South American mainland
Friday 23 January 2025
Yes! Although we can’t exactly say we’ve visited South America now, we can say we’ve seen the skyline of Cartagena, Columbia. Today we watched from deck as our ship approached the harbor area and remained stationary while immigration authorities came aboard to clear us. Then a handful of crew members disembarked and others came on board before we were again underway. No adventures ashore for passengers at this port. However as we admired the skyscraper graced city, we did spot a cruise ship in port that we discovered on Cruisemapper is the Norwegian Jewel on which we explored the Southern Caribbean in March of last year. As the captain promised as we were departing New York, we were experiencing comfortably warm temperatures by Wednesday off the coast of the Carolinas. These days the Deck Seven Promenade is a crowded place with everyone seeking a bit of exercise and fresh air. During these four Days at Sea, our time has been filled with enrichment talks, entertainment, and lots of opportunities to meet fellow passengers. There have been a couple of themes. The first is canal construction including details of the Panama Canal history and construction with civil engineer and author John Laverick. Another theme is the great passenger liners with talks by maritime historian and author Bill Miller and quite notably by naval architect and designer of the Queen Mary 2, Stephen M Payne.. We’ve learned so much about the great passenger liners and curiously about our debt to the Titanic disaster and the subsequent improvements to maritime safety that makes sea travel the safest transport available today. To add to that we got to experience The Titanic VR Experience, a virtual reality experience that allowed us to wander the historic ship from the grand staircase and first class dining room all the way to the boiler room. On top of that we’re enjoying conversations with people we meet many of whom we’re sailing with for the next three months yet, as well as beautiful blue skies much of the time. We must admit that it’s surreal enjoying these sun-kissed views as we receive the news that family and friends at home are preparing for a snowstorm of epic proportions but know that our thoughts and prayers are with you even as we continue to venture into the tropics.
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