Impressions of Cartagena

Here overnight, we had two opportunities to see and experience the city.  We’d booked two tours, thinking they were diverse enough to avoid repetition, but there was still some crossover.  Never mind.  Cartagena is a visually exciting city and as long as there’s something going on to watch, to photograph and to notice, I’m happy.

Yesterday afternoon, Sergio took us up to La Popa, the monastery on top of the hill which, when reflected in the water looks rather like a ship.  Hence the name – referring to the “poop deck”.  To reach the top of the hill involved a drive through the suburbs, initially through areas which had been settled by Lebanese and Syrian families in the early part of the 20th century.  Then, as we began to climb the hill itself, the settlements became poorer and more marginal.  The road itself was lined with police barricades, for on Tuesday, there will be the annual procession of “Our Lady of Candlearia” and her figure will be brought down the road to the church at the foot of the hill.

There was a great view from up there and as we looked out over the areas around the harbour, Sergio pointed out that we were looking over the middle class, richer areas of the city.  Because, as is often the case, Cartagena is home to a very diverse population and just over the other side of the hill, he showed us where the more ordinary, less wealthy people live.

 

Here were no high rise apartment blocks or hotels, but a densely populated area of single storey homes which filled the available space between the harbour and the ocean.

Though we were told that the current government had taken action to build a more effective police force and as a result, crime levels had been reduced, we nevertheless noted that houses were secured with high railings and metal window and door guards.

As we wandered around the city, we weren’t bothered by anyone at all, with the exception of a few good natured approaches to buy silver jewellery, leather goods, hats and T shirts, perhaps.  In these cases, a smile and a “no thank you” usually did the trick – these vendors were not in the slightest bit persistent, surprisingly.

Some sellers were very colourful themselves and those selling juice or cold drinks were doing a brisk trade.  Sergio explained that some of them are also selling “phonecalls” because although many people here have a mobile phone, many can’t afford a contract.  So, they go along to a street seller and buy some calls from them.  Interesting!

Though coffee is one of the major exports of Colombia, Sergio said that surprisingly little is drunk here, since people prefer the fruit juices and cold drinks, actually.  There were a few coffee sellers around and about, though this one had left his flasks on the kerbside for a few minutes.

Hats appeared to be a mainstay of the tourist trade, together with one or two other, more colourful souvenirs.

Once in the old city, the streets were lined with the most beautiful houses, with bougainvillea blossoms tumbling from decorative balconies.

Yesterday afternoon, the light was beginning to fade rather, so my photographs were a little dull.  Look at the difference when we returned this morning!

Actually, the whole city is really lovely and a very comfortable place to walk and appreciate.  The old part is virtually traffic free and the few vehicles which were moving around seemed to be tolerant of groups of tourists standing in the middle of the road taking yet more photographs.

We visited several of the same buildings twice, though thankfully only stepped inside the Palace of the Inquisition once, when suddenly, I found the sky and the beautifully inspiring walls rather interesting.  Yes, for sure there were some who were happy to “just imagine” those instruments of torture, but I wasn’t one of them!

I was happy to simply be here and contrary to all warnings and advice offered, felt quite safe and comfortable.

The Colombian people I encountered were charming and I’ll take away some fond memories of beautiful Cartagena.  Not only that, but I have a rather different impression of Colombia than before and have learned more history in the last couple of days than I’d have ever thought possible !

What a great city.

Cartagena, Colombia

Now, Colombia…that’s a serious “ker-ching!” – a new country for us both!

We were at sea this morning and around lunchtime, as I was “chatting” to my work colleagues who were receiving “OFSTED vibes”, I happened to look out of the window and saw Cartagena on the horizon, appearing from the mist like the emerald city. The Captain had said that visibility was around 10 miles, so at this point, we didn’t appear to have far to go.

Except that we had been listening at the port lectures and we knew that the way into the harbour was not by the obvious “Boca Grande” entrance, but by the smaller deep water channel to be found at the “Boca Chica”.  We made our way onto the outdoor deck and listened to the commentary as the pilot joined us and the Captain steered us through the narrowest of channels imaginable.  Good practice for the Panama Canal, perhaps?

Terry, our port expert, had spoken of the challenge of getting to Cartagena and of the remains of the 17th century Spanish fortifications which can still be seen and sure enough, as she talked us through the last stages of our journey, there they were.

There too was the dredging operation, maintaining a clear passage through what appeared to be pretty challenging waters.

As the newer, smarter city centre skyscrapers came into sight, we became excited at the prospect of setting foot in Colombia for the first time.

