Cruise Days–Cartagena, Fort Lauderdale and Aruba

Nov 2, 2011 by Joel

The evening after completing the Panama Canal transit the seas did start to get a little bit rougher. Nothing too bad, although it was really the first time that I had felt much movement in the ship from the ocean. The sea day was nice knowing that there was not really a lot that had to be done and just getting ready for another day in port in another different country.

Cartagena – Columbia

Cartagena was definitely not what I was expecting. It is quite a mix of the old and the new, however done in a fairly haphazard way. I was booked for a tour in the old city here, which I figured would be one of the best ways to see some of the city without having to be to concerned about how to get around, or just how safe the area was.

The tour here was actually a walking tour of the old walled city. It started at the main gate of the old city which is an immense concrete structure with three separate entrances.  Once inside there is a definite colonial feel to the architecture. There are a lot of archways, and balconies that are self supported wood trusses into the structure of the building. The streets are all quite small and narrow, while the cars try to make their way through the streets crowded with people.

Some of the sights here were not even the oldest, or even the buildings but the way of life for some of the local people. Seeing a man with a donkey pulling a wagon was not uncommon. While the most surprising sight was a man who choose to swing from the doorway of a moving bus onto the road in front of the bus and made it clear to the other side without getting run over. The most notable though is the number and persistence of people trying to sell you anything from shirts, bags, tablecloths, curtains, cigars and beer, all from a bag over their shoulder or a cooler on wheels.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – USA

From the tour brochure there did not appear to be a lot to do in Fort Lauderdale. Originally I thought that this could be because it is not a proper port in the cruise as many people were disembarking while only some were staying on. However it was when some friends and I went to rent a car that it was confirmed there is little to do in Fort Lauderdale.

Even this being the case there were a couple of things that could be done, even though they were not exactly tourist sights. The first was a place that we were told is called the Swap Shop, which is a very large flea market. To be honest I think you could have found just about anything you wanted here, it just seemed to go on and on. There were a lot of things being offered at really good prices, that is if you really needed it. Printed t-shirts started at 5 for $10, ties 3 for $10, and there was perfume, luggage, fashion, just about anything you could think of.

The other place we visited was Fort Lauderdale beach, which today seemed to be the perfect place to be. The sun was shining there were only a few small clouds drifting by. Only problem we had not planned ahead and did not having swimming gear on hand. A little more driving around to see some of the canals, which are full of boats of all shapes and sizes, many it is hard to believe how they actually got to where they are. Finally heading back to the car rental to return the car and make our way back to the ship.

Oranjestad – Aruba

Initially for this visit I really made a bit of a mistake. It had been quite some time since I had been able to get access to the internet due to Wi-Fi either being unavailable or not being able to get a connection, that I made this a priority. In the end this really was a mistake as it did not work out.

Even this initial mistake being the case I still made the rest of the day as worth while as I could. I took a walk along the main street from where the ship was docked, probably about 1 KM, in this space you see a vast difference in influence from the older buildings right through to completely new modern buildings. However it all just fits together so well, it is hardly noticeable, at least along this section of road.

Not far from the ship, running along the side of the road was what would be best described as a small market in a row of little orange beach hut type buildings, selling a variety of souvenirs. Further along I also found a park which had quite a variety of wildlife from lizards to birds. It really could be quite a nice place to spend some time just relaxing without the pressure of really needing to do anything.

Finally there was a really nice older open air shopping area just opposite the ship. It was built in quite an interesting style of architecture and had a number of interesting little stores, along with souvenir shops and a couple of nice cafe/bar type places to eat. I stopped at one and had their local interpretation on Nachos, which was corn chips with a cheesy dipping sauce and a salsa type sauce, along with a local beer.

What’s Up Next

Even though the cruise has only just passed the half way mark in Fort Lauderdale, the next post will be the last for my experiences on the cruise. There are some parts that duplicate in the second half of the cruise such as the Panama Canal Transit, and Huatulco, Mexico. There is also the port of Acapulco, Mexico, which I did not actually visit. So stay tuned for this post in a couple of days.