Day Twelve: Cartegena

Cartegena! Colombia!! America del Sur!!! Our last port call and a very good port call at that. The voyage has been perfect in the order of its port calls and we must thank Bennett for choosing west to east passage rather than vice versa. We had the three stops in Mexico at smaller resorts, than our day in the mountains of Costa Rica, all building toward the spectacular passage through the Panama Canal. And finally a last stop to top it off in perhaps the most interesting port (not counting the Canal as a port itself) yet.

We walk off the ship and onto a bus where we meet Pedro our guide. Again we have an interesting fluent knowledgeable purveyor of history and culture. I have to say, guides at all six ports have been impressive. And one happy impressive fact is the pride each of them has taken in their country and their ability to share that pride in their countries in such an easy, fluid fashion.

Cartegena is on the coast of Colombia tucked into a bay so the ocean is on one side and the bay is on the other side of the city. It was the first stop for Spanish coming into South America and is the finest example of a Spanish colonial city left in the Americas. Because of its strategic yet vulnerable location, it had to protect itself itself from sea invaders (pirates!) and land invaders. There is a thick and sturdy wall around the city from the 1500s. And a fort on the hill. So Bennett is happy! We stop first at the bottom of the hill of the fort to see a statue of Don Blass who repelled the British but after a quick look, we are elbowed out by a Colombian Naval ceremony. It is fun to see the navy uniforms and band assembling. Throughout Cartegena, there is a heavy military presence with soldiers in camoflauge and rifles roaming.

Next, we drive through the streets that are built on landfill as originally Cartegena comprised a few islands. We leave the bus to enter the Old Town and it is old indeed. We go into St. Peter's church or Iglesia de San Pedro Claver. San Pedro was a Jesuit who watched out for the African slaves and spread the Catholic word of God. He was canonized and is venerated still. He died in 1654 and in 1954 his remains were brought back to the church and are in a lighted glass coffin beneath the altar. So I saw San Pedro! Or at least his skull and tattered clothes rags.

Out of St. Peter's and down the cobblestones to the square with the requisite Simon Bolivar statue. This is in front of the Palacio de Inquistion. Inside the palace, we see the good works of the Catholic church that encouraged residents to report any suspicious activity. Once someone had been ferreted out, they would be brought to the palace where they would be queried. A list of 33 inquisition questions was posted; the first to be asked was, "When did you become a witch?" and it went downhill from there. If the questioning did not lead to a confession, the subject would be weighed. At one end of the scale was the subject and the other end was a weight that was picked for the subject's size. If the scale did not balance because the subject was too heavy, that meant the devil was inside them weighing them down; if the scale did not balance because the subject was too light, that meant they could fly away and the devil was inside them. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, says Pedro. So if you still did not confess, you were moved to the torture chamber. And a torture chamber it was. One thing very interesting about all the museums we have seen throughout is how all the artifacts are completely out in the open, and the guides and you can finger and handle all of them. Very strange indeed.

We walk back to our bus through the Old Town streets. Peddlers peddlers peddlers everywhere, hawking all kinds of souvenirs. Pedro has told us not to make eye contact and we don't. None of them assault you but you are constantly accosted by their in-your-face presence. We make a stop at the Dungeon, a series of small souvenir shops, each nestled in a chamber. And then we go to the Plaza for emerald shopping. Colombia is known for its emeralds and coffee. Of the ten stores in the plaza, eight are emerald shops.

Driving back to the ship, we see the high rises and the lush colonial homes of the richer section. We also see the naval base. I note the billboard for the Marines touts: Pocos, Buenos, y Orgullosas (wonder where they thought of the "few, good, and proud"). We bid adieu to terra firma and reboard the Infinity for the last time.

For the rest of the day, we laze, hit the gym, hit the Persian baths, have dinner, and go to the nightclub for a little music. On the voyage, I have noticed a distinguished, quite elderly couple who are always dressed elegantly. But the man tops it off with his Navy baseball cap and I would too because it has much insignia and is emblazoned Tuskegee Airman. We see the fellow sitting down so Bennett goes up to him, thanks him, shakes his hand, and says, "I've always wanted to shake the hand of a Tuskegee Airman."

That's it for the day's recap. The seas are getting rough! But not out of control. Be sure to vote in my poll to the right. I explain my dilemma and the reason for the poll in a post between Day Eleven and Day Twelve.

Glynne-bee, I took notes of the canapes at teatime today so that I could report for your catering gig. Here is what was on today's plates:

Canape Plate
Tiny little square toasts (maybe one inch squares) topped with one of the following then a small decoration (like a smatter of red roe or a swirl of white sauce) skewered with a toothpick (all these toppings are tiny tiny):
a shrimp
salmon salad
hardboiled egg slice
brie
tiny ham slice rolled around cheese

Sandwich Plate
Crustless bread triangle, mini roll, mini croissant skewered with a toothpick sometimes holding a cucumber slice on top.
Often the sandwich is buttered, filling is one of the following:
one slice ham, turkey, or roast beef
cheese
tuna or chicken salad
cucumber
egg slice

Sweets Plate
Cookies
Slice of pound cake, yellowed and marble
Mini tarts