The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday November 10th, 2022

[richwmn]

 

Today is Forget Me Not Day, International Accounting Day, and National Vanilla Cupcake Day
 

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.--George Orwell, 1984

Meal Suggestion for today - Pork Chops with Bok Choy and Coconut Rice
Drink of the Day - Summer Fish Bowl
Wine of the Day - Château Bois Malot 2020 Bordeaux Blanc Bordeaux
Destination of the Day - Cartagena, Colombia
 

Eurodam

Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, FL
 

Koningsdam

At Sea Destination Ensenada, Baja California Mexico eta 11/11
 

Nieuw Amsterdam

Grand Cayman Island, George Town Harbour 08:00 - 16:00
 

Nieuw Statendam

At Sea Bimini Sands Resort eta 11/11
 

Oosterdam

At Sea Destination Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal eta 11/11
 

Rotterdam

Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, FL
 

Volendam

At Sea Destination Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
 

Zaandam

At Sea Destination Zanzibar, Tanzania eta 11/12
 

Zuiderdam

At Sea Destination San Diego, California eta 11/17

Eastern Hemisphere
 

Noordam

At Sea Destination Sydney, NSW Australia eta 11/12
 

Westerdam

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand 07:00 - 08:00
 

 

[4966and556]

Thank you for the Daily Fleet Report!  I will pass on the meal, but I might try the wine.  Interesting quote.  

[puppycanducruise]

Good morning.  Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Report.

 

A pleasant day in the forecast for us, a high of 18°C (64°F), not bad for November.🙂  I'm happy to see the earlier sunrise now that Daylight Saving Time is over, so is Bertie.

 

A good collection of days.

An interesting quote, so true.

I'll pass on the meal.  Not sure about the drink, hope the wine isn't expensive.

 

Prayers for everyone.

Stay safe.

[MISTER 67]

Good morning from beautiful Southwest Florida.

Vanilla Cupcakes are good but I like Chocolate Cupcakes better, meh on the other 2 days.

Strange quote buts it's Orwell and 1984.

I like pork chops but probably not with bok choy and coconut rice.

We visited Cartegena on a Panama Canal cruise in 1991 and enjoyed it especially the fort, I remember a great Juan Valdez look-alike hopping on our tour bus trying to sell everyone some Colombian Coffee.

Nicole hit the Florida east coast near Ft. Pierce as a Cat.1 . Here on our coast it's just a rainy and breezy day, right now light rain and 25 MPH winds, shouldn't get worse with things improving around late morning.

Thanks for The Daily, stay well and have a great day.

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by MISTER 67

[portofrome]

Thank you for the Fleet Report.

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning from the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Thanks for the daily fleet report.  Today's meal suggestion sounds good,  no idea what's on today's menu. We've been to today's port twice and enjoyed our visits, despite the heat.

[HAL Sailer]

Good Morning! Hurricane/Tropical Storm woke me early and we are not in the brunt of her!

 

Currently, Nicole is giving us 50mph wind gusts and continual rain. My LvRm doorwall is rattling. The rain is slamming my windows but with only a few inches expected. But it feels a tiny bit scary despite not getting the brunt of Nicole nor being  under evacuation orders.

 

During Ian, my area had four hours of over 140mph winds and got 19 inches of rain as Ian just stalled over our area hardly moving. I can NOT imagine the pounding of those Cat 4 winds &  rain. 

I wouldn't have been here as there were mandatory evacuation orders but it must have been hellish during Ian.

 

As to my place, the concern is whether there is water intrusion through the exterior stucco into the interior walls because of the hours of pounding rain. Testing will be done to determine if any areas of interior drywall is damp and needs to be removed.  Since nothing appears to be wrong, I want to witness the testing as there may be a problem or it might be a property management overreaction as neighboring properties have had 'unseen' interior dampness. And, of course, dampness leads to mold leads to major issues, so...

 

But all in all, our family place faired so well and we have no major issues. I can't say the same for neighbors. SIX WEEKS AFTER Hurricane Ian, here is just some of the debris still along our two lane road.

 

It's been a long trip getting here. But, after Nicole passes and the testing is done, I hope to have a period to enjoy SW FL before returning to MI.

 

Thank you all for your concern about what I'd find here and wishing us safe travels yesterday. I could feel your care travel with me. So appreciated.

-Melisa

Edited November 10, 2022 by HAL Sailer

[grapau27]

Good afternoon from a windy but mild 60°F North East coast of England.

Thank you Rich for today's daily and fleet reports.