It was a beautiful afternoon and the statue of the Virgin Carmen in the harbour was pointed out to us as the patron saint of navigators, who offered thanks on their way out to sea, we were told.  But in the modern world, the role of the navigator extended to chauffeurs and taxi drivers too, which meant that this figure carved from Italian marble had renewed influence..

We turned right at this point and headed to our berth.

Another port, another tug boat.

In no time at all we were turning 180 degrees and reversing into the empty space. 

As we did so, we noticed the old town of Cartagena and looked forward to getting a closer look at what appeared to be an attractive city.

We’d heeded all warnings about removing jewellery and the cheap Casio watch I bought at Heathrow was the only adornment left.  I’ve become quite attached to it, though, even if I do need my hero to adjust the time each time we lose/gain an hour!

I got the impression too, that some crew members were looking forward to everyone going off to explore the city, because they were starting to clear the decks for a party tonight.

In fact, as we left the ship, the sun loungers on the pool deck were cleared away and the crew were all working at full speed to move furniture around.  This was going to be some party, for sure!

So, in the capable hands of Sergio, our excellent tour guide, our group of 20 left the ship and headed into town.  Learning a little about the city and its inhabitants, we headed first for the Popa Monastery, driving through the busy streets and spotting one or two interesting sights.

We saw the candy floss man making his way across a busy street on our way to the monastery and then spotted him relaxing later in the afternoon, the stick of pink bags leaning against a shop doorway whilst he snoozed in the sunshine.

As for the little cart, well, I’d spotted one of these down one of the side roads before I’d got my camera to hand, so I was delighted to catch a decent picture of this one.  Not that they were commonplace here, just rather typical of the simple way that some Cartagenians move their stuff around.

So, here we are.  Sergio has labelled us all with his name and attached the sticker vertically on each of our left shoulders – a somewhat unusual way to wear a sticker, but who were we to complain?  The twenty of us in his group spread ourselves out rather in the modern coach which was taking us to the monastery at the top of the hill and though I’d love to spend another hour or so telling you all about it, I’ll wait until tomorrow to do that.  We are in Cartagena overnight, we’ve just enjoyed the best party out on deck this evening and when we set sail after lunch tomorrow, I will not only have more time to tell the story but might even have a few more additions  to enhance it as well.

Suffice to say that, as we toured the museum of the Spanish Inquisition, I thought of those friends who have been entertaining OFSTED 

100ft under the sea

We arrived in Oranjestad, Aruba this morning.  We’d had a dilemma here, because the activity we really wanted to do was full.  Rather than leave it to chance, we booked our second choice and then, when we boarded on Saturday, we found we had tickets for both.

Which one to choose?  Well, the one we fancied was the Sea Trek but when we learned that we’d be taken to De Palm Island for the whole morning, for an activity that was to last only a short time, we decided to go with our second choice.  It’s not that we wouldn’t have loved to have done the sea trek, just that we didn’t want to be left sitting in the hot sun for the rest of the day!  So, we went for the Atlantis Submarine instead.

It was a great choice.  At just before 9 this morning, we were collected from the pier by a small boat and taken to the reef, where the submarine was stationed.

It’s pretty windy today and this fast little boat rocked about a fair bit, soaking some in the spray as it went.  But it was warm and no-one bothered – we were here to enjoy ourselves after all.

Arriving at the sub, we crossed the gangway onto the top and waited patiently to climb down the ladder into the cabin.  I think there were thirty of us which was a comfortable number.

It was a pretty steep climb down but even a couple of people with limited mobility were able to make it.  The crew were on hand to offer a steadying hand and of course, we helped each other where necessary.  Everything was bouncing about on the waves throughout, so a grip on something steady was a good idea.

Once down there, we sat on both sides of the cabin, facing outwards.  The captain, at the front, had a circular glass “windscreen” and any claustrophobic worries were soon dismissed.

We each had a large porthole to look through

and an identification chart for Caribbean Reef Fish.  After a short safety briefing (which included two types of lifejacket and a smoke helmet) we were off.

At this point, those of us who’d been lucky enough to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, or the seas around Hawaii noticed some differences.  Here, the visibility wasn’t great.  That could have been down to the weather conditions, of course, but also, the colours were muted and filtered through these thick glass windows. 

We sailed at depths of between 30 and 120 ft, past areas of reef, sandy seabeds with sponges and then past a couple of deliberately sunken boats, placed strategically to add interest and attract sealife.  I would say at this point that my photographs don’t really do it justice, either, for the colours of the fish and the corals were brighter and better defined than it appears here.  But nevertheless, the yellow of the rock beauties and the bright blue chromis were still not as clear as I’d imagined they would be.

