liberty port

We just enjoyed three days in Cartagena, Colombia for our liberty port {vacation} and are now in Panama. I celebrated my 'hump day' the first day we were there. I will be home before I know it, and I'm not at all ready for that reality yet.

We stuffed each day with as much as possible. The first day we were there I was 'voluntold' to go to the Mil to Mil reception at the officer's club. I like parties but I didn't think I wanted to go. I wanted to be poolside and enjoying the non-ship life. It turned out to be a really fun night full of dancing and adventure; including but not limited to a swim in the ocean in my party clothes and a taxi ride with a destination unclear to the driver and no way to communicate it other than miming waves and saying 'naval base' with a lot of different inflections in my voice until by chance I saw the gate as we zoomed down the street Top Gear style. Taxis are 5000 pesos no matter where we wanted to go. {$2.50}

The part of Cartagena known as the Old City is a surrounded by a stone wall and is very pretty. It felt like a movie set, like this was someones interpretation of what a city street should look like in Colombia. It was the lack of electrical wires or garbage throwing me off. The streets are jam packed with vendors and people. Lots of music and commotion and even though it is a really old city and there is that wonderful ancient culture, there is also an undercurrent with a trendy vibe coming from the ultra cool restaurants and designer shops lined up in perfectly manicured buildings. The street vendors on the sidewalk outside strike up this crazy contrast that made each corner turned a surprise because I never knew what to expect: old cathedral, designer bags, or a street vendor selling lime aide or candied goods in large glass jars.

We went on an MWR tour the second day to an island beach club on a yacht. It wasn't really a yacht, and it wasn't really a beach club. Fine Colombian advertising at its very best. But we had a great day regardless. I snorkeled for the first time and had fun playing in the water for hours. The boat ride to and from was a lot of fun too. Dance contests and beautiful sites. We were learning how to salsa on the way home and I didn't have a partner so I danced with the instructor. It was fun if I ignored the fact that he was yelling into the microphone what not to do based on what I was doing. 'Don't move like a mechanical.' Oh man.

The third and final day we started early by touring a castle, then we wandered the city for hours and hours. Over 12 hours if we are counting. It was incredibly hot, something like a 105 degree heat index. That is super hot and humid.

My fixation with finding the perfect souvenir while growing up has been replaced with finding pictures that will remind me of the way I felt while visiting a place. It is a lot less expensive and frustrating, and a whole lot more gratifying in the end. I think this next picture of the baby is in my top 5 favorite. He was so happy to be hanging around with his mom who was one of the many vendors in one of the plazas.

One of my favorite things about this trip was having my mom with me. We have been having a blast.

If I got stuck in Colombia {if I, oops, missed the boat} I would set up shop selling limes on the street during the day then make and sell jewelry at night. My friend told me I was over qualified for the position but I told him I thought I'd probably have a lot to learn before I was able to live off of my lime stand.