We are now in the canal

CARTAGENA
We awake because the ship gets quieter and you can very faintly hear a boat draw alongside thinking it’s the pilot boat. About 6 I got up and looked out on a beginning orange sky shrouded in mist in the distance. You can see cranes in the distance and slowly a huge ball of orange begins to rise on the horizon. The ship slowly begins to approach the dock.
Our room service arrives promptly at 6:30 and we take it out on the balcony. I’ve discovered that we have a smoker in the cabin to our left but she seems to have finished. Earlier the air had smelled like boiled eggs approaching frank hydrogen sulfide. Now it smells like burning wood. The higher the sun rises, the warmer our room becomes. We are on the starboard side with the pier immediately below us. No people are seen below.
I’m wearing my safari pants today. Nancy wore them over So Africa and I want to see how useful they are. I immediately find that my wallet will not comfortable fit in any of the pockets so that means I’m back to my fanny pack. While we don’t carry our passports in this port, we must have our cruise card and a photo ID. They also seem to be a little too long, so I pull the Velcro over a little on the ankles. These are a size 10 which should fit just fine. Be forewarned: they are cut VERY big. I don’t think an 8 would work because then I couldn’t sit down in them.
I’ve tried several times to sign onto the internet even going so far as to try the unsecured networks I see in the area. Nothing works. Ed was playing with the potential 3G connections earlier but I’m still afraid of the excessive connection charges if you goof up on the iPhone.
Family memories
My father, had he lived, would have celebrated his 86th birthday today. I recall his humor and some of his wisdom with appreciation while finding it easier to put aside the difficult parts.
Our tour
At the meeting place, there was a group of 6 who wanted to stay together. Some had come earlier and gotten stickers for a previous bus and then waited for their “friends” which threw everyone off. The ship’s person who was on the tour with us at one point threw up her hands and said I can’t deal with this. Eventually they settled down and they were all with our group though with the wrong stickers. Our guide gave us badges to wear with HER name so she could identify us and we’d remember her name.
These 6 people were such a pain. The only identification I’ll give you is that they are from the NE coast of US. One of the men took a photo of a local woman in native outfit and when she put out her hand for the $1 he acted as if he didn’t know what that was about. Then when the tour guide and others told him, he claimed he didn’t have any change. Peer pressure came into play and eventually the woman was given $1 but clearly this cheapskate was sure he was going to get by with stiffing her. The women had to buy stuff. One woman bought “silver” and truly believed she was getting a silver bracelet for $7. And these folks have obviously travelled a lot given other conversation. Then she thought she’d left her brand new digital camera at the stall where she dickered for this bracelet. She found it of course in her pocket. As we were driving away, one of the men announced he had lost his money clip. The ship’s person had it and got enough information to be sure it was really his and returned it. Yet another man in this pod started asking if anyone had a $100 bill because he thought he had inadvertently put it in some pot for a street person. A lady produced that for him. So you get the picture of what being with this group of disaster mavens was like. And since they dominated the front of the van, there wasn’t much hope of avoiding this fiasco.
The guide promised us “exercise and sauna” and she wasn’t kidding. The first stop was a huge fortress and Monastery and we climbed up 5000 meters and walked all over. There were many tunnels we ducked through. You can see all of Cartagena from here and appreciate the degree of wealth because of the numerous high rises. Condominiums can run several million USD.
At one point, someone asked about the crime level in Cartagena. She replied that it was a very safe city. Wellllll that’s not what we’ve read NOR seen. There are police literally every two blocks, usually in pairs in what looks like a local police and some kind of generic police. It was suggested that because they have compulsory military service, these were the soldiers and that explained how young they looked.
Homes also are surrounded by iron fences and the windows are also similarly covered. So you can draw your own conclusions.
From the fort, we went to the dungeons which are now souvenir shops with the expected barrage of vendors on the street as well. The guide did warn us not to encourage them or we’d never get rid of them. I saw a serape looking hammock on the ceiling in one place for $333 USD; yep you read right. It clearly wasn’t handmade. Since the dickering begins at 50% and I wouldn’t pay more than $35 to $50 for this elsewhere, I just took photos.
