After two days at sea, we docked in Cartagena, Colombia. We were required to bring a government issued photo ID and our vaccination cards, or photos of them, ashore with us, as well as being asked to wear masks at all times.
We had an excursion planned that was a horse and carriage tour of the old city and fortress. The sun was out and it was toasty and humid! Fortunately the excursions were mostly in the morning so we could get back to the ship before it hit the hottest of the day.
Our excursion was a short one at just 3 hours. We exited the ship and met our bus. Once everyone was there we were on our way with a drive through town to the old Fortress. We only had 10 minutes here, which was not enough time to explore. It was really only enough time to walk down past the ticket booth and back to the bus. It might not have taken so long, but the people selling their goods were everywhere. Selling hats, small leather purses, fans, jewelry, maracas, waters etc. Just know there are many and they can be quite pushy. There were also ladies dressed in colorful outfits trying to get you to take photos – for a price of course.
After the short view of the fortress, we were headed near the old city to meet our horse/carriage. They were lined along one of the narrow streets. The old city streets are too narrow for the buses which is why this tour uses the carriages. They load you four to a carriage so it’s full and off you go on the bumpy streets to the old city. They wound back and forth from street to street, a line of horse drawn carriages we went. All along the route we encountered more locals trying to sell you goods. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this really took away from the ability to enjoy the tour as they were even reaching over the carriages to try to get you to buy. However I think the part that bothered me the most were the ladies. I get it, they’re just trying to make money, but there were a couple of ladies that would approach you with a stool in hand, and begin trying to rub your arm or leg (not with lotion, just rub you).
Once the tour was over, the carriages stopped in the square and we were pointed in the direction of a jewelry store which was air conditioned and had a restroom. After that we had a few minutes to shop if we wanted before we followed our guide on a walk to the bus meeting area and it was back to the ship we went.
I can’t help but think it might have been nice to also see some of the newer side of Cartagena, pictured in the first couple of images as well to see how things have changed.
Back at the cruise port, they drop you on a different side than they picked us up. It caused us to walk through a zoo of sorts. There were lots of parrots, a few monkeys and other animals. We only walked straight through back to the ship and saw a few, rather than walking the whole place. There also appeared to be a restaurant and gift shop for those who wanted to stop.
Port Side Travel By Jill 