3 good days.

Interesting food today.

Best wishes for everyone who is unwell.

Graham.

 

[summer slope]

We are weathering the storm.  Heavy rain and winds but no damage.  Just nasty weather!

 

Summer Fish Bowl cocktail:

 

Ingredients
½ part Cruzan® Coconut Rum
½ part DeKuyper® Blue Curacao Liqueur
1 part Pinnacle® Original Vodka
1 part Pineapple Juice
1 part Lemon Juice
Garnish:
Lemon Wedge

Instructions
Combine ingredients with ice into a large bowl or pitcher and stir. Garnish with a lemon wedge, add paper straws and serve.

 

[rafinmd]

Thank you for the Thursday report, Rich.  I like all 3 of the days although my favorite as a Treasurer (Church) and Treasurer Emeritus (Fire) is International Accounting Day.  I see a lot of truth in the Orwell quote and expect to visit Cartagena on my coming cruise.  The menu sounds interesting. My alternative is Chilled Mango Gazpacho, Chateaubriand, and Carrot Cake A la Mode as served on MS Prinsendam October 10, 2017.

 

 

No official word on the port but both Eurodam and Rotterdam are north of Hollywood.

 

Today’s care list:

Those in the path of Nicole, including HAL Sailer
Quartzite Cruiser DH clot complications interrupting surgery
Kazu severe foot injury
Grapau27, smitty34877 postponing joint replacement
Kazu sister recovering from fall
Ottahand7 Brother in rehab
Lady Hudson DH recovering from oral surgery
HAL Sailer Sister in Law with aggressive cancer therapy and new blood clot
Mister67 persistent hand injury
cruisin single step-son with double cancer and months of recovery before kidney removal
From the rotation:
Marshhawk and DH struggling with smoking
Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney
Marshhawk’s friend Jesse with throat cancer and poor attitude
Luvteaching DH recovering from fall and facing dimentia

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

 

A great rescue at sea by Rotterdam

Ichiban Nekko settling into new house
Sandi’s neighbor Linda well enough to receive visitors
Work about to start on Cruisin Terri’s house
Me boarding today (Eurodam 11/10 to 11/20)
GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/5 to 11/12), Dobiemom (NCL Bliss  to 11/13), CrazyForCats and segarsmoker (Nieuw Amsterdam to 11/13), Norseh2o (Sirena to 11/18), and  Kazu , 0106, jimgev, Heartgrove and ger_77 (Oosterdam 11/5 to 11/19) at sea
Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23),  and  Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2014 Wind Star Transatlantic.  October 10 was the first day out of Lisbon.

 

 

Roy

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the fleet update and general info.

 

This is RNB reporting live from Tampa Bay. Currently in the storm with wind gusts in area up to 55 mph and heavy rain. Looks like we have another four hours of this.

 

As soon as this is over we head towards Fort Lauderdale to go on a cruise. I hope you don’t mind but we are not sailing on HAL. The cruise ship we are sailing maybe Beyond belief. Hope to get fresh and new material for my cruise stories.

Edited November 10, 2022 by RedneckBob

[MISTER 67]

35 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

Good Morning! Hurricane/Tropical Storm woke me early and we are not in the brunt of her!

 

Currently, Nicole is giving us 50mph wind gusts and continual rain. My LvRm doorwall is rattling. The rain is slamming my windows but with only a few inches expected. But it feels a tiny bit scary despite not getting the brunt of Nicole nor being  under evacuation orders.

 

During Ian, my area had four hours of over 140mph winds and got 19 inches of rain as Ian just stalled over our area hardly moving. I can NOT imagine the pounding of those Cat 4 winds &  rain. 

I wouldn't have been here as there were mandatory evacuation orders but it must have been hellish during Ian.

 

As to my place, the concern is whether there is water intrusion through the exterior stucco into the interior walls because of the hours of pounding rain. Testing will be done to determine if any areas of interior drywall is damp and needs to be removed.  Since nothing appears to be wrong, I want to witness the testing as there may be a problem or it might be a property management overreaction as neighboring properties have had 'unseen' interior dampness. And, of course, dampness leads to mold leads to major issues, so...

 

But all in all, our family place faired so well and we have no major issues. I can't say the same for neighbors. SIX WEEKS AFTER Hurricane Ian, here is just some of the debris still along our two lane road.

 

It's been a long trip getting here. But, after Nicole passes and the testing is done, I hope to have a period to enjoy SW FL before returning to MI.

