January 24, 2015

It’s official….we are relaxed.  In fact, we are to the point that we have to refer to the daily newsletter, or the calendar to know what day it is! Today we entered the Panama Canal from the Caribbean Sea at 7am. We rose 85ft. through the 3 locks that make up the Gatun Locks and are now cruising through the Gatun Lake which is the summit of the mountains between the 3 sets of locks to reach the Atlantic.  It will take most of the day.

Yesterday was Cartagena, Columbia.  We had a lovely excursion through the Old City where the streets are one car width, and some are maybe 2 people width.  The Spanish architecture was beautiful. Cartagena is famous for their emeralds & gold which made them a target for pirates and invasions from other countries seeking to steal their riches. The Old City is surrounded by a ring of massive fortress walls built by the Spanish starting about 1585.  The walls took over 200 years to construct by slave labor and has been rebuilt and repaired many times since. The Colombian flag flies from the top of the wall. The yellow represents Gold, the blue represents the sea and sky and the red is for the blood of their heroes in battle.  The excursion ended with a wonderful lunch at the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Hotel which is in a restored convent.  The luncheon was held in the former Chapel complete with Monks serving wine and Folklore dancing.  It was quite entertaining and I hope the pictures are clear enough for you to see, especially from the Chapel.

Cartagena has a wonderful port tourist center with a beautiful aviary that you can walk through and view a variety of island birds and iguanas. They also have some great shops which made postcard shopping for the grandkids easy.  They even had the stamps and mailed them for us!  So for the kiddos I have some photos they will enjoy.

Cheers! 

Rick & Paula 

                                                                      The Fortress Wall around Old City                                                           

The Colombian Flag on the wall

                                                                      The streets of the Old City                                                                        

A beautiful balcony garden

                          “The Chapel” of the Sofitel Legends Santa Clara Hotel                          

                                         Monks performing a synchronized wine decanting                                    

Folklore dancing