Cartagena, Colombia- New Year's Eve

Well, the Captain told the truth about the seas for last night. We rocked and pitched all night. Mostly it helped us sleep soundly but occasionally there was enough movement and sound that we woke up. Ah- the life at sea!!!

We sailed into the port of Cartagena, Colombia about 9:00AM and it took until almost 10:30 for us to be docked at a pier. The gleaming city and the busy port was clearly visible out our sliding door. There is a digging machine- love my technical term- in the middle of the harbor dredging the harbor.

Columbia is South America’s fourth largest country. From the coastal beaches to the interior Andes Mountains, the jungle in between is fed by the main Cauca and Magdalena Rivers as well as by a series of smaller streams. The mountain peaks are some of the highest in the Andes Range and reach the height of 18,000 feet.

The city was founded on June 1, 1533, and named after Cartagena, Spain, which in turn was named after Carthage in Tunisia. Settlement in the region around Cartagena Bay by various indigenous people dates back to 4000 BC. During the Spanish colonial period Cartagena served a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire. It was a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy viceroys. In 1984, Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As of 2016 the population was over 1.2 million people. Of the original Carib indigenous people there are only about 200,000 left in Colombia.

The Caribbean coastal region has always served as an attraction to visitors. In an earlier time they came for the legendary hordes of gold owned by the indigenous peoples. The “exploring business” was booming as the Spaniards found huge caches of gold treasure in interior native villages. Needless to say, the discoveries and subsequent rush to plunder became part of an infamous chapter of the history of South American colonization. Not too many people are proud of these events. Entire villages and their populations were wiped out for their gold and silver stores.

Gold statues and irreplaceable ornamental items were melted down to make gold bars that were loaded onto ships and sent back to Europe. The need for food led to the establishment of large plantations and others turned to supplying imported materials. Spanish galleons laden with goods and bound for Europe were the favorite targets of pirates throughout the Caribbean.

High on a hill sits San Felipe Castle, an impregnable fortress built in the mid-1600s. It sits atop an intricate network of tunnels used to distribute provisions when the castle was under attack. The acoustics in the tunnels are excellent, so the soldiers could easily communicate underground. Evidence of other defensive measures that protected the city from pirates still remains, including thick walls studded with cannons.

Colombia is the leading exporter of fine quality emeralds. Naturally Colombian coffee is also a popular export item.

It is New Year’s Eve so around the city evidence of lots of parties being set-up. We decided this would be a wild place to be later on.


We’ll be partying aboard the Mariner at a James Bond Party, then dinner and then a little music. So as the sun sets on 2016 …Happy New Year to all! 

Colon, Panama- December 29

We continue to be amazed at the rough seas. The Captain does a great job each time she makes her very clear and informative Navigation announcement. We know what to expect as we sail and when we get to port. Makes it much easier to plan and cope with life aboard and ashore.

Colón is the city at the Atlantic entrance to the

Panama Canal. Americans founded it in 1850. The Panama Canal was already under construction to meet the gold rush demand for a fast route to California. It is named to honor Christopher Columbus.

The port is one of the busiest we have ever seen. More different kinds of loading and unloading platforms dot the harbor. There are more stacked containers that extend as far as the eye can see. As we sailed into the harbor I counted 28 ships just outside the seawall waiting to get in line for the canal. Tugboats nudged us into our spot and a small water taxi plied the waters on its route all day long.

The tour we were to take was canceled because of some sort of timing problem. Never quite understood why. So we had a quiet day. The shops near the ship were mostly US products duty free. Nothing we needed for sure!

We do enjoy this pampered life of cruising. Soon we’ll be home and wondering where is the person with the menu and why is it taking so long to get the cabin cleaned. Then we will remember that it is all up to us to do that!

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

Yesterday was a glorious, lazy day at sea. There was a bit of rocking and rolling with 11.5 ft. waves, but the water was a beautiful blue and the sky marked with just a few clouds. There was a breeze, which made it just perfect to sit on the balcony and read and read!! The breeze combined with the big waves sent lots of sea spray up as high as our balcony. This morning reveals a sliding door covered with salt crystals from all that spray. Cleaning for Glenda and Made will be a challenge this morning I would think.

Spent the afternoon yesterday watching “Hitler: The Rise of Evil”, a DVD Irvine had brought along. There were so many parts of that story that reminded us all of the promises and pronouncements made by Donald Trump and filled us with a level of dread as to what lies ahead for our country.

We had a delicious dinner at the special restaurant Prime 7. Wonderful food and an amazing dessert recommended to me by my friend Lucy Kemp. She was right- it was amazing!!!