 

Thank you all for your concern about what I'd find here and wishing us safe travels yesterday. I could feel your care travel with me. So appreciated.

-Melisa

The photo looks all too familiar as we have so many areas near us that look like that street, where exactly is that?.

Hope your home has no major problems.

Edited November 10, 2022 by MISTER 67

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  We are having a fairly calm morning with temps about 57F and not expected to raise more than 10 degrees.  Cloudy too and rain coming in around noon and continuing into tomorrow.  We may or may not make a dash to the grocery for a few supplies we need to tide us over until we leave in a little over a week.  Or wait until Saturday.  I hope everyone there in Florida is holding on and not experiencing any storm damage at your places.  Glad @HAL Sailerarrived safely.  Oh, I hear some wind picking up just now so there goes that calmness.

 

Thank you Rich @richwmnfor the Daily!  Also thanks to Roy @rafinmdfor the Care and Celebration lists.  A salute to forget me nots, accountants, and vanilla cupcakes ( I like chocolate ones, too).  I would enjoy the pork chops and even the bok choy and maybe even the coconut rice.  I can't commit to the quote.  No thanks to the drink and another red wine.  I said early prayers for our Care list plus the folks affected by Nicole, Ian and Fiona as well as the Ukrainians.  Cheers to all on the Celebration list!  Hoping Eurodam and Rotterdam arrive today as planned and everyone gets away as scheduled.  Kudos to the Rotterdam for their rescue of refugees who most certainly could have lost their lives out there.  Now it's up to the Coast Guard to figure out what's next.  I imagine they're already pretty busy!

 

Today's destination is Cartagena, Colombia which was port of the day on November 28, 2021.  Here is a link to Rich's post that day.  Lenda if you need me to look for your photos I can do that for you.  Awaiting word as I'm not sure of your daily schedule right now.  Hope Steve is doing well by the way.  Haven't read yesterday's Daily since last night.  Everyone have a great day, and a safe one too!

 

 

We visited today's port of Cartagena in 2016 on Westerdam, which was only our second HAL cruise.  We took a tour that day so got to visit quite a few spots around the town.  Here's the ship at dock as wel left for our tour.

 

There is an aviary outside the gates next to the parking lot.  Interesting!

 

 

Our first stop was at the Convento de la Popa, a 400 year old monastery built on the foundations of a razed Indian temple.  It sits on a 500 foot hill.

 

 

 

Our guide

 

 

This is a rather chilling statue of a speared Padre Alonso Garcia de Paredes, a priest who was murdered along with five Spanish soldiers for trying to spread the good word.

 

The view out the window.

 

Moving on to our next stop we were given views of the poor neighborhoods many people lived in.

 

But a little paint goes a long way

 

 

We parked alongside the next stop where the vendors tried to catch our eye.

 

A view of the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, a fortification built by the Spanish to protect the city from pirate attacks.

 

The tour did not go inside which was fine.

 

Flat Stanley was along with us this trip so I can't forget about his photos.  This was for our grandson who had to report at the end of the school year about everything Flat Stanley did that year.

 

Next they drove us to go shopping at Las Bovedas, known as the "Dungeons".  It contains rows of handicraft stalls.  I have to admit I'm not much of a shopping enthusiasist.

 

 

Next we walked through the walled city to see the colonial homes, churches and squares.  

 

 

 

I love seeing the unique architecture of the old cities.

 

 

 

 

So pretty!

 

 

 

I could do this type of tour all day.  This is one reason we try to do our own walking tours when the ship docks close to the Old Towns.  Not true in this case.

 

Interior of a small church for @HAL4NOW

 

I love this woman's outfit

 

 

 

After this cruise the Amazing Race included a stop in Cartagena and the task for the teams included finding some of these colorful bags with clues in them.  How exciting to realize I'd recently been there too.

 

 

There's so many pictures!  I think I must stop now before you have overload!  I hope you enjoyed my pics of Cartagena!

 

That is a lot of photos!  Sorry!😳  Should have done two posts.

 

[Heartgrove]

Thank you all for being here!

 

Remembering the 29 sailors that went down 47 years ago today on Lake Superior aboard the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

 

Stay Safe!

 

- Jack 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[cat shepard]

Thank you for today’s Daily, Rich! Bindi and I timed our morning walk perfectly. We did not hit a heavy rain band until we were almost home. The deer, squirrels and local hawks were all taking advantage of the break in the rain. Not to mention my fellow dog walkers. The wind was only bad on the streets that run East - West. 
 

