(Colombia Flag)


(Colombia Map)

All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.

 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2010:

Around 7:30am on Thursday morning we sailed past the skyline of Cartagena, Colombia.


My first stop in Cartagena was at the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.
It was built by the Spanish during the colonial era. Construction began in the year 1536.


The old walled city of Cartagena is really quite beautiful.
The narrow streets and colonial architecture in the old town of Cartagena, Colombia

Notice the narrow streets and the many wooden balconies.


The peaceful and shady park contains Simon Bol var's equestrian sculpture.
The eponymous park in Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena's Cathedral, with its massive exterior, simple interior and fortress appearance was begun in 1575,
partially demolished by Sir Francis Drake's cannons, and completed in 1602.


Unfortunately we had a very short call in Cartagena as we had to sail away at 2:00pm.
The walled old city of Catagena Colombia as seen from the harbor Sailing away from Cartagena, Colombia on the Island Princess

The video below is 39 minutes long. It begins with the Island Princess sailing into Cartagena.
Once on land I visit Fort San Felipe and the old walled city of Cartagena.
Then back on the ship we sail away under sunny skies.
The last 8 minutes of the video is a time lapse sunset in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia.

41 minute video of the International Crew Show on the Island Princess.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON DECEMBER 16, 2010
Hello again folks,

We docked in Cartagena, Colombia this morning at 8:00. The picture below was taken from my balcony this morning as we sailed past the city's skyline. This is a larger city than I thought. Population here is over one million people.



It was a hot and very humid day today. The first stop on my tour of the city was Fort San Felipe.



Below is a view of the city from the fort.



It was a very impressive fort. It reminded me of the spectacular fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The tour guide said this one was twice as large.



I managed to avoid the first of three jewelry shops our guide kindly dumped us in by taking a short walk inside the walled city. In the picture below you can see the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the wall.



We walked along the narrow streets lined with colonial buildings of the 17th century. Notice the wooden balconies.



The church below was very beautiful, but hard to take a picture of from the narrow streets.



Below is a beautiful square in the center of the old city. The picture was taken from a window in the Inquisition Palace.

The eponymous park in Cartagena, Colombia

We were able to go inside the majestic San Pedro Claver Church pictured below. I photographed this area by skipping jewelry store #2.



Below you can see the pigeon filled square in front of the San Pedro Claver Church. You can also see the bell tower of the other beautiful church in the background.



Our next stop was jewelry store #3. Unfortunately there was nothing else around this area except a few thousand peddlers. It was a short call here today. We sailed away at 2:00. Pictured below you can see the old city I walked through today from the ship as we sailed away.

The walled old city of Catagena Colombia as seen from the harbor

The final picture looks back on Cartagena as we sailed out into the Caribbean Sea heading for Aruba, where we will have another short 6-hour call tomorrow. Out of all the islands in the Caribbean we could have stopped at, we're stopping at one of the few I have already been to. Aruba will be the final port of the cruise before the cruise ends in Fort Lauderdale on Monday.

Sailing away from Cartagena, Colombia on the Island Princess

And a pretty sunset in the Caribbean Sea on our way to Aruba.



Until tomorrow, have a great day!

Tim
Click on email photos for the large full-size photograph.


Click on the arrow above to continue to the next adventure, Aruba!

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