Colombia- Cartagena

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Finally we arrive in South America.

Cartagena is the most beautiful and romantic city in Colombia and possibly South America. As we sailed in on the calm water just after sunrise, the first thing we saw was the old wall which was built around the old city to keep pirates out. The city had been sacked and burned down a few times by Captain Morgan as it was the port town where treasure hunters left back to Europe.
As we approached we saw several ships which looked like tanks zooming around with giant machine guns at the front. A bit intimidating welcome! After a 6 hour wait for immigration to let us into the country we went strolling through the old, walled-in town just in time for sunset. We had our first taste of typical Colombian cuisine, soup and a fresh fruit juice, then rice and beans (which I have really grown to love!), salad and meat of your choice for the wonderful cost of $2.50.

The next day Dana and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary. We spent the day exploring the city, the old cobblestone streets and colonial style buildings with vines creeping everywhere. There was always something going on from parades to concerts. We ate at a fancy French creapery for dinner and had fabulous French wine.
Over our several days in Cartagena we watched 2 parades, the first was a mentally retarded children’s parade, where they were all dressed-up in different costumes and probably better dancers than I am!! The second was a Miss Colombia warm-up parade with the most beautiful woman in each neighborhood in a horse pulled carriage with loads of supporters following each potential queen.

We also wandering into live Jazz, choir, and Spanish guitar concerts, and saw a group of very talented dancers performing by the central fountains each night.
We had an amazing time and it truly is a romantic city!

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Photos

Choir
There is always something entertaining going on in Colombia. we turned the corner and there was this little concert going on.