A Chiva Tour

Christmas day, after walking on the beach, we hopped aboard a chiva for a tour of Cartagena.



We saw Christmas in the city



A gorgeous old bridge



The gate to the old colonial town



and the beautiful streets of colonial Cartagena



We also took a ride to the highest point in the city for some lovely views of the city.





As we approached the battery at the top of the hill, we passed a man with a pet sloth. And guess what? We just had to get some pictures! Jennifer was first so she was quite shocked when, instead of simply standing next to the man, he placed the sloth right on her neck!!





Of course, we all had to have our turn too! What a fun experience. The sloth was so cute and cuddly :-)





Part of the inside was like a beautiful old hacienda with a well in the center.



One thing we couldn't forget while in on the tour, was hot HOT it was in Cartagena!!!



There was also a lovely church, complete with a gilt altar.




Next it was off to the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas!









This is of course, the most famous of the sights here. The stronghold of the city, the greatest and strongest fortress built by the Spaniards (over the course of 200 years!), was founded in 1533. It is one of many forts around the city, all with the task of protecting the treasures of the Spanish. complete with watch towers and labyrinths for escape!




What a perfect opportunity for some glamor shots ~ well, as glamorous as one can be in such heat!!!!







San Felipe was quite something. Christina really liked the story of the half man, Blas de Lezo, the one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed Spanish hero against the British. There is a statue just down from the fort.



There is also, nearby, the bronze monument to the Old Shoes. This is a tribute to a poet from Cartagena who stated that the city is comfortable, like ones favorite old shoes.

Off to Cartagena!

We left early on Christmas Day to fly to Cartagena, the lovely colonial town on the coast of Colombia.

We stayed in a cute little hotel, outside of the old walled city, but on one of the main streets.



The room was nice, if somewhat chilly!!



And the pool was relaxing while we waited to head out for our tour of the city.




Much more so, in fact, than sitting out front and waiting was. The most disturbing thing about Cartagena was the number of sales people wandering the streets ~ and they don't really like to take no for an answer. Jennifer actually got accosted by one of them!



So we decided it was best to just cross the street and walk along the beach.



We didn't expect much since everyone had told me not to bother with the beaches in Cartagena as they aren't very nice. We found that not to be the case, however! The water may not have been crystal clear, but the waves were lots of fun!!





There were lots of jetties along the coast that created small beaches.



And the view of the city was amazing ~ both the new hotel filled strip and the old town across the way.





Gorgeous!

They had little cabanas on the beach to keep you protected from the sun. We even saw some BEDS on the beach!!!! LOL We had a ball walking along the surf together.

Ah, the culinary experiences!

So, while we are talking about all the different fruits available here in Colombia, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the food and how the girls enjoyed it.... or not.....

While Christina was pretty open to the variety,





and offered it gleefully to her sister for a taste,



Jennifer was, well, lets just say she takes more time to.... smell,



inspect,



scrutinize,



investigate her food



before tasting it.


Matt even joined us for breakfast Christmas morning~ LOL

And not always with the desired result! Poor Jennifer nearly starved here in Colombia!!



Of course sometimes it really wasn't her fault....


Yeah.... pretty sure that is a piranha ~ even though the cooking staff denied it.

The bright spot was that Jennifer provided Christina and me HOURS of hilarity at dinner tables!!!!!!!! And we always had a walk to the bookstore to look forward to when meals were..... tough.





Luckily though, we did find a Hard Rock Cafe for our Christmas dinner, so Jennifer was able to enjoy our holiday feast!!



Ah, thank heaven's for the hamburger!!!!