Wed, 01/08/25 Cartagena, Colombia

From ChatGPT:

Cartagena, located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is known for its rich history and vibrant culture. Founded in 1533, it was a major port during the Spanish colonial era and played a crucial role in the region's history. The city's well-preserved colonial architecture is showcased in its historic walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. With a population of approximately 1 million, Cartagena is a bustling metropolis with a diverse community. A fun fact: its annual International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and stars from around the world. Cartagena's blend of historical charm and modern energy makes it a captivating destination. 

Day 4 - Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - Cartagena Colombia

We got up normal. Mary had me up pretty much by 8:45 or so. We decided last night to have breakfast brought into the home. It came just as I was finishing up. I had a straight omelette and a couple pieces of ham. Mary had an omelette of some sort too. We ate pretty quickly and decided to go downstairs. We worked our way to the 4th floor where we got off the ship pretty quickly. I was surprised we got off so quickly. We had to walk about 1000 feet or so before we found our tour guide. We didn't get his name, but he was the guy that did all the wheelchair related stuff. With another guy who was strictly the driver. Lastly, we had met our actual tour guide. His name was Felipe. I forgot to mention it was already about 80° with the sun blaring. I now know where I'm going to move if Florida gets too cold.

We walked another quarter of a mile or so to the actual van. It looked promising until I saw that they had a manual ramp that they had to manhandle into the side of the van. That wouldn't be so bad but it was a very short ramp which meant the tilt was pretty serious. The other thing was I am too tall so when they finally got me to the top of the ramp my fat head wouldn't fit. They were yanking and cranking my poor head till it got in there. Once they locked the wheels of my wheelchair. I asked if they were going to tie down using straps and they said no. I thought to myself, here we go. The driver assured me that he would go slow, what you did. I don't think there was one time in the five hours we spent with him he went more than 5 kilometers per hour. There were plenty of places where the traffic was backed up behind him. So despite being a bad thing, he made the best of it. So, we finally get on the road. The tour guide asks what we want to get accomplished. First off Mary had a list of things she wanted to buy that we missed in our packing. First was a curling iron. We brought 3/4 of the house but somehow we forgot the curling iron. This is not criticism. I think it's actually amazing. The other things on the list were Monster energy drinks, sweetener that Mary likes, T-shirts for souvenirs and Mary's T-shirt quilt and postcards. I think everyone thought we were crazy if we were going to get all this accomplished and do the tour. Here's the list of things in the tour. My comments follow each one.

• Panoramic drive of Manga, the “Jewel of the Indies”. This was very interesting. We've seen this before, but the traffic was beyond crazy. If you didn't change lanes and cut two people off in every block you weren't doing it right. If there was a stop sign nobody saw it or adhered to it. I would say that this was the older part of the city. We worked our way up a huge hill. At the top was the next stop.

• Monastery and Chapel on the Hill of La Popa. When we finally got up there I decided I would stay in the van. There would not have been much for me to see anyway because all the picture taking spots were up above 50 stairs. So I sat in the van for about 45 minutes while Mary took pictures. Apparently there was a long line to actually get into the Chapel so that didn't happen. I might get some Flack, put off in one Chapel looks like another. We've seen enough chapels in our day.

• San Felipe Barajas Fort (exterior) This was actually pretty cool. Our tour guide talked for about 30 minutes uh on the Fort and its history. It is one of the few walled cities in the world.

• Old City of Cartagena - We drove through this. I don't remember anything remarkable again except for the traffic. The other thing I noticed is there are as many motorbikes as there are cars. Every motorbike driver has a helmet. Every motorbike passenger does not have a helmet. There were a couple of instances where they saw a kid buried between the driver and the passenger.

• Souvenir shopping at the Dungeons - I got out of the car for this. I believe Mary got pictures of this come on but it is a huge building with stalls filled with souvenir stuff. This is where Mary bought her T-shirts.

• San Pedro Claver Church (interior visit). This we did not do.

I didn't mention it, but buried in some of these stops Mary stopped and got Monster Energy. In the background, Mary says, “The only thing that was important was getting you Monster’’. The 8 cans she bought should keep me until we get to Los Angeles. At one stop, we found Splenda. The driver and the wheelchair guy we're having a conversation and they suggested Mary might find curling iron in the store we were near. The driver stopped the car. Philippe, the wheelchair guy, and mary headed out. They were gone about 15 minutes when here we come. Mary had a curling iron in her hand. The only thing that was left on the list now were postcards. Do you think she got them? Anyone who knows Mary knows them well she got her postcards. I'll tell you where in a little bit.

With all but the postcards purchased, the van pulled into the cruise terminal a little after 3 o'clock. I was itching to get back to the room for a beer and to cool off. The guy who's got me off the bus. We said our goodbyes and took a few pictures. Of course when you get off the bus and before you actually get to the ship, they take you through a gift shop. This is where Mary found her postcards. She found the postcards, stamps and was able to send them. I bought a four pack of hot sauce that was Amazon themed. Not Amazon the company, Amazon the region. We want the quarter mile or so back to the ship. We got in the room and literally did nothing for 10 minutes.

So to wrap up today actually the tour. I have mixed feelings. I like the fact that the guys went out of their way to make it a successful tour for us. I never dreamed that we would get Mary's shopping list completed. I think they went way above and beyond for that. Cartagena itself is like many big cities. It's  got it's fancy high dollar areas along with its much less fancy low dollar areas. Actually, I should be saying pesos. It is a very vibrant city. Everywhere we went there were people of all walks of life. When we were in Florida and it gets cold out I say I'm moving south. I usually say Cuba. I don't think we could live in Cartagena, but it's a possibility.

After chilling out for a while, Mary went and sat outside. I think she took a nap. I sat inside and worked on the log. We decided to go to dinner about 6:00. We went down there thinking we were going to go to the fancy side, but we ended up sharing a table with three other couples. Actually it was 2 couples and a guy. His wife didn't show up for whatever reason. It was nice getting to talk with other people. One couple was from Quebec. I think the other two were from Minnesota. There was a normal chit chat about what cruises you've been on etcetera. I had a glass of Zinfandel. For an appetizer I had gazpacho soup and scallop ceviche. Both were really good. For my main meal I had kingklip fish. It, too, was very good. For dessert I had gouda and Brie cheese. That was nice also. I know Mary had salad and French onion soup. They don't remember what chicken dish she had. Mary had fruit for dessert. It was a nice visit. We met some nice people. They're all on the LA trip so they will disappear in a couple of weeks. After dinner, we came upstairs. It wasn't long later that we went to bed. Our first day with an excursion was successful and tiring. Onto day 5….