Cartagena, Colombia

It’s HOT here! We took the included bus tour of the city with just two stops but we got the flavor of the city from the window. The most impressive thing was the originally eleven kilometer (now 8 kilometer) San Felipe de Barajas Fortress which originally enclosed the city with its 25 foot thick walls.

At the handcraft shops the wares were colorful and enticing but we’re beyond needing any of them so it was just “window” shopping. The store keepers were polite in their entreaties and the workmen were downright friendly.

We’re docked at a colorful container port where we have a nice view of the city and can watch the port at work loading the containers.

This afternoon’s lecture was on the building of the Panama Canal. The water levels are low right now and so the traffic is being reduced but we apparently have a slot for our transit so we are looking forward to it.