Installment #9

Romancing The Stone was filmed in Cartagena, but not the Cartagena we pulled into this morning! We were shocked to find a shoreline filled with high rises, shipyards and yachts. A huge metropolitan city sprawled over the coast. What an enormous difference in comparison to all the other stops we have had on this trip! Now, don’t get me wrong, we are still in a South American country. We took an Old City Tour and had a great time despite the pounding heat.

The day started on the highest hill in Cartagena, La Popa. On top is the site of a Spanish monastery with an incredible view. We drove to a fort, Fort San Felipe, and enjoyed a tour of the massive fortress. Our next stop was the old city. The old city has really cool Spanish-colonial architecture. We had a great walk to the Plaza Bolivar, and then made our way to the main Cathedral. We ended our time in the old city at a historical nautical museum. We ended the tour with … shopping! I found an emerald ring (famous in Columbia) for only $57,000—still can’t figure out way Sir wouldn’t lay down his credit card!

By time we returned we were hot, tired and late! We grabbed some lunch on board then headed to our balcony to watch us depart. As we were leaving Sir and I decided we would like to return to Cartagena. After a nice dip in the pool and hot tub, I am ready to curl up for the evening. But I guess I am still going to be drug to dinner!

I will catch you tomorrow from Aruba!