Maybe, too, we are spoiled by visiting fantastic aquaria?!

Anyway, none of that mattered at all.  As an experience it was great.  We’d never been in a submarine before and it was fun to get out there on the ocean and enjoy the trip.

We returned around two and a half hours later to the jetty, from where we decided to take a walk downtown.  We’d read that the buildings here bore some slight similarity to those we saw in Willemstad yesterday, but that those here are new, modern constructions and when we looked closer, that was indeed easy to see.

Another ship was in port.  We’d seen it as we enjoyed our breakfast this morning and as it inched closer and closer to the stern of ours.  So there was plenty of potential business for the bus drivers and the sales ladies – we had to run the gauntlet of them all before reaching the town.  Everyone was good natured however, no-one hustled too much and the warm sunshine made it a pleasant stroll.

But there was nothing we wanted to buy.  Souvenir stalls lined the streets, each selling the same T shirts, old car registration plates and hats.  Expensive jewellers were to be found in the shops behind the stalls – just how many Pandora beads do people buy?  (Actually, most were selling rather more expensive jewellery still, but it wasn’t for us, either)

So, with one last look to make sure we weren’t missing anything, we pottered on back to the ship.

Later this afternoon, we set sail for Cartagena, Colombia.  It’s been fun to visit Aruba but I think we’ve ticked it off for now, at least.

Oh, and we made a good decision about that tour – the Sea Trek was cancelled due to the weather conditions, sadly.  I suspect that there are many disappointed people this afternoon.

A colourful day–continued

We were booked on a simple “highlights” tour of Willemstad.  We didn’t want to go to the beach, didn’t fancy snorkelling and simply wanted to see what’s what here, so joined a dozen or so of our fellow passengers on a small minibus and headed off with Melisa, our guide, to learn a little about this place.

She was terrific!  Full of energy and enthusiasm and with a clear love of her island, she gathered us all up for the afternoon.  First stop, the Curacao factory.

She explained that the oranges grown here were too bitter to make marmalade, even, but someone discovered by accident that, if the peel was left in the sun, then good things happened.  Result, Curacao liqueur.

Still made largely by hand, we watched as the bottles were filled, labelled, stoppered and washed before packing.  Today, they were making the green variety and Melisa explained that, even though it comes in different colours, all of them taste the same.

Yes, there was tasting too.  As well as the orange liqueur, there’s a rum and raisin variety, a chocolate and a coffee one too.  She thought a mix of chocolate and coffee was the best, but actually, I preferred the good old original orange.

Our next stop was the “million dollar viewpoint”, conveniently to be seen from the back of a souvenir shop.  A fine view indeed, of the quieter southern part of the island, of the newer, more lavish suburbs and the smart harbour with many yachts anchored there.  I was tempted to buy a postcard for my journal, but spotting the 4 US$ pricetag (plus tax) I million dollar views don’t come cheap.

It didn’t stop me taking a photograph of a different, cute souvenir though.

A little further down the road, Mr Truman, our driver, made a hasty stop and pointed out a large iguana sitting in the bougainvillea by the roadside.  Cue the story of iguana soup, iguana sandwiches and so on – tastes just like chicken, apparently!  (Now, there’s a surprise)

What struck me from the moment we arrived, however, was the colours.  Every building was painted a different, bright colour with white frames and edges as specified by UNESCO, for this is a World Heritage Site.

Not all were brightly coloured, but even so, the architectural details picked out in this way were simply beautiful and looked marvellous in the afternoon sunshine.

Our next stop was the Maritime Museum, a small but fairly new collection with one or two interesting things to see.

In particular was one model we recognised.  There was that long pier arrangement we’d seen earlier, the one with the floating pontoons underneath it.  We learned that it was a floating bridge and that it swivels at one end to create a temporary and very easily moveable crossing for the inhabitants of Willemstad to cross from one side of the river, Punda to Otrobanda, literally “the other side”.

A photograph alongside the model showed it in use by what looked like the whole population!  Oh my, I wonder, could we take a walk over it, maybe?

Before we left the museum I bought a couple of postcards to send home, buying the stamps at the same time.  The stamps came in a little plastic bag and I didn’t realised until later that there were so many!  They had been put together to create some interesting postage, especially for sending abroad, so we licked and sticked…sorry, stuck….and hastily sent our love home.

