Day 5 Tuesday Jan 8 Cartagena, Columbia

Cartagena photos
Day 5 Tuesday January 8 Cartagena, Columbia
It was a bouncy ride last night. We seemed to be bobbing in the sea. This was the roughest night of sailing we had ever experienced without an announcement from the Captain that we were in a weather system or something. The gym teacher had earlier made the comment that they had just sailed from Cartegena to Ft Lauderdale about a week ago and the seas were nothing like the ones we have been seeing. You never know what you are going to get!
Today we docked in Cartagena for 5 hours (from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm). We were right on time. It was a relief to enter the calm, protected waters of the harbor. Nearly a year ago, Debbie had started a correspondence with Lee Miles in Cartagena about a private tour for the 3 of us. (Check out www.DestinationCartagena.com and http://www.misteremerald.com/ if you wish for more info. Lee's email address is leland@misteremerald.com )
Today we finally got our customized tour with Alfonso Arroyo. (Here are his contact numbers per his request Tel:6621810 Cell: 6557820) Debbie would like to state for the record that once Lee Miles realized that his arrangements with us conflicted with his agreement with RSSC as their Ground Operator on this day, he notified her and they agreed to continue working together quietly. We hope that revealing this now does not cause Lee any problems, but we would like to give all credit where it is due. Alfonso was a terrific guide for us, but without native-speaking English skills, email and websites, Debbie never would have gotten the tour we took arranged. So, thank you to both Lee and Alfonso. So, to the details we were out in a private car with guide/driver from 8am to 12:15pm. The cost for the 3 us was a total of US$240 and included everything. Our first stop was a neighborhood sidewalk cafe where we had arepas con huevos and fried meatballs with coffee and juice. The juice is still a mystery. It was very good, kind of citrusy and sweet. They told us it was made from the tomatoes of the trees. We have no idea what that is in English. Our best guess is persimmons. During our day, we felt very safe and were never rushed or stressed with too much walking, so it was a very good day. Alfonso did everything we asked to make us happy. There was only a bit of confusion early on about what time we had to be back to the ship. Alfonso thought it was 4pm! Perhaps because of that he slightly modified our itinerary and it was a bit inverted, buthe did make sure that he hit the points that we had agreed on. He got us back to the port in good time and we were well satisfied with our short time in Cartagena. We had read terrible reports about this port regarding safety and the aggressive vendors, but did not experience anything like that. There were street vendors everywhere, but they were no more aggressive than anywhere else. A simple no thanks and they stepped away. They did not touch us or shout, but were quiet and courteous, so we fail to see a problem. After our quick local breakfast, we drove up to La Popa for an overview of the city from this old monastery. Then we visited the San Felipe Fortress with its steep ramps and tunnels. Then we drove to Las Bovedas for Clay's obligatory t-shirt and local beer. We strolled a few shops, but no one was really in the market for anything here. Then we drove to find a parking lot from where we could easily stroll the old city. We visited the Palace of the Inquistion and its terrible torture devices and great old building. We entered the Cathedral and through Simon Bolivar Plaza, past the Christopher Columbus statue. Here Debbie and Margie decided that they had to enter the Hard Rock Cafe for very expensive t-shirts! Then outside the walls to see where the slave ships historically docked and back through the gate with some history and to learn that this plaza was where the slave market was held. Appropriately, we then walked to the San Pedro Claver church, named for the saint that worked for the slaves and the end of slavery. We made a final stop at the jewelry store next door for Alfonso and looked around in the air conditioning and had complimentary glasses of orange juice. Then, we walked back to the car on top of the walls of the Old City. It was a very hot, sunny day but we did it comfortably with being in and out of the car and buildings.
We had lunch in Compass Rose, came back to the cabin to catch up on some email then get out of sweaty clothes and shower before Margie and Debbie set off to do some laundry. Sadly, they picked a bad time for laundry and dragged their hampers up and down between decks 8 and 10 without ever finding an empty machine. So, we'll have to try again tomorrow.
The rest of the afternoon was spent decompressing, going through photos, and catching up with this journal and moreemail. In the evening, Margie finally made it up to the Observation Lounge to hear Hal Fraser on piano. Then, we walked back to LaVeranda and had the Mediterranean Bistro menu. We had a good meal and then made it an early night. We were all pretty exhausted from the previous sleepless night, the hot busy morning, and drinking too much alcohol in the Observation Lounge and with dinner!
We were pleased to find special Circumnavigator invitations on our beds when we got back to our rooms. It is for "Locks & Bagels" tomorrow morning at 7:30 as we enter the first chamber of the Gatun Locks. We will be taken to a "Crew Restricted Area" for an "upclose and personal viewing". We are really excited about that. One of the drawbacks of RSSC's ships for us has been the lack of good forward viewing areas for passengers. So, we will not have to be up before dark to get a good spot to view the entry into the canal. We look forward to it.
Cartagena photos