After
fighting the crowd to exit the cruise ship, with everyone going out at about
the same time, we boarded our tour bus at 10:00 AM. At least three busses were assigned to our
tour, “Scenic drive of Cartagena and La Popa Monastery.” This actually had been our second tour choice
because “Spanish Galleon Harbor Cruise” was cancelled due to mechanical
problems. Our tour guide’s name was Rafael. He told us much about himself: he was 85
years old; was married in 1950; and has one daughter and 5 sons, one of whom is
a physician and one, a lawyer. He also
has a grandson living with him. He was
asking if any of the passengers was in a similar situation and willing to discuss
their situation with him. Rafael was
shockingly fit and didn’t look more than 65.
Rafael
said that someone like Obama could never be a president in Columbia because the
wealthy control the elections here. During
the colonial era, Cartagena was the center for slave trade. Many slaves, after arriving from Africa,
would be sold to work in the silver mines of Peru or Panama’s sugar-cane plantations. Columbia retained only enough slaves to
construct their gigantic, fortress, which made Cartagena an impregnable
stronghold. According to Rafael, today
Columbia is about 75 percent white and 25 percent colored (his term); however,
to us, the majority of the inhabitants of Cartagena appear to be of mixed race. The population of Cartagena is about
1,250,000 (only 952,024 according to Princess Cruises) and the population of
Columbia is about 53,000,000.
Our first
stop in Cartagena was La Popa convent, built during the 17t h century and
dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria, one of the city’s patron saints. The main altar of the chapel is decorated
with magnificent gold leaf. La Popa is
built on the highest point in Cartagena and provides a splendid view of the city.
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| La Popa, Cartagena |
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| La Popa Altar, Cartagena |
Our second stop was the impressive Fort of San Felipe de Barajas, the largest Spanish fort in the New World, originally built in the 17th century. The walls of the fort towered high above us.
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| Spanish Fort, Cartegena |
Our second stop was the impressive Fort of San Felipe de Barajas, the largest Spanish fort in the New World, originally built in the 17th century. The walls of the fort towered high above us.
Our final
stop was the Navy Museum, established in 1986 from restored ruins of the
Jesuits’ school. There, while sitting in
air conditioning and being given cold bottled water, we enjoyed a show of dancing
young women in their full skirts and young men with their hats.
We
re-boarded the ship at 1:15 PM and shared lunch with a couple from Boston, Massachusetts,
Ron (?) and Kathy. Afterward, we
returned to our cabin for napping and relaxation.
Since
we had to wait so long for our dinner last night, tonight we went early (5:15)
and were seated immediately. We sat at a
round table for eight, and enjoyed conversations with Dorothy, Barbara, Joyce,
Dick, Barbara (another one), and Don.
Two of the first three women were sisters, one was a cousin, and Dick
was a husband. At least some of them
live in Minneapolis. Barbara and Don
live near San Francisco, and have taken more than 50 cruises. Don is a retired chemist from Bayer. His wife, Barbara, still works for Bayer in
their quality assurance. After we finished
eating, we sat longer at the table finishing an interesting conversation about DNA
genealogy.
After
dinner, we danced to the Playlist Band in the Wheelhouse Bar. Peggy and Eileen were there tonight. They
were the two ladies from near Philadelphia that we shared dinner with on Sunday
night, while their husbands were busy watching the Super Bowl pre-game show. We met their husbands this time: Les and
Scott. We retired to our cabin about 9:30
PM after the band went on break.
Tomorrow
morning we will be going through the Panama Canal.
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