For our stop in Cartagena, Colombia we took one of the ship's Shore Excursions "Colonial Cartagena". This would give us a bit of a bus tour, with a few stops along the way before we did a waking tour of the old town.
Our view as we sailed into the harbour. This modern side of Cartagena is in stark contrast to the old town center that we would visit.
Our first stop was the Castillo San Felipe for a few pictures. This statue is Don Blas de Lezo, the Spanish Admiral who commanded the successful defense of Cartagena against an attack by Great Britain in 1741. I'm not sure how well things went for him, he's missing his right arm and left leg.
"The Castillo San Felipe de Barajas was built by the Spanish during the colonial era. Construction began in the year 1536, and was expanded in 1657. The castle is located on the Hill of San Lázaro in a strategic location, dominating approaches to the city by land or sea."
Part of our tour was "a visit to the Rafael Nunez House and Museum. Rafael Nunez was president of Colombia four times and created the constitution of 1886." But it was closed this day, so we just got a quick bus stop outside the museum.
Next stop was a "visit to the dungeons within the walled city ramparts, which were built to store provisions for the troops and are now home to a high quality handicrafts market selling brightly decorated cloth, woodwork and woven bags made by some of the indigenous peoples of Colombia."
Some of the brightly coloured hand crafted bags.
Some of the colourful streets of the old town, with their many balconies.
Inside a courtyard (under restoration), so that's as far as we got.
Inside another of the open-air courtyards.
The tall central tower of the Cathedral of Cartagena.
The intricately carved central nave of the cathedral.
One of the small plazas that we walked through as part of our tour.
A starburst sculpture in the center of Plaza de la Aduana. It would have been great to see it lit up with a thousand little lights in the evening.
We were treated to a folkloric show with some traditional music and dancing.
Part of the wall that surrounded the old town.
Our view as we sailed away from Cartagena, with modern buildings on either side of the old town center we had visited.
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Panama Canal - Jan 2018