Please all keep @JAM37, Julia in your prayers and well wishes. Her condo is in one of the string of 10+ high rises in Daytona Beach Shores. At first only 5 were deemed unsafe, but yesterday afternoon officials had the local police and sheriff personnel go door to door and recommend everyone in all buildings evacuate to a shelter. The fear was if one or more collapsed then the entire section of land would become unstable and unable to support the structures.  And this was long before the height of the storm hit. 
 

Roy, congrats on having the tropical storm warning/watch lifted South of Jupiter. That will help the port to get up and running.  I have no plans for the day.  NONE. My efforts will focus on find those perfect opportunities to get Bindi out. 
 

And lest we forget that in two weeks we USA citizens will celebrate Thanksgiving…
 

 

Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Stay well everyone!

 

*******

Château Bois Malot 2020 Bordeaux Blanc Bordeaux

This white Bordeaux blend sounds lovely. It is a bit elusive, but I found one online distributor offering it for a reasonable $11.99.

90 Wine Enthusiast

"This rich wine has a high percentage of Sauvignon Gris in the blend. That softens the acidity and adds perfume as well as a ripe pear and spice character. The wine is intense and full, just hinting at herbal acidity at the end. Drink now. -RV"

Product Detail

CountryFrance

RegionBordeaux

Sub-RegionWhite Bordeaux

Varietal(s)Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Semillon

Features

Taste: grass, gooseberry, grapefruit, lime, melon, citrus, mineral, flint, apple, lemon, apricot, acidic, fig, pear, saffron and bell pepper

Nose: apple, pear, kiwi, citrus, stone, grapefruit, melon, lemon, honeysuckle, spice, floral, apricot, quince, honey, pineapple and cream

[dfish]

Good morning, everyone!

 

It is going to be a wonderful day here in mid-Michigan with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s.  Then the bottom falls out for the weekend, but today is a day to enjoy!  Today's agenda includes my laps, a trip to the grocery store, and unpacking more boxes.  I think they are multiplying.  

 

Bok choy is a member of the brassica or cruciferous family of vegetables that includes cabbages, broccoli, kale, collards, mustard greens, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. It is considered a nonheading cabbage because it grows in a cluster of stems and is sometimes referred to as "Chinese cabbage" (as is napa cabbage).

 

One cup cooked bok choy has 20 calories and 3 grams of fiber. This cruciferous cousin of broccoli is loaded with nutrients that help keep your skeleton strong, such as calcium, vitamin K and potassium. Swap in 2 cups of raw bok choy for lettuce in your salad and you'll rack up as much calcium as you'd get from half a glass of milk.

 

For more information on bok choy and how to buy, store and cook it, look here:  https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7669589/what-is-bok-choy-and-what-can-i-do-with-it/

 

I could only find one recipe that was exact to the Meal of the Day name.  I had to search to find it on a non pay site.  Good Housekeeping wanted $20 from me to see the recipe.  No, thanks!   This one has both the bok choy and the coconut rice.   https://www.pinterest.ie/pin/370843350567483324/?amp_client_id=CLIENT_ID(_)&mweb_unauth_id={{default.session}}&amp_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.ie%2Famp%2Fpin%2F370843350567483324%2F

 

 

I think the bok choy looks pretty good.  I'd probably skip the rice due to the carbs, but the rest is yummy!

 

This next one has a different preparation for the pork chops and includes the coconut rice. You can use the instructions for the bok choy from another recipe.  I'd probably grill it.  https://www.howsweeteats.com/2017/08/thai-pork-chops-coconut-rice/

 

This next recipe doesn't use pork chops and includes plain white rice.  I'd use riced cauliflower.  The pork is cubed and stir fried with the bok choy.   https://madaboutfood.co/easy-teriyaki-pork-and-bok-choy/

 

 

This next one is a Thai pork chop recipe with peanut sauce.  It uses grilled peppers as the vegetable, but there is no reason bok choy couldn't be included.    https://lundsandbyerlys.com/one-skillet-thai-pork-chops-coconut-rice-2/

 

 

I hope that gives you some choices for dinner tonight.  It feels good to be back in the meal saddle again.   Wishing you all a wonderful day!

 

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from central Texas where it is still dark.  This will be quick, and then I'll read the Fleet/Daily later.

 

Just got a text from DH.  The doctor was in early, before 6:40.  DH may be transferred back to rehab today.  So I need to get to Waco early.

