Cruising on the new Norwegian Bliss — Blog # 3
Day four of our cruise dawned with cloudy skies as we sailed into the Cartagena, Columbia harbor. I have always wanted to visit Cartagena since seeing the movie Romancing the Stone even after I learned what they said was Cartagena was actually filmed in Veracruz, Mexico.
My friends and I met in the Bliss Theater at our appointed time to await notification we could leave the ship and board our waiting tour bus. We were headed first to the Old Spanish Fortress for a guided tour and then would have time to walk around and explore the old city on our own. Cartagena is a city of one million people and there is a clear demarcation between the old and new city. These days one has to be quite wealthy to own any property in the old city which is listed as a World Heritage Site. The new city is one of high rises and many more are in various stages of being built around the port area.
We arrived at the Old Fort and began our walk up some very steep paths to reach the top. We strolled all through the old fort, walking through tunnels and over ramparts. It is still an impressive structure. We were serenaded by a trumpet player and entertained by an Iguana lazing on the lawn having its breakfast of flowers and grass.
From the Fort we headed to the old city. Our guide took us to a chocolate factory for a cold drink and then to a lecture on emeralds which are abundant in Columbia. He then pointed out the spot where he would meet us two hours later for our bus trip back to the ship. The old city is truly worth seeing.
There are beautiful small narrow streets to stroll and some incredibly beautiful old homes with wooden balconies hanging over those narrow streets. There are flowers in bloom hanging from most of the balconies. Since it is a tourist destination there were also street hawkers everywhere selling everything from hats and jewelry, to ices and even rosaries in front of the churches. We stopped into two beautiful old churches; one with a beautiful marble pulpit and another with one of carved wood. Since it was Sunday in one we stood quietly for a few moments in the back as the priest said mass.
We continued our stroll through the narrow streets, many with very touristy shops, even a Subway sandwich shop. But then an interesting shop caught our eye. They were selling some amazing art and sculpture produced by local artisans. My friends ended up buying a few pieces.
We continued our stroll and walked on the old wall surrounding the city and back through the town eventually weaving our way to meet our guide and board the bus that took us back to the ship which was scheduled to sail at 2:00pm. There were long lines waiting to reboard the ship but again the crew of the Bliss did a great job, handing out cups of ice water and cold towels while we waited. As soon as we were on the ship we made our way to deck 15 and our favorite spot, the Observation Lounge, for a light lunch and some of those fresh scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. It was mandatory to reclaim those few calories we might have lost walking the steep steps and ramparts of the Old Fort.
But then my next stop was the gym to pedal away the guilt over the scones. Ah the problems of the cruise traveler. Then it was lounging on a deck chair till 5:00 when I headed back to the Bliss Theater for a fascinating lecture on the building of the Panama Canal. At 7:00 pm it was back to the Observation Lounge for the LGBTQ+ happy hour. Remember the Friends of Dorothy event and yes there is one every evening. It’s a great way to meet people over a drink and take time to get to know a little bit more about them. This evening one of the bartenders entertained us by pouring shots for everyone sitting at the bar. One of the people we chatted with was an American surgeon now living in Columbia. He is a charming guy and had an interesting story and was traveling without his partner so he joined us for dinner at Savor.
The crew is getting more and more comfortable in their jobs each night as they get used to all the people onboard. Even if they make some minor mistake they are always smiling and somehow you don’t really mind. The bartender at Savor came over to take our drink orders and made a great show of pouring the wine into our classes from three feet in the air; a great talent to have for entertaining diners. By the time we finished our meal, which again thanks to Executive Chef Fernandez was superb, it was about 10:30. We walked around looking at some of the incredible art work on the Bliss and decided it was going to be an early night as the next day was the one that enticed me to book this cruise on the Bliss in the first place; we were going to go through the Panama Canal.