The Captain had told us we would experience some rough water all evening and then as we got to the place to bring the pilot aboard in the morning the stabilizers would be withdrawn in

order not to damage the pilot boat and the sailing into port and docking would be jarring at times. She was absolutely right.

We are in the port of Puerto Limon- Costa Rica’s most important port. There were two ships being loaded and just outside the port area there were 6 other container ships waiting to come into the port.

Puerto Limon was founded in 1870 as a port city to export bananas and grains to various parts of the globe. One of the oldest cities on the continent, Puerto Limon was established in 1502 when Christopher Columbus landed. It is not considered a particularly touristy city but rather a stopover to head to the several National Parks around.

It is a really hot day and the walk to the buses is fairly long so we decided to just take another day to hangout and enjoy life in the comfort of our cabin. Even the balcony at the moment is too warm for me. BUT ALL IS GOOD!!! 

Roatan, Honduras- December 27

Last evening we ate at one of the special restaurants aboard the Mariner, the French cuisine Signatures. Every course was wonderful. Truly a delicious, tasty dinner was enjoy by all.

This morning we arrived and anchored in Mahogany Bay overlooking Roatan. The men lowering the lifeboats to be used as tenders were so loud that it woke me up. Jim thinks maybe the crew boat drill yesterday didn’t go quite right in the lifeboat lowering process and that was why the instructions were being yelled by many and very loudly. Men clamored all over the two boats checking connections and using power hoses to wash the deck and windows. The men on the top were very careful to hook themselves to a cable that surrounded the top deck lest they fall overboard.

Roatan and its two sister islands are surrounded by the second largest barrier reef in the world- just after the Great Barrier in Australia. Christopher Columbus in his fourth voyage (1502-1504) came to the islands as he visited the neighboring Bay Island of Guanaja. The pre-Columbian indigenous peoples of the Bay Islands are believed to be related to Paya, Maya, Lenca, or Jicaque, which were the cultures present on the mainland.

Throughout European colonial times , the Bay of Honduras attracted a diverse array of individual settlers, pirates, traders, and military forces engaged in various.

The majority of the permanent s economic activities and playing out political struggles between European powers, chiefly Britain and Spain.

More devastating for Native American communities was exposure to European infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox and measles. Diseases ran in epidemics and no indigenous peoples survived.

The majority of the permanent population of Roatan originated from the Cayman Islands near Jamaica. They arrived in 1830s shortly after Britain’s abolition of slavery in 1838. Caymanians were largely a seafaring culture and were familiar with the area from turtle fishing and other activities. Former Caymanian slaveholders were among the first to settle in the seaside locations throughout primarily western Roatan. Former slaves also migrated from the Cayman Islands, in larger numbers than planters, during the late 1830s and 1840s.

In the latter half of the 19^th century, the island populations grew steadily and established new settlements all over Roatan and the other islands. Settlers came from all over the world and played a part in shaping the cultural face of the island.  The islanders started a fruit trade industry which became the foundation for modern day fruit companies, the industry which gave Honduras the name “banana republic”.

Only about 40 miles from end to end, ribbon like Roatan is the most populous of the Bay Islands. Most villages are along the water’s edge with modest homes looking out to the ocean. The west side of the island has seen much development while the east side remains largely untouched by tourism.

The mahogany fire screen that we converted to our headboard for our bed came from this island in 2001 when we were on a cruise from Miami to Santiago through the Panama Canal with Tom and Carol Brown. Great memory of a fun trip.

Going to be another lazy day. Hopefully the balcony will be able to be enjoyed when the sun is on the other side of the ship. Tried sitting out there for a bit and the sun was too hot. BUT not complaining at all.

San Tomás Castilla, Guatemala- December 26

San Tomás Castilla is Guatemala’s primary deepwater port. Belgium immigrants settled Santo Tomás in the 19^th century, but little remains today of that heritage. Santo Tomás has experienced a small revitalization as the country’s most important port receiving growing numbers of cargo and cruise ships, and serving as the headquarters of the Guatemalan navy.

Not too far from the town are the impressive Mayan ruins of Tikal and Copán. These communities were established as early as 600 BC with Tikal being established in 200 BC. By 500AD it is estimated that the city covered more than 18 square miles and had a population close to 100,000. Having seen Mayan ruins in several places we decided to not take a shore excursion. 

Jim did get off the ship to explore a market right on the pier. Vendors were very aggressive. He remarked that, “if you looked at them you had to marry them.” That phrase was taught to us by our guide in Agri, India and it has often been true  in our travels. Loving this pampered life.