Cartagena, Colombia

After leaving the Dominican Republic, our next port of call was Cartagena in Colombia. This was my first time to Colombia, as a visit in Jan 2022 was cancelled as the ship wasn't allowed in.

Was out on deck just before 7 am as we were approaching the large bay of Cartagena de Indias. 

 The modern skyscrapers again looked like Panama City. It was more built up than I expected. It is a major port on the Caribbean. It is named after Cartagena in Spain and was founded 1533. Saw pelicans and gulls and terns. The cruise port is on an island opposite the city.

Monument to the Virgin -

Leaving the cruise terminal you walk through the Port Oasis eco park. This was a wonderful place and my next blog will be just on the park. Outside the terminal gates, I negotiated a taxi with 3 other people and this took us into town. The traffic was awful and it took ages. We passed the fort on the hill. This along with the port and other monuments make up the UNESCO World Heritage status, "Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena". "Situated in a bay in the Caribbean Sea, Cartagena has the most extensive fortifications in South America. A system of zones divides the city into three neighbourhoods: San Pedro, with the cathedral and many Andalusian-style palaces; San Diego, where merchants and the middle class lived; and Gethsemani, the 'popular quarter'."

The taxi dropped us off in the centre and we started to walk around. 

Plaza de La Trinidad (Trinity Square) and Iglesia de la Trinidad (Church of the Holy Trinity) in Getsemaní. The declaration of independence took place here in 1811. The church dates to 1643 -

Getsemaní used to be a rough and dangerous area, a slum, but now it is full of culture with colour everywhere, lots of backpacker hostels and trendy bars and hotels.

Our next stop was Centenario Park, between Getsemani and the city walls. This is in the heart of the city and I was amazed to find there are sloths and tamarins here. It is not sure how they got here, they must have been brought in by people. According to Shoestring Safari, the tamarins are of 2 species, the white-footed and cotton-top. The sloths are brown-throated sloths. There are guides in the park that can show visitors the animals and they are also there to protect them. However it was easy to locate the animals as there was a large group of humans below them, pointing cameras. My photos aren't that good as the sloths were high in the trees and the sun was bright -

We then headed over to the city walls and the main gate, Puerta del Reloj-

Inside the city walls, the buildings are mostly all renovated and very colourful. It reminded me of Penang or Malacca in Malaysia.

After a lot of wandering we were in need of a beer -

Then after a quick look at some shops we got a taxi back to the terminal and the Eco Park.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - day 2

 We had arrived in Santo Domingo on the evening and had an overnight stop. The next day I went back into town to continue sightseeing. But before I left, I took some photos from the top deck. Looking out to the river mouth, Rio Ozama, and the sand spit with the naval base -

I then took the shuttle bus into the old town. An ice cream man -

I wanted to see parts of the town I hadn't seen yesterday. My first objective was Ruinas de San Francisco, or The Monastery of San Francisco, which is one of the most important ruins in the Dominican Republic. It was built for the first religious order to arrive, a Franciscan Order, and the monastery which was completed in 1560 is the oldest in all America. The area is all fenced off, apparently protected by law and by the National Permanent Commission of Patriotic Anniversaries of the Dominican Republic (Wikipedia).

There were no other tourists here at all. I liked the fossils in the floor -

San Miguel Church -

San Lazaro Church. The Church and Hospital of San Lázaro is a chapel built in the Gothic style at the end of the 16th century in order to care for people suffering from leprosy and at the same time have a place to strengthen their faith.

I hadn't seen any tourists at all, but then headed down into the main tourist area of the old town, and on to Independence Park. I had to wait to get in as a school group were having photos taken at the main entrance, The Count's Gate, named after the Count of Peñalba, former captain general of Santo Domingo, who successfully defended the city from a British invasion in 1655 -

Statues of national heroes -

Altar de la Patria, an imposing marble mausoleum housing the nation's founding fathers -

From left to right - Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, and Ramón Matías Mella, collectively known as Los Trinitarios.

Some street scenes as I headed back -

Colon Park -

Bank Reservas -

And a final photo of the tourist police -

Looking downriver from the floating bridge -

People fishing and selling fish by the river -

Back at the cruise terminal, these characters were waiting to say goodbye -

Final view of the Santo Domingo skyline as we sailed away -