Tuesday, 10 January 2017
At Sea — En route to the Panama Canal
Temps: 88F (31C) @ UTC 5:00P (ship’s time Noon)
Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.
Francis Bacon
Today was our third time visiting Cartagena, Colombia. Despite the hot, humid day — with more sunshine than clouds — we enjoyed this visit just as much as the first two.
The ship was scheduled to dock at the commercial port at 7:00a, so we started our day with something different — room service breakfast … which we had the server set up on the veranda so that we could enjoy the views along the way.
Distant glimpse of the new city from our veranda.
On previous visits, we explored the walled city — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — as well as Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, enjoyed the expansive views of Cartagena from La Popa Monastery, and walked on the ramparts of the fortifications surrounding the old city. This time we wanted to do something different. I had read that the city’s Getsemaní neighborhood was filled with murals. Sounded like my cup of tea, so we hopped in a cab (standard rate of USD $20 … which we shared with another couple) and asked the driver to take us to Torre del Reloj [Clock Tower] at the entrance to the walled city.
The beautiful Torre del Reloj stands guard at the entrance to the walled city.
Getsemaní is an up-and-coming neighborhood … it’s where you get away from the tourists and get a glimpse of how the locals live. It certainly gave us a different perspective of Cartagena from what we’ve seen in the past. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but we enjoyed our meandering stroll — even if we didn’t find the murals I was seeking. We did find some colorful street art and some interesting sculptures, though.
Our stroll eventually took us to the walled city. Our goal was to wander around some of the familiar sights of the city, find a coffee shop far from the madding crowd to get some cold beverages … and if lucky, gain access to high speed internet to check-in with family. (We do have internet on the ship, but it is spotty … I’ve done pretty well uploading photos so far, though.)
Construction of Iglesia de San Pedro Claver was completed in the first half
of the 18th century. good thing we went inside on a previous visit … it’s closed today.
Colorful paintings depicting the city‘s landmarks are readily sold on the streets.
Taking a coffee break at one of the many Juan Valdez cafés in the city.
A mural depicting scenes from the bible decorates a construction fence.
The walled city of Cartagena is filled with colorful buildings that begged to be photographed. Having taken those pictures on previous visits, I resisted the temptation to click the shutter button on the camera. But the many interesting doors and door knockers we came across proved my undoing.
Such interesting details are the undoing of any photographer.
Shortly before noon, we decided to halt our explorations of the city and head back to the cruise terminal. (Hailing a cab from the street, the fare back to the port is USD $10.) All aboard was at 1:30p, and I wanted to make sure we had a chance to visit the aviary and see the free-ranging monkeys that live in the canopy of the trees at the port facility.
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Blue & Yellow Macaw | King Vulture |
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Cotton-Top Tamarin | Keel-Billed Toucan |
Howler Monkey … the alpha male is raising quite a ruckus with his calls.
“What’cha looking at,” asks the howler to the photographer!
Some kind of a stilt, I believe.
These blue and yellow macaws are hilarious. Totally relaxed, the one on
the right looks to be enjoying the grooming attentions of the bird on the left.
From the cruise terminal we hopped on the port shuttle back to the ship. The veranda was getting the full brunt of the brutally hot sun, but we knew that would change once the ship left its berth. We still had an hour to spare before sailaway, so we headed up to the Terrace Café for a quick bite to eat. Sure enough, once the ship pivoted around and set course out of the port, we got to enjoy the scenery we were leaving behind from the comfort of our now-in-the-shade veranda.
Old town skyline in B&W. …
… New Town skyline in color.
Tomorrow is a day at sea — at least in the sense that we won’t be disembarking the ship. But we will be kept plenty busy enjoying the sights of Panama as we transit the canal that cuts across the isthmus to take us from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Erin, that brings back some nice memories of a cruise with family ten years ago. Between your blog and the video it feels as though we are already on board. Still some planning and shopping to do but our departure date is slowly creeping up on us.
ReplyDeleteRosalyn
Many thanks for the name of the artists onboard. Guess they may have changed by Singapore but very interested to know nevertheless who they use. Sorry I did not mean to sign as anonomys but as Mancunian my board name
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos of the murals and aviary. I love seeing the city in all its colors.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to have the time to look back through your photos from previous visits. I loved that skyline of Cartagena. I think, reviewing my own photos, that center highest building was in about the same state when I photographed it in 2010. The resting birds made me laugh out loud. Made me want a massage.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for blogging your voyage. Great to come along for the journey. Love your photos and narrative
ReplyDeleteWere there a few years ago. The pictures bring it all back:)
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