Juan Valdez Was Here (maybe) - 2/4/14

This morning we arrived at the port of Cartagena, Colombia. It is a beautiful natural harbor. Sir Francis Drake attacked Cartagena in 1586 and held the city ransom for $200 million (in today's dollars). After that, they spent the next 120 years building a fortified castle (castillo) to protect the city. It cost over $1 trillion (in today's money). We saw the castillo on previous trips, so we decided to stay close to the ship today.

There is a very pleasant area right by the cruise terminal. There are botanical gardens, an aviary, and a small zoo. And best of all, a wi-fi hotspot for $3/hour. While I updated my blog and Facebook, we listened to parrots squawking. After my hour was up we wandered around the botanical gardens. There were red, yellow and blue parrots, blue and yellow parrots, blue and green parrots, white parrots, flamingos, black geese, peacocks, and iguanas, all running around loose. There were cages with little tiny monkeys, deer, and maybe some other animals. My favorite bird was a gorgeous toucan. It was very tame and you could get close to it, but just when I got my facce in the frame with the toucan, Ken's camera froze up. Many photos will be posted when I get back to the land of high-speed internet.

 

There was also a nice gift shop (but we didn't buy anything) and a Juan Valdez coffee shop (but we didn't go in).

Our sister ship, the Coral Princess, was also in port.

Back on the ship we enjoyed lunch at the buffet and had pina coladas during sailaway. Around 4 pm there was a knock on our door and a room service waiter handed me a plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries and white-chocolate-dipped cream puffs, courtesy of Princess. Before dinner we saw a high-energy show called Piano Man, featuring dancing and the music of Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, and Elton John.

For dinner we went to the Bayou Cafe. The New Orleans-themed food and service were excellent and we stuffed ourselves. We could have had alligator ribs for an appetizer, but I'm just not that into reptile meat. We pretended it was our anniversary (right month, wrong day) and the staff sang Happy Anniversary to us. During our meal we also got to hear live piano music. It was terrific. I think only the Coral Princess and the Island Princess have a Bayou Cafe, and they may be eliminated soon, so go if you have a chance. I am sooooo full.

Our final activity of the day was a screening of a Nova show called "A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama," produced and narrated by David McCullough. It was a fascinating show, with photos, and even film, shot during the construction of the canal between 1901 and 1914. The story of the canal is amazing