After mostly calm seas, I woke up this morning with the ship tossing and turning, its motion exaggerated by the position of my suite, which is far forward in the bow of the ship. I fought my way into the bathroom and took my morning pills in preparation to go topside, as usual, to photograh the sunrise, good, but not unusual.At breakfast, I learned from Bill and Ted who knocked lightly on my suite door before going to the midnight show that it consisted solely of two drag queens, doing their number for the crew. Matthew looked more like a woman, they said, but the other guy, a wait staff manageer on deck, was a better performer. I guess I didn't miss much.
Cartegena, founded in 1533 and now a city of a little over one million, was once the major accummulation point for gold and silver and emeralds from all over the Americas destined for shipment to Spain. This made the city a natural target for pirates, hence the construction of its trademark walls and fortresses. In 1741 the city endured a large scale attack by a combined force of British and American troops led by Admiral Edward Vernon, who arrived with a massive fleet of 186 ships and 23,600 men against only six Spanish ships and 6,000 men. The seige was only broken at the start of the rainy season, after weeks of intense fighting. Heavy British casuaties were compounded by diseases such as yellow fever. The victory prolonged Spain's control of Caribbean waters which helped secure its large Empire until the 19th Century. Admiral Vernon was accomanied by Lawrence Washington, George's brother, who was so impressed by the admiral that he named his estate, Mount Vernon, in honor of the admiral.
I chose a land tour called "Panorama Cargegena," which I visualized as one catering to photographers. We went first to La Popa monastery located on the tallest hill - more a small mountain - where there were spectacular views of both the old and new cities. We also visited the fortress of San Felipe, named for King Philip of Spain. And we saw the San Pedro Claver church, its altar spectacular in gold leaf which, if you've traveled at all in Latin America, you know only the Spanish can accomplish.
The day was clear and the sites very photogenic but the day was very hot and I was relieved to finally escape back to the air conditioning on board. After lunch, I finally got to play a few hands of Bridge, with strangers from a variety of places in the world. The deck of cards they used, with artificially large numbers and little difference between the black and red suits confused me so that I bid hearts when I meant spades. My career with the Bridge playing group was not successful. We went down four, not a good beginning. I met Bill and Ted for Bingo where we added to our cache of points. We'd like to win three hats but at 90 points each - 270 points in all - that seems unlikely (we now have 167).
I won the Silver Quiz again today, naming the one word that can proceed three seemingly unrelated other words: "corn, peas, and tooth," for instance. The answer is "sweet." The hardest one was "heat, lie, and paper." I'll let you struggle with that one. (The answer is "white.")
At the bar, Ted had his usual - can you believe he's drinking? - not a cosmo at all but a Myra, which is made from 2 oz. of mandarin vodka, 1/2 oz. of Chambord, 2 oz. of fresh lemon juice and 1/2 oz of Mr. and Mrs. T's sweet and sour mix - named for its creator, Myra, from the Philippines. Oh. And shaken, not stirred.
Only two more days aboard, we are beginning to think about re-entry into the real world where we have to make our own beds, mix our own drinks and cook our own pasta carbonara. But one of the nicest things about vacations is returning to our real world, somewhat like putting on a worn but comfortable pair of shoes.
We've been invited at last by Gianni, the hotel manager, to our last formal dinner. John has promised his wife, Avi, to me for at least one last dance. She bought a very large rough emerald yesterday and is eager to wear it to a rumba, just to make the Latin environment complete. (And as a reminder of that other life I led on a Regent cruise in Caribbean waters just a couple of years ago.)
Since I am running out of time, bought at elaborate expense on this computer, I probably won't post again until I get home. Still, I hope you'll
stay tuned.
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