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Published: January 19th 2010
Sailing to Colombian Ports
The seas out of Key West were rather rough. We did a lot of rockin’ and rollin’ for a couple of days at sea as we headed toward Santa Marta, Colombia. As we staggered from wall to wall, we saw several familiar faces of people who were on the 2008 trip. Nothing like rough waters to get acquainted real fast! In fact, the couple who had the laptop for the Packer playoff game is on board. They are living in Ohio, but still manage to go to Green Bay at least once a year for a game.
The days went by quickly as we listened to an Explorations speaker talk about the land bridge theory of migration across the Bering Straits and down the central area of the U.S. and continuing all the way to the tip of S.A. Thus giving rise to the theory that the South American Indians are of Asian descent. After that, we heard a Port talk about upcoming ports. Then, we played bridge a couple of days. There are from six to nine tables of duplicate every sea day in the afternoon. We play east-west all the time since the
Bruce's second head
Amazing what one sees under the Banyan tree.really good players play north-south. Anyway, much to our surprise, Bruce and I have come in either first or second each time. This proves there is something to be said for not using lots of conventions, and just playing.
We haven’t gone to the cooking lessons or games, but have taken in some of the shows. We heard a very good pianist one night, and saw maybe one minute of a very bad comedian. We sit in the back so we can escape if we don’t like the show. On some nights we may go to the movies or the casino. The slots spit well the night we were there, but this is just the first week. The wheel was not kind to Bruce.
Our first stop in Colombia was Santa Marta. This port town is a well situated natural harbor giving the Conquistadors easy access to the riches they stole and sent back to Spain. In the process, the native peoples were all but lost in the lust for gold. The city is near the world’s highest coastal mountain range, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Simon Bolivar was first buried in the Catedral, and it is here that his dream of a Gran Colombia died, too. He had watched Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power and appoint Simon’s brother to oversee Spain. Bolivar vowed to free America. The five countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia all still have red,( the blood shed for freedom,) blue, (the sea), and yellow,(the sun) flags of different formations. It’s interesting to speculate about how different things would be if Bolivar had managed to keep these countries together as one.
We visited the Catedral and a modern museum before going to a resort on the beach for a break and folkloric show. We returned to the ship after quite a nice day ashore. The next day we were again at sea. This time it was much calmer, and we were able to enjoy our balcony.
We arrived at our next port, Isla de Providencia, this morning. Although it lies nearer Nicaragua, it is still part of Colombia. These small islands in this Archipelago were ideal for pirates, the most famous being the infamous Henry Morgan. He taunted the Colombian Navy all over the seas. Legend has it that his “booty” is still hidden on the Isle. (Bruce has gone ashore to check it out!) We are anchored off shore, and tenders take about 20-25 minutes because of the reef near the shore. It is a bit rough, so the Captain said it would be a bumpy five minutes or so before the land provided shelter. I opted to stay aboard and write. He can explore better on his own. When I finish this, I’m going out on the balcony and read until Brice comes back. The temp is in the 80’s, and the sun is shining. Our balcony is in the shade, so it’s perfect for enjoying the breeze and reading.
More in a few days.
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Paul and Bonnie
non-member comment
tough life
Everything sounds wonderful, busy and relaxing. Thanks for the history lesson, interesting. Paul and Bonnie