 

We have been to Cartagena many times, but I only have pictures from our last three visits, in 2009 and 2015 on Statendam, and 2014 on Veendam.  The pictures are from all three visits.  We normally got a taxi to the clock tower in the old town.  We'd walk around and then get a taxi to Boca Grande.  I don't have any digital pictures of Boca Grande though.

 

The gate at the clock tower.

 

Street scenes from 20090and 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the many churches

 

The shopping area out side the walled town that were cells in a previous time.

 

In 2014, we decided to just stay in the port area.  We walked through their aviary.

 

 

 

The port building

 

This interesting Navy ship was docked opposite from the Veendam in 2014.  There were no markings on her at all.

 

Now, I better get ready to head to Waco.

 

Lenda

 

[*Miss G*]

Good morning.  I had just seen a reference to Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” on my weather app so thank you for that timely tribute, @Heartgrove.

 

You can imagine the visions in my head of the Summer Fish Bowl drink so I was interested in what @summer slope had to say.  Thank you for the picture.  It really does look like a fish bowl!

 

Last night we had roast pork so I’ve had today’s meat a day early.  Tonight I will probably use leftovers for a ginger pork Polynesia type meal with rice.  That covers two of today’s ingredients so maybe I’ll pop out for some bok choy to go along with it.  Num.

 

@rafinmd, Bon Voyage and enjoy your trip!

@HAL Sailer, your damage report sounds promising and I hope the drywall testing goes well.  Last night we were watching the weather in Florida.  We both agreed we are happy to no longer live there.  We sold our property after the last tenant’s lease was up.  It was no fun having to deal with damage and insurance long distance.  Never again.

 

Not quite sure what project I will take on today but I’m going to start with breakfast.  Have a great day everyone.

 

 

[*Miss G*]

7 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Please all keep @JAM37, Julia in your prayers and well wishes. Her condo is in one of the string of 10+ high rises in Daytona Beach Shores. At first only 5 were deemed unsafe, but yesterday afternoon officials had the local police and sheriff personnel go door to door and recommend everyone in all buildings evacuate to a shelter. The fear was if one or more collapsed then the entire section of land would become unstable and unable to support the structures.  And this was long before the height of the storm hit. 

 

Thank you so much for that information, @cat shepard.  @JAM37 Julie did pop into my head when I saw Jim Cantore reporting on the evacuations last evening.  So sad and I am wishing her all the best.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Thank you for the Thursday report, Rich.  I like all 3 of the days although my favorite as a Treasurer (Church) and Treasurer Emeritus (Fire) is International Accounting Day.  I see a lot of truth in the Orwell quote and expect to visit Cartagena on my coming cruise.  The menu sounds interesting. My alternative is Chilled Mango Gazpacho, Chateaubriand, and Carrot Cake A la Mode as served on MS Prinsendam October 10, 2017.

 

 

No official word on the port but both Eurodam and Rotterdam are north of Hollywood.

 

Today’s care list:

Those in the path of Nicole, including HAL Sailer
Quartzite Cruiser DH clot complications interrupting surgery
Kazu severe foot injury
Grapau27, smitty34877 postponing joint replacement
Kazu sister recovering from fall
Ottahand7 Brother in rehab
Lady Hudson DH recovering from oral surgery
HAL Sailer Sister in Law with aggressive cancer therapy and new blood clot
Mister67 persistent hand injury
cruisin single step-son with double cancer and months of recovery before kidney removal
From the rotation:
Marshhawk and DH struggling with smoking
Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney
Marshhawk’s friend Jesse with throat cancer and poor attitude
Luvteaching DH recovering from fall and facing dimentia

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

 

A great rescue at sea by Rotterdam

Ichiban Nekko settling into new house
Sandi’s neighbor Linda well enough to receive visitors
Work about to start on Cruisin Terri’s house
Me boarding today (Eurodam 11/10 to 11/20)
GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/5 to 11/12), Dobiemom (NCL Bliss  to 11/13), CrazyForCats and segarsmoker (Nieuw Amsterdam to 11/13), Norseh2o (Sirena to 11/18), and  Kazu , 0106, jimgev, Heartgrove and ger_77 (Oosterdam 11/5 to 11/19) at sea
Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23),  and  Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea

Roy

 

Thank you for today's lists Roy.

I hope you have an easy embarkation today and a wonderful cruise.

Graham.

