Columbia

 

We were so grateful to have a little later start for this port.  Our ship didn’t arrive until 9am but we had to be off the ship ASAP.  I think we were the first 10 off the ship… yes we are efficient.  Our tour guide company Leeland Miles (Mr. Emerald) was there to meet us and all 20 of us boarded a nicely air conditioned van and headed off on our tour by about 9:15am.

Our first stop was La Popa Monastery (I have the itinerary beside me as there is no way I would remember this on my own).  We toured the Monastery a bit, but I think the highlight of this stop was the view of the city.  As we got off the bus the merchants surrounded us to sell us their stuff.  Our tour guide Anna had a colourful umbrella so we could always see her on the tour.  Doug did a lot of just sitting around since all the walking was a bit tough on him.  After this stop, we drove to the San Felipe Fortress for a picture stop.  We didn’t go in but walked around a bit to take some pictures.  Again the merchants where at the bus ready to sell us their stuff. 

This group was the same group (for the most part) as the other two groups.  It was nice that we all knew each other already and we all got along great.  We had people from South Africa, Australia, Texas, Arkansas and of course us from Canada.  We had great conversations and even a few of the people got into the healthcare debate between the US system and the Canadian system… I personally like the Canadian system that allows it to be free. 

 

So after the Fortress, we were off the Plana Bolivar (Old Town).  Here we drove through a narrow road and got dropped off at the side of the road to do some walking.  Thankfully our guide was with us the whole time though.  We walked quite a bit here and Doug was pooped by the end of it.  We saw the Gold Museum, the Palace of the Inquisition and then we did a stop at the Church of San Pedro Claver.  None of this really interested me much, but I knew this was a great way to see the city and get some culture.  A person needs culture every so often… I think I am good now for awhile HEE  HEE HEE.

For some reason I thought it would be cooler here… I was wrong.  For the third day I sweat so much that I would drink water and not have to go pee right away.  I have never been so soggy in my life, but I didn’t care… I was in South America for my very first time.  I found this to be my favourite port as it was clean, and actually felt really safe. 

Now we were off to the Pierino Gallo Plaza (aka New City).  Here is where you could do your major shopping if you wanted to.  I was going to buy Emerald earrings here but the ones that were affordable didn’t fit into my ear as the post was too big.  Thankfully I thought to try them on in the bus before we left and so I went back to the place and returned them for a full refund.  This is the bonus to buying from reputable business’s… the ability to return the item.  I did buy some Columbian coffee and some Columbian Rum.  I got to taste the rum before I bought it and it is very good.  Hopefully we can share it with friends when we get back.

We were back on board by 1:30 and of course after dropping off our stuff, we were having lunch on the Lido deck.  I had a cheese/bacon burger and Doug had a hot dot.  They have really good burger’s here on board and where the grill is, there are some wonderful salads.  The rest of the afternoon was relaxing on the pool deck and virtually doing nothing.

We are now on the ship for 2 days at sea before we get to Miami on Tuesday.  Once we are in Miami we pick up our rental vehicle, go to our hotel and maybe book an everglades tour for that day.