A walk through the old quarter was next with gorgeous old homes including that of the President which had it’s own efficient looking policeman at the door. There were what looked like wrought iron statues on the sidewalk (we saw many more later) and when you took the photo, they came alive and pointed out the bucket in front for the $1. I learned to look for the tell tale bucket to see if it was real or a person in disguise. We went into the Cathedral here and later saw the Museum of the Inquisition which was not a fun place to visit. However, I’ve seen worse in other areas where they used manikins to illustrate what was done.
The plaza here is lovely and we walked through some streets until we reached the Cathedral of St. Peter Claver who was a patron of the slaves. He died in the 1600s of Parkinson’s disease and his body is preserved (a miracle??) and is housed in the base of the altar in his church. There are lovely stained glass windows here also.
We were well ready for fluids by this time and our guide took us to a small bldg near the old city wall and we were given a token for a beverage. There was a local band and a dance troupe who entertained us. They were terrific and I got some video I hope to upload perhaps not until we hit LA given our internet challenges. The energy level is exhausting even when you’re simply watching.
The van took us back to our ship by passing through the wealthy part of town. Drug problems were never mentioned. Tourism, coffee and emeralds are the main sources of income we were told.
Back home
We were drenched by now and Ed put on a new shirt he had picked up in town. We went down to lunch and joined some friends and family who were delightful. The sole man was in HR for the CIA for years so he had interesting stories to tell. The grandmother is of Norwegian descent and told some great stories of visits to long distance relatives for the first time. The wife is a nurse with a PhD in nursing from George Mason University so we had much in common.
Cleaning up after the tour
I downloaded the photos from our cameras: about 130 each. Then I recharged the batteries so the cameras are ready to go. I spent spare time looking through the photos and doing limited editing while listening to the afternoon lecture on…
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
This guy is such a good port speaker. I learned a lot about Costa Rica; I had a doctoral classmate from there so I knew a little about this country whose residents are documented to be the happiest in the world. They have no military either. We still haven’t decided what tour to take. I’d love to do the countryside as we’ve done the rain forest on the Caribbean side before. San Jose is a 2 hr ride each way and that doesn’t seem especially charming.
Trivia
I went alone and played with a nice group of gentle people; there were only 5 of us. We had fun and came in second. This one was a hard one as well. The winners scored 14 and collected their chits. Ed was watching TV this whole time so I questioned him about some of the questions when I returned.
My lungs and such
Though I can tell I’m very slowly getting better, Ed thinks I’m getting worse and is strongly suggesting interventions he is sure will magically cure me. My allergic reactions are more accentuated the past few days and I can tell my lungs are bringing up stuff he’s convinced I should be taking Robitussin. I finally capitulated and took a Claritin so we’ll see if that helps. I’m sure he’s tired of all this hacking and coughing as am I but I’m not sure what else I can do except continue to take the meds that are prescribed for me. I have this once a year no matter what I do and the bronchitis hangs on mercilessly.
Dinner
Full table tonite. One couple stayed on the ship; he has mobility issues and they’ve been here before. The rest of us did versions of the same tour it seems. Also, Mickey mentioned that she found the laundry room and there was only one person in it and this was at 1:30 in the afternoon just as the ship was closing up to leave Cartagena. She also found Tab Hunter’s cabin during her search.
Entertainment
Tonite was Claude Eric a young man from Montreal and we saw him on the last world cruise. Fantastic voice. It seems strange that he hasn’t become more famous. I saw a few folks stray out but most stayed and he got a standing ovation from most at the end. Tomorrow night is the comedian of whom I said: he was past his prime when I was a child so I doubt I’ll take the time to endure him again.
TOMORROW: PANAMA CANAL
You can watch us on the Panama Canal web cam (google it). Our ship starts through the Gatun locks at 8:10 am local time. Look for us on your local computer monitor.