[lindaler]

Thank you all who post. Thanks Rich and Roy. It sounds like the Rotterdam had an exciting adventure with the rescue and an extra day of sailing. Glad everyone is safe. I need to run into town today to do one of those multi trip things. Glasses here, and then red cabbage there. But so far none of the stores has the purple red cabbage so it may be several stops to find. I've been searching for a week now. I will need it for my famous vegan chili for the vegan chili competition on Sunday. I hope everyone stays safe and well. Prayers for all.  

[grapau27]

54 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends!  We are having a fairly calm morning with temps about 57F and not expected to raise more than 10 degrees.  Cloudy too and rain coming in around noon and continuing into tomorrow.  We may or may not make a dash to the grocery for a few supplies we need to tide us over until we leave in a little over a week.  Or wait until Saturday.  I hope everyone there in Florida is holding on and not experiencing any storm damage at your places.  Glad @HAL Sailerarrived safely.  Oh, I hear some wind picking up just now so there goes that calmness.

 

Thank you Rich @richwmnfor the Daily!  Also thanks to Roy @rafinmdfor the Care and Celebration lists.  A salute to forget me nots, accountants, and vanilla cupcakes ( I like chocolate ones, too).  I would enjoy the pork chops and even the bok choy and maybe even the coconut rice.  I can't commit to the quote.  No thanks to the drink and another red wine.  I said early prayers for our Care list plus the folks affected by Nicole, Ian and Fiona as well as the Ukrainians.  Cheers to all on the Celebration list!  Hoping Eurodam and Rotterdam arrive today as planned and everyone gets away as scheduled.  Kudos to the Rotterdam for their rescue of refugees who most certainly could have lost their lives out there.  Now it's up to the Coast Guard to figure out what's next.  I imagine they're already pretty busy!

 

Today's destination is Cartagena, Colombia which was port of the day on November 28, 2021.  Here is a link to Rich's post that day.  Lenda if you need me to look for your photos I can do that for you.  Awaiting word as I'm not sure of your daily schedule right now.  Hope Steve is doing well by the way.  Haven't read yesterday's Daily since last night.  Everyone have a great day, and a safe one too!

 

 

We visited today's port of Cartagena in 2016 on Westerdam, which was only our second HAL cruise.  We took a tour that day so got to visit quite a few spots around the town.  Here's the ship at dock as wel left for our tour.

 

There is an aviary outside the gates next to the parking lot.  Interesting!

 

 

Our first stop was at the Convento de la Popa, a 400 year old monastery built on the foundations of a razed Indian temple.  It sits on a 500 foot hill.

 

 

 

Our guide

 

 

This is a rather chilling statue of a speared Padre Alonso Garcia de Paredes, a priest who was murdered along with five Spanish soldiers for trying to spread the good word.

 

The view out the window.

 

Moving on to our next stop we were given views of the poor neighborhoods many people lived in.

 

But a little paint goes a long way

 

 

We parked alongside the next stop where the vendors tried to catch our eye.

 

A view of the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, a fortification built by the Spanish to protect the city from pirate attacks.

 

The tour did not go inside which was fine.

 

Flat Stanley was along with us this trip so I can't forget about his photos.  This was for our grandson who had to report at the end of the school year about everything Flat Stanley did that year.

 

Next they drove us to go shopping at Las Bovedas, known as the "Dungeons".  It contains rows of handicraft stalls.  I have to admit I'm not much of a shopping enthusiasist.

 

 

Next we walked through the walled city to see the colonial homes, churches and squares.  

 

 

 

I love seeing the unique architecture of the old cities.

 

 

 

 

So pretty!

 

 

 

I could do this type of tour all day.  This is one reason we try to do our own walking tours when the ship docks close to the Old Towns.  Not true in this case.

 

Interior of a small church for @HAL4NOW

 

I love this woman's outfit

 

 

 

After this cruise the Amazing Race included a stop in Cartagena and the task for the teams included finding some of these colorful bags with clues in them.  How exciting to realize I'd recently been there too.

 

 

There's so many pictures!  I think I must stop now before you have overload!  I hope you enjoyed my pics of Cartagena!

 

That is a lot of photos!  Sorry!😳  Should have done two posts.

 

Very interesting photos Sandi.

Great descriptions too.

Graham.

[cat shepard]

19 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good morning from central Texas where it is still dark.  This will be quick, and then I'll read the Fleet/Daily later.

 

Just got a text from DH.  The doctor was in early, before 6:40.  DH may be transferred back to rehab today.  So I need to get to Waco early.

 

Now, I better get ready to head to Waco.

 

Lenda

 

Lenda 

 

Great news about Steve’s release to rehab!