Cartagena Colombia

    Larry and I spent a beautiful, sunny day wandering around the Old City of Cartagena Colombia.  It was our first visit to South America and we were excited about our adventure.  The photo above is taken in the San Pedro Claver Plaza.  This lovely ochre colored building faces the San Pedro Claver Cathedral.  The plaza features whimsical metal artwork by Edgardo Carmona that show glimpses of everyday life - like the two figures below playing chess.

We went inside the cathedral (only $4 admission each) and ended up spending over an hour in there.  This was the view of the sanctuary from the gallery on the third floor.  To get to the gallery, we climbed wide stone steps and then narrow, curving stone steps tucked away in a corner (in photo below).  We considered it an adventure 😀

   This is a nice stained glass window showing Peter Claver, a Spanish Jesuit priest, telling slaves about Jesus' love for them.  His primary work was with the many slaves who passed through the port town of Cartagena.  It was a major slave market of the day.  He helped the slaves not only spiritually, but also with food and physical care.  He was truly a man of God.  He died at the church in 1654 and his remains are in a coffin on the altar of the church.

  There are many beautiful buildings and balconies in the Old City.  In the background are towers for the Cathedral (ca 1603).  Cartagena was founded in 1533 and didn't become independent from Spain until 1821.  

    We walked up one street and down another along narrow sidewalks, some of which were cracked, broken and had holes while others, like these, were in great shape.  Shade is my friend on such a day and this was a nice street to walk down.

   Here, we are standing in front of the famous Clock Tower which stands above the entrance to the walled Old City.  We took a taxi to this spot and after our "walk-about" within the walls, we took another taxi back to the ship.  It was a 13,000 step day!  Thank you, Lord, for giving us an opportunity to enjoy a glimpse of South America!