Cartagena, Columbia

We have not done much during these past couple of days. Ken got that terrible cough and we went to see the medical team and they gave him some anti biotics. The cough keep him awake at night. Once he is standing or sitting the cough is not too bad. . 

I wrote this blog this morning and then we had a thunder and lightning storm that took out the internet and took my blog with it. I will try again.

The past few days I did not much different except for playing trivia in the afternoon. I am playing with Julia and Ken on their team. It is a lot of fun.

 This is our fifth visit to Cartagena we did not plan an excursion. In her talk Debbie told us there was a new cruise terminal with lots of things to do so a visit there was the plan.

 Cartagena, Columbia

To visit Cartagena is to traverse Time itself . Step into the well preserved old city and you are transported to the seventeenth century when Spanish explorers, English and French Pirates, and the new world colonists walked along the same cobbled streets, past magnificent churches and idyllic pastel painted houses dripping with tropical flowers. Relive those days with a leisurely carriage ride and excellent folkloric show. Step out behind the walled colonial city for a catamaran cruise along the coast or sip a cool glass of coconut lemonade while admiring the fantastic views of San, Felipe fort A day in Cartagena is time travel well spent.

It was very misty this morning, It will probably rain.

So after breakfast I left the ship. The plan was to take the free shuttle to the terminal. Much to my surprise the bus ride was less than 5 minutes long. You could see it from the ship.

Perhaps some of the ships dock in a location a far distance from the terminal but that certainly was not the case today. The area is planned so that the bus stops just outside the building that houses the souvenir and emerald sales. I made my way inside and walked all around the area to check out the items for sale and the prices. It is more expensive than I thought. The emerald selection was fantastic but I resisted temptation.

Next I exited the building to the zoo like area. The first reaction was to wonder what was making that very loud not pleasant sound. I was to learn that it is mating season for the peacocks and they were responsible for all of the noise. Their displays were amazing, they were everywhere, even in the trees

Next to impress me were the dozens of parrots.

The feeding stations were also impressive and busy.

I had to search but I did finally locate the monkeys. I couldn't get a good picture because they were high in the trees.

The flowers were blooming profusly.

There were small ponds with Koi and waterfalls with flamingos, enclosures with turtles, grassy spots with rabbits and feeders with squirrels.

The humidity was very high, it was warm and at times it was raining lightly. This made the idea of sitting in the garden and enjoying a cup of coffee seem less appealing.

I went back inside and selected 2 magnets form our tree. One is a key chain featuring a flamingo and the word Columbia and the other was a magnificent nativity scene with Cartagena on it.

I stepped outside and one of the buses was there and ready to depart. That ended a great visit ashore.

We are going through the Panama Canal tomorrow. The time is supposed to be at 8:15 am our time which would be Central time for Canada or 6:15 Abbotsford time.

You can google the web cam on the Island Princess and watch it happen..

Our number is S 15 Zulu