We arrive in Cartegena first thing in the morning. The captain tells up the high temperature will be in the low 80's. The skies are partly overcast. Being my first visit to Cartegena, I have booked a shore excursion, a panoramic overview.
Royal has designed a good system to board the 1500 or so passengers that are taking shore excursions. The theater and lounges are divided into numbered sections, each number representing a bus. As passengers arrive in the waiting area they are given bus stickers and instructed where to wait. When the bus is ready the entire group leaves together. It works quite well.
Much of Cartegena is only a few feet above sea level at high tide, sewage backs up into the streets as it is unable to flow to the sea. Fortunately the side walks are high enough that we keep our feet dry. The future Venice of South America?
The street vendors are in your face at every turn. Much worse than I remember ever encountering in any European port or Nassau, a destination infamous for aggressive vendors. Uniformed police have a large presence.
There is a small sanctuary for flamingos, peacocks and other birds and monkeys at the pier. As often is the case, all returning passengers are forced to pass all the shops etc. in order to return to the ship. Actually this might have been the high point of the tour.
At one point our guide lost the bus, or the other way around, and we were left standing on the sidewalk for about 30 minutes waiting for the bus to return as the water level in the street slowly rose. The temperature? Not in the 80's as our captain predicted, but a hot muggy 97!
I came, I saw, and I won't put Cartegena on my list of must return to places even though I will be back in a couple of weeks.
There have already been several medical emergencies. Events that I am now more conscious of after having been evacuated from this ship myself just two years ago in St John, NB Canada.
During the day the Crystal Symphony pulls in to share our dock. An all inclusive line where everything is paid for up front. A ship much smaller than we are. Maybe some day, but not high on my list of priorities.
I am surprised that I remember the production show from two years ago. Often I don't remember what I had for breakfast. Tonight the headliner show is also one I have seen before, a violinist from London.
I learn from other passengers that the internet on the ship has not worked since we left Florida. Likewise I was unable to get cell service in Columbia. The emails can pile up. Maybe I will have better luck in Panama.
The seas remain calm as we head to Colon, Panama where we will will spend a day before crossing thru the Panama Canal to the Pacific ocean.
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