Cartagena

Somehow I gotta keep this brief so lots of pics and not so much gab....But there you go I'm gabbin' already. It seemed easier to stay at Santa Marta and bus in to Cartagena and see some countryside at the same time so we hopped on a bus and bypassing Baranquilla went past this semi aquatic village with half the houses built on the water. Looks like its a subsistence thing as they have a bunch camerones (prawns/shrimp ) stands. Guess it's just good to be there.
 The outskirts of Cartagena were a jumble of markets and humanity and just one of those things you only get a chance to snap on the way past in yer air conditioned bus

 

Then you get to this beautiful walled city.

 

Overlooked by the mighty old fort.(con grande zapatas )

 

 

People going about their business

 

 

Artists like this guy, Enrique Grou , (self portrait )

 

He also sculpted this

 

It's the kind of city you can wander around for days just soaking up the history.

And the artisanship.

 

 

The shoe shine tree.

 

Amateur photographers tryin' to be arty

 

Every bar and TV shop with a crowd watching Colombia nearly beat Brazil.

 

More people

 

 

 

Gail disappearing into the labyrinth tunnels of the fort.

 

 

There's a whole other part of the Cart. built out on a large sandspit (beach ) It's the Nuevo city.

Looks pretty much Surfers Paradise or Fort Lauderdale and has every fast food and coffee and retail outlet you could possibly want.........or not.

Then there's the monastery up on the hill where the indigenous folk or the slaves or something threw the  megalomaniac missionary/priest off the cliff onto the rocks far below.

Got a chuckle out of that one.

Anyway we bussed back to Santa Marta and after doing 'stuff ' on Jabiru took off on the 24th Nov out around Baranquilla and the tremendous outflow of the massive Rio Magdalena which kicks up all sorts of currents and sloppy waves and carrying all sorts garbage from trees to cows and fridges. Mind you we didn't see any of that huge stuff ourselves......although Bob swore that Spirit was under attack or de-laminating or something.

Anchored at Punta Hermosa for the night and sailed into Cartagena the next day. That was a trip on its own....what a place....viva Colombia!

Our friends from Filia Maris were at the abchorage.

That's the young couple from Holland/France that met in Singapore.

Ain't they sweet

 

 

Ya gotta keep moving,so after contracting an awful flu we set sail via overnight anchorages at a couple of Colombian islands then an overnighter to Puerto Obaldia on the border of Panama and Colombia.On the way I had a coughing fit and gave myself another hernia.

This getting old definitely ain't for sissies..

Anyway lunch is served so I'll leave the exiting story of my operation 'til later.

Cheers.

(PS ..Don't forget ,if you click on any photo you get slide show )