We continued our tour through the residential district where there were several beautifully restored homes.  On the way, Melisa pointed out the one huge drawback of the painted surfaces – the salt air causes the paint to peel and discolour and in no time at all, they have to be repainted.  Every year!

Renewed respect then, for these little beauties.

Even more respect for those with so much detail picked out in white, which must take forever to decorate.  But oh, how beautiful they are, and when seen as a collection, even better.

Throughout the central area of the city every building was a masterpiece of colour and design.

Every time I’d taken a photograph and thought “that’s it”, I’d see another beauty.

Or four.

But of course, we couldn’t carry on down every single street like this, and having said goodbye to Melisa to make our own way back to the ship, we decided on one last place to see – the “floating market”.

Our map had this marked as a must-see and so we made our way to the riverfront and wandered along, marvelling at the variety of fresh vegetables and fruit.  As we did, we noticed something rather fun.

This was a drive-through market!  Stallholders were standing by the kerbside and as cars drove slowly past them, they opened the window and called to say what they wanted to buy.  They drove around the block and by the time they returned, the stallholder would be standing on the kerbside holding out a plastic bag with whatever had been requested, ready to hand it over in exchange for the money.  Such fun – and exactly the kind of thing I love to see and work out what’s going on.   So glad we came!

One last thing remained – we were going to cross the floating bridge!  Luckily, it was there and people were crossing right now, so we hurried along and hoped that it wouldn’t move before we got there.

Look at this!  It was a bit bouncy, but thankfully there weren’t as many people using it as in that old photograph at the museum!  What a clever way to allow people to cross whilst at the same time allowing shipping to move up and down the river.

Having crossed over the “the other side”, we took one last look at those brightly painted buildings and continued on back to the ship.

Looking up to see if we could work out which was our balcony, we spotted the friendly face of someone waving to us.  Zahid had seen us walking along the road and guessed that we’d look up. 

Welcome home, he said!

A colourful day

I took so many photographs today that I’ll split this post into two, to save overload.

We'd rocked and rolled overnight, which I found rather comforting until I heard a tap-tap on the balcony window sometime before dawn.  I nudged my hero and suggested he investigate, but having made a short and rather half hearted attempt to discover the cause of the tapping, he returned to his cosy bed and went back to sleep.  I didn’t.  I could hear this knocking and couldn’t work out just where it was coming from until I got up and felt sure it was coming from outside.  Well, when you’re on the tenth deck of a ship and you hear tapping on your window, you have to be half asleep to be courageous enough to open the door to the balcony and see what’s what.

Having rearranged the deck chairs out there – one of which had shifted in the swell and was knocking on the glass patio door – I resolved the irritation and peace returned.  I climbed back into bed and went back to sleep.

At breakfast time this morning it was still pretty choppy and making our way across the pool deck in search of breakfast, we chose to avoid the spray from the swimming pool!  We found our favourite table however and watched as the waves broke in the wake, creating spray and a complete semicircular rainbow, from one side of the ship to the other.  What a lovely, colourful way to begin the day!

Sometime just before lunch, we looked out and saw land.  The island of Curacao was just on our port side and as always, we felt excited to be getting near to a new port of call.

I love the business of arrival.  I love to watch as the pilot boat appears and we begin that whole process of getting this huge ship into port.  This morning, the little boat was being tossed all over the place and we felt for the poor pilot who had to transit from his tiny boat to ours.

Seeing him make an entrance via rope ladder made us even more sympathetic.  He must have nerves of steel!

All the time, the little tug Caucedo stood off a little, ready to escort us to our berth.  (That’s another one for my “tugs of the world” series, by the way!)

Getting closer to Willemstad, we began to spot the colourful houses.  I knew nothing at all about Curacao, except for the fact that the buildings are remarkably photogenic.  Now, where were we going to dock?

We leaned out a little and hoped that the empty berth just there had our name on it.  The staff captain appeared to have it in his sight and we did seem to be heading that way.

As we sailed by the little stalls along the harbourside, people waved.  What fun it is to arrive at midday and to have such a warm welcome!

We tried to work out what the long platform was alongside here, noting that there was no way we could dock alongside something that had all of those pontoons fixed.  All was to become clear later, but for now, we sailed past that bit and sure enough, were aiming for the berth that we’d seen earlier.

Captain Felice and the pilot were in control and moved this huge ship as if it were a small toy.  Such precision is truly remarkable – how on earth do they do it?  (I know, they are professionals!)

With the minimum of bother on the dockside, we were soon berthed and secure.  The gangplank was pushed out, was adjusted and made safe and in no time at all, we were in business.

Come and explore Willemstad with us in my next post!