Panama Canal 2015 24 Feb. Day 5

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Finally a port of call today! We make sure we have a good breakfast because we disembark at noon and are not expecting to eat again till supper.

We have arrived in Cartagena (pronounced "Cartahena"), Colombia, a Unesco world heritage site. Founded in 1533, Cartagena was the first Spanish permanent settlement on mainland South America. For the early Spanish conquistadores, Cartagena was the gateway to South America and the fabled city of gold, El Dorado. It soon became a major centre of the slave trade as well. Its strategic location and wealth made it a target for French and English buccaneers, including Sir Francis Drake, who largely destroyed the city yet still received a huge ransom for handing it back to the Spanish. Its famous fortress and city walls were in large measure a reaction to this incident. Cartagena was also the site of the Office of the Inquisition in Spanish America from 1610 on, which executed 767 people for heresy.

Colombia as a country has had a tumultuous and frequently violent history, but throughout Cartagena has remained one of the country's major tourist destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists.

We have signed up for a "Cartagena Highlights" tour. On board the bus we meet our guide Daniel, who turns out to be one of the best guides we have encountered. He is knowledgable, enthusiastic and entertaining. He starts off by warning us that at the end of the day there will be a quiz with prizes that will pit the men against the women.

Our first stop is the city's famous fort, Castillo de San Felipe de Barejas, built on a hill overlooking the city. Its architecture is interesting. Through necessity, the major building material was brick covered by a mix of limestone and coral. To compensate for this fairly weak construction, all of the external walls are sloped to deflect cannon balls. The fort is cleverly designed so that every battery is protected by another one higher up, so that even if part of the fort is lost to invaders, the attackers become sitting ducks. Another feature is that the various parts of the fort are connected by a interlocking network of tunnels designed to confuse invaders and offer hidden spots for ambush.

We climb in stages to the very top of the fort, which offers a bird's-eye view of our surroundings. It's a beautiful day, extremely hot with a brilliant blue sky. Waves of ascending heat dance over top of the old town stretched out below us and to the left. Far away straight ahead we can see the skyscrapers of the modern downtown. To the right, waves dash themselves against an apparently endless stretch of beach and rock that curves around the bay and disappears into the distance.

After descending from the fort, we board the bus to our next stop, a yellow colonial-style building called Las Bóvedas with multiple archways into the interior. It has been used variously as a baracks, a munitions depot and a prison. Today each archway harbours a shop selling tourist-oriented wares. There is also a flock of street merchants trying to interest you in their bricabrac. We had been warned that the street vendors here are agressive. They are, but on the logarithmic Istanbul scale (where Instabul merchants are a 10), these guys only rate a 8.

We explore the shops but the crowd makes moving about difficult. What are all these tourists doing here anyway? Violet tries to negotiate for some t-shirts but she and the vendor can't reach common ground on price.

Back on the bus, we drive along the immense wall that encircles the Cartagena old town, right along the ocean. We stop in the heart of the old town, with its almost perfectly preserved colonial-era mansions, churches and fortifications. It's like a fantasy 16th century Spanish town. Daniel leads us through the cobblestone streets, recounting true stories and legends about the people who have inhabited the area over the centuries. Today few people actually live here; most of the buildings have been converted into luxury hotels.

We eventually reach the Plaza San Pedro, a small but attractive square in front of the imposing Sanctuary of San Pedro Claver. Its namesake was South America's first canonized saint, recognized for his work with escaped and homeless African slaves. The interior of the church opens up into a beautiful garden full of gorgeous flowers of all shapes and colours and tall palms stretching high to the open sky. There are birds and even macaws, the latter with a handler who is happy to let them perch on your arm. We tour the adjoining rooms featuring period religious art and furnishings used by San Pedro. Finally, we pass through an impressive chapel dedicated to the Saint before leaving this oasis of calm for the bright sunshine outside.

Regaining our bus, we drive down the long peninsula that forms the outer part of the Cartagena harbour. This area, called Bocagrande, is the contemporary Cartagena, with high, gleaming skyscrapers standing tall by the ocean's edge, with beautiful beaches at their feet. It's reminiscent of Miami, in fact. Daniel points out where American presidents and other famous visitors have visited. He also points out the Hotel Caribe, where some of Barrack Obama's secret service agents famously had a romp with local girls. Prostitution is legal in Colombia and has apparently taken over from the drug trade as a major economic driver.

Our final stop is the city's main upscale mall called Pierino Galla. Colombia is known for its emeralds, and there are a large number of jewelry shops here. However, we only have 45 minutes, so I'm fairly confident that Violet cannot do serious damage in that time. I turn out to be wrong, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

On the long drive back to the cruise port around the bay, Daniel quizzes us, awarding postcards as prizes. I get one for correctly recounting the story of Catalina, Cartagena's Pocahontas. But the women still win. Actually, I'm sure they always do. Kudos to Daniel for a great excursion.

Back on board, we shower and eagerly head for supper. We take in the early show tonight, featuring the ship's four male vocalists. It's terrific. Afterwards, we decide to scout out the karaoke session in the Crow's Nest bar. We meet up with one of our British couples. Watching J.J. embrace the karaoke experience and fueled by some liquid courage, I sing a couple of songs. Feels good.

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