atrium has many different plants and sculptures, including a small bell arch.

As we leave the atrium, we pass through several rooms which have some of the churches artifacts from years past.  Here statutes, paintings, crucifixes, and the spare alter.

The front dais and alter from the inside of the church.  The bottom of the alter contains the remains of the Sanctuary’s name sake.  This is still a working Catholic Church.

After leaving the church and before returning to the ship, we walked to a hall where we are treated to some of the areas traditional dances.  The group did several dances while accompanied by several musicians playing some traditional songs.  

Back on the bus and on our way back to the ship, we pass a number of beaches where there are tents and umbrellas, that are available for rent.  For a Friday there were quite a few people at the beach.

As we begin leaving the dock and sailing out of the port of Cartagena, Columbia, we see some of the high rises with the Fort of San Felipe
 in the background.

Following our route out of the bay we slip away from Cartagena.   Even though you can see the Caribbean Sea on the left side of the picture, we still have a few miles to go before we get the to bay/sea entrance.

As we leave the bay we see the small fort protecting the head waters and bay.   This fort is what pirates like Captain Morgan would face when attacking Cartagena, before getting to face the Fort of San Felipe.

Not much of a sunset tonight.  There are many clouds covering the horizon and block the sun, but still you can see the sun's rays breaking through the clouds.

At Sea

We are back for another day at sea.  We missed the sunrise since we slept in late getting up at 7:30 am, but in any case the sun was behind the clouds by the time we get on deck.  Still the sun and clouds look impressive. 

By 9:00 am the temperature reaches 80°.  We spend most of the day sitting alongside the pool reading, listening to music and watching a movie.  Later in the afternoon, the sun is still behind the clouds on the horizon.  The sun's rays are clearly seen coming through the clouds.

At sunset, there were still too many clouds way off on the horizon which obscured the sunset.  However, a little before the sun went down there were a few spectacular views while the sun was behind clouds.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Island

Today we go on the “Coast-to-coast Scenic Drive” excursion around Grand Cayman.  We had to get up very early since we arrived just off port and begin our tour at around 7:00 am which is just shortly after we anchor.  So while we are waiting on the upper decks, we were able to view the pretty sunrise. 

The ship does not “dock” at a pier in Grand Cayman and we have to get to shore using one of the tenders/life boats from the ship.  Only today the swells are big and rough and it is taking some time to get on and off of the tenders, so our 7:00 am tour start time didn’t happen until after 9:00 am.  There’s Carmen, last in line to get on.

We get to the dock and get off the tender/life boat.  I get a picture of the tender with the town in the background.  The picture does not show how rough the seas are, but just before this picture was taken, the tender was lower so the exit from the boat was level with the dock, about a 2-foot drop/rise. 

After getting to our bus we begin our tour by heading north on the West Bay Rd and made a short stop at the Tortuga Rum Co.  Inside we (or I should say I because Carmen does not drink alcohol) sampled the rum and the rum cakes.  Both were good.  I should have Carmen come with me so I can get double shots!

Just behind Tortuga Rum Co. are the Caribbean Sea and the north end of Seven Mile Beach.  With the wave action, there are some nice breakers hitting the rocks.

The waters here are a pretty blue and look very inviting.  Not so much from the surf hitting the rocky shore, but for the views.  We could have stayed here for some time watching the waves break on the rocks but, the bus is waiting.

Our next stop is Hell.  So I can now say that we have visited Hell and have the passport stamps to prove it.  Yes, we went into the Post Office where they will stamp your passport for you.  We also mailed a couple of post cards which will have the Hell post mark.

Pretty much Hell was named when a dignitary visited the location where these rock formations are located and said it looked like hell.  The name stuck.  Now the Post Office is here along with a souvenir shop, but not much else.  Oh, we also took Hell Drive to get here.

While in Hell, we saw many roosters and chickens that run free on the island.  This is one of the roosters that was nearby and had some good color.

Welcome to Hell, or should I say goodbye from Hell, see-ya.  Our visit was not very long, mostly just so people can buy and mail a postcard and see the rock formations that signify the town's name.  Now we are off.

After leaving Hell and as we continue our drive around the island, we see a number of the iguana that makes the island home.  The driver of the van we were in slowed down where several sunned on a bridge so people could get a picture.  I hear they taste like chicken!

We traveled passed the airport and then through Bodden Town to reach the coast where several “blowholes” are located.  Unfortunately, because the wave action is moving in the wrong direction, there is not much in the way blowhole activity.  We did get a picture or two when a couple of large waves did came our way.

Continuing along the coast road, we pass where the “Wreck of the Ten Sails” is located.  We are told that there is really nothing to see since the wrecks happened in the mid 1500-1600’s.  There is nothing to see, except the reef which we can see along our drive and this screw, from a ship purposely run aground for the insurance.  On to the beach.

Reaching Rum Point, our final destination at the end of the island, where we disembark and take in the beach.  There are a number of people snorkeling along the beach area.  The water is very clear with some grass on the bottom.

There are also with several personal water craft available if you choose to go on a ride.  The temperature of the waters is about 84°.

From the beach we can look out along the dock to where the sightseeing and snorkeling boats are.

As on most beaches where travelers go, there is a directions tree.  No different here.  Although, they do not point to the right direction, it merely recognizes where the employees are from.  

While walking around the beach, there are beach chairs and picnic tables.  So, while we are here, we have a little lunch at the Rum Bar.  Nearby where we ate, there are also directions to “Relax, you’re on Cayman Time”.

Instead of drinking a rum runner, we found another iguana on the beach, only this one is the painted type.  We have seen a few of these around the island and this is the closest one we have been near.

On our return to the ship, the driver of our van stops by the “shoe” tree.  Couldn’t get a good picture because we are sitting on the other side of the van and we didn’t stop.  In any case you get the idea.  Shoes going up the tree beginning at the ground up to about 20 feet above the ground.

Back in George Town, we took a quick walk around town before getting on the next tender back to the ship.  Like on other islands, here Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is prominent on the main street.  There are other places like a Harley Davidson store, but there are so many people here, we just head back to the tender.

After getting back on the ship, which took some time since the wave action hasn't subsided much and having left Grand Cayman in our wake, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset.

We stayed up late watching the sunset by the outside pool area where we had dinner at the buffet and also enjoyed the songs of the disco era along with the ship’s dancers.