Cartagena, Columbia

My first impression of Columbia was that it was just what I was expecting. As we entered the port, from our side of the ship, we saw this huge house/fortress on a peninsula. It had high walls and electric wires running all the way around it - even out about 100 ft. into the water! It looked like a place that could be defended against all comers. I thought “ah ha” the “casa grande” of some drug lord.  Just then a patrol boat pasted our ship with guys holding machine guns standing on its bow. Then we disembarked on the other side of the ship and there was a strip of high rise hotels and condos that looked like the skyline of Miami Beach. What a contrast! We hadn’t booked a tour so we were just going to get a cab by ourselves into the “Old City” to see the famous Dungeons, Inquisition Palace, and Cathedral etc. We battled our way through the glut of tour guides trying to reach a taxi outside the gates. We met a couple from Michigan on their own too so we pooled resources. Now I thought I was a negotiator, but this lady really wrestled them to the mat! We ended up getting an exceptional tour at a great price. Cartagena is a city of about one million people.  The Old City is just what you picture - a walled city with the narrow cobble stone streets.  The taxi driver was telling us it was bad when Pablo Escobar (a drug lord) was living here and in control. Escobar actually had a standing offer of a million dollars (I have to believe he meant pesos) given to anyone who would kill any policeman. My first thought was, I wonder what you would have to pay a cop to take that job? I can see where that might discourage most people from making that their career choice - which I guess was the point. As for the Dungeons, it is now a row of little stalls offering goods not unlike what you would find in similar markets in the Caribbean or Mexico. However, every shop had emeralds. Supposedly, 95% of the world’s emeralds come from Columbia. Cartagena was the center of slave trade out of Africa at one point so there were statues and markers relating that part of their history. They say Cartagena is so close to the equator that you don’t have seasons – its average temperature stays at about 82 year round. Not meaning to take exception, but being a Houston gal, I would say it felt closer to 90 with plenty of humidity. The sad thing is when we got back I didn’t know Jim had already paid and tipped the driver so I paid and tipped him too - doubling the price of our tour – thus successfully negating our great bargain!  Laura, I tried to attach some pictures from Aruba as requested, but with this connection after 16 minutes it was still trying to upload the first picture - so I just gave up. At these prices per minute I decided it wasn’t worth it. Maybe when we get to San Diego, if I find an internet café, I will try again. Next we transit the Panama Canal