Thursday 20th December 18
It is late morning when we catch our first glimpse of Cartagena, rising out of the mist. A row of white tall building in the distance, it looks really big. We can see the beaches and bits of the old town through the binoculars, churches and domes, dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers. To my surprise, it actually does not look ugly. There is a certain symmetry and homogeneity in the style of buildings that is pleasing to the eye. We get quite close as we enter the bay via the small ship channel and we are amazed at the size of it. Santa Maria is standing guard at the entrance of the bay, with the commercial docks on one side, load of them, tall residential buildings on the other side. As we make our way in, we have plenty to look at, coast guard and navy vessels, even a submarine. We are greeted by Neil, from El Geeco, who directs us to the best place. Right at the front, with a superb view of the old town, the fort and the navy vessels all lit up at night. The sunset through the tall building is spectacular. And yes, there is a lot of passage but it is quite fun to see the comings and goings , tourist boats with music blearing out and what looks like commuter little boat who set off people on the walls of the fort. The 2 marinas are close too, with their restaurant and bar and we are lucky, most night the entertainment is actually good. Too tired to go and explore now.