We were really looking forward to visiting Aruba and were so disappointed that it rained and we only had 5 hours to visit. We decided to just go into town to get a feel for the country. The shopping was difficult since most of the stores didn't open until 9-10AM. The Island Princess is at port from 7:30 til 12:30. We had wanted to visit Eagle Beach and then do a little shopping but the rain nixed our plans. After shopping we headed back to the ship around 11:30 and the sun started to come out, so we did get to see some of the aqua blue water as we departed at 12:30.
Pretty for an old church. Especially for how old it is.
Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas Rating:
My daughter and I were completely surprised about how much we loved Cartagena. This was the one port I really didn't care about. We decided to do the tour since a group from Cruise Critic on the message boards had a tour planned. It was such a good deal at $47.00 apiece for a complete tour of the town, that we decided "What the heck" let's just do it. Our tour guide was such a nice woman and was so knowledgeable that we felt like we really got a wonderful experience. I would recommend this tour to everyone. I loved the people of Columbia and the town of Cartagena is lovely.
City Tour Rating:
We loved walking the old city with it's cobblestone streets. Loved the old buildings and that some streets didn't' allow any cars on them. The old buildings are being restored to their original beauty.
La Popa Monastery Rating:
Wow!! What a view from up the top of this monastery. The courtyard was breathtaking and the building is in such great shape for how old it is. Don't miss this!!!!
Palacio de la Inquisicion Rating:
We just walked by this on our walking tour. It was across the street from the beautiful Bolivar park.
We wanted to see a rain-forest and boy did we get one. My daughter and I couldn't believe how massive the forest was. The gondola ride was well worth the money. We saw toucans, crocodiles and iguanas. The bus driver guide and the rain-forest gondola guide were both extremely knowledgeable and had great personalities. We were served lunch and it was really good. There was also a gift shop that had lots of fun items and chocolate covered coffee beans and fruit jellies. Yummy!!!
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