A Day in San Francisco

The Captain had announced, the evening prior, we would be entering the Golden Gate Strait and passing under the bridge at about 5:30 a.m. I set my alarm for 5:15 a.m., and was up and out on my balcony soon thereafter. I really could have used a tripod to keep my camera still, as the photos I took were almost universally bad. I'm sharing one, it's fuzzy as I couldn't avoid the shake, but you get the picture!

After the excitement of seeing the bridge in the dark, I went back to be for an hour or so. The sun was starting to show itself and I took several shots before it appeared over the horizon.

This is the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, or more commonly called the Bay Bridge. 

On this morning, I took my time enjoying my breakfast on Aft 16, before heading down to the gangway. We were docked at Pier 27, right on The Embarcadero. 

Across from the Pier and up the hill is Coit Tower. From Wikipedia, "Coit Tower is a 210-foot tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, overlooking the city and San Francisco Bay. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, was built between 1932 and 1933 using Lillie Hitchcock Coit's bequest to beautify the city of San Francisco." At the top of the tower is an observation deck of the 360 degree views of the city, the bay, and the bridges. There is no elevator and one must be able to walk up 13 flights of stairs to the top. Definitely not on my list of things to do, though it would be neat to see.

My plan was to purchase a ticked on the local HOHO bus (hop-on, hop-off). There was a ticket kiosk just off the ship, which was a bit of a surprise, however to catch the bus, I had to walk up The Embarcadero to a place described as "CVS will be on your left". There was an older lady just behind me in line who was concerned about walking alone*, so I offered to walk with her. Her name was Maria and she lives in Las Vegas. She and her husband cruised frequently, but he recently passed away and he made her promise to continue to cruise. 

After a bit of back and forth and couple of wrong turns - we ought to have stayed on The Embarcadero the entire way, we eventually found Bus Stop #1. Since Maria is sensitive to the sun, we found seats on the lower deck of the bus and headed off on a two hour jaunt around the city. We passed by several areas of the city, including Chinatown, Embarcadero Center (a huge shopping area), Union Square, City Hall, Alamo Square/Painted Ladies, Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of the Arts, Cow Hollow, and a view of Lombard Street, before heading back to the pier. For the first ride around, I chose to stay with Maria. I listened to the narration on the ear buds provided, while she having visited the city frequently, simply answered my questions and enjoyed the ride.

I took a single photo from the bus on this trip, of a Tesla truck. I'm not sure what the appeal is, they are pretty darn ugly.

The bus did stop at Pier 27 on our return, so I stayed on the bus, moving up to upper deck for the second go-round. This time I got a number of photos, though my efforts were hampered by being on a moving bus!

The Spires of St. Paul's Catholic church soared above the buildings in the area. 

I've since learned that scenes for the movie, Sister Act were filmed in the church.

This interesting building is the Transamerica Pyramid, a 48 story office building.

According to the narrative, I listened to on the bus, there are four cameras installed on each of the four corners of the top of the building. Visitors can view monitors on the main floor to virtually see the views from the top of the building. Unlike the Coit tower, I could see myself checking the view from the ground floor.

I believe this was a bank of some sort. I was taken by the beauty of the stonework on the facade.

I took this photo because it was a spot of colour in the concrete jungle of the financial area.

This crooked photo is of the City Hall of San Francisco. It's a lovely building with an interesting history. It was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1906, re-opening in 1915. As well, in November 1978, it was the scene of a double murder/assassination of the mayor and a senior official. The perpetrator, former official was disgruntled when his position was given to someone else.

These are a few of the painted ladies that we passed on our way up a steep hill. There were many more, but the bus was just moving too quickly until it reached this part of the hill, and the driver geared down.

If you guessed this storefront was part of the Haight-Ashbury area of the city, you would be correct.

The bus turned at the Haight-Ashbury corner, but I wasn't quick enough to capture a photo.

The first photo is the first view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the highIring our ride across the bridge.

I learned that the city originally planned to paint the bridge yellow and black, but the steel but it arrived from the manufacturer as shown. It was then decided this colour would be very visible (as if the Bridge itself would not have been) and it suited the setting, so the original colour stayed. It has been repainted in the years since. That would not be a job I'd want!

I did get off the bus at the North Vista point, but was disappointed as there was a lot of glare, so photos of the bridge weren't what I was hoping for.

This is a zoomed in shot of Alcatraz Island, was used as a penitentiary for 30 years. A few famous inmates included Al Capone, "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz). Some of our solo group did tours - it is now a museum. Lee had booked a private tour, and said it was terrific as she got to see areas of the former prison not generally accessible. 

A view of the city from the North Vista. The Transamerica Pyramid is evident in the photo!

Another view from the vista. The city and surrounding area are certainly hilly!

I took a photo of the plant, because I was fascinated by the bloooms. It was clear they were nearing the end, but the puffs almost looked like pink dandelions. A Google lens search indicates it is likely Melaleuca nesophilia (showy Honey Myrtle). 

The next HoHo bus arrived about 15 minutes after I had stepped off the first, so I boarded and returned to the city. After a stop at Pier 39 for a walk-about, I returned the ship and was back on-board about 4 p.m. I made a stop at the International cafe for one of their tuna croissant sandwiches - they are so delicious and I hadn't had lunch. 

Then it was time to clean up and head up for pre-dinner drinks and later dinner with the solo group. 

I really enjoyed my visit to San Francisco and will definitely consider a return to visit more of the sites. In particular, I'd love to spend some time at the Golden Gate park in the Japanese gardens. A visit to the Ghiradelli store would be fun too.

*I normally would not discuss politics of any sort, but I heard Maria and other passengers mention how dangerous San Francisco is due to the sheer number of homeless people. Their fears are based on comments made by a certain Presidential candidate who has suggested the problem is due to the other Presidential candidate's stint as a the first woman Attorney General of California. I have no doubt there are many homeless people living there; the climate is warm and like so many other cities, large and small, there are people who find themselves in dire straits. In any event, we saw one potentially homeless person on our walk - he was shouting something as he made his way down the sidewalk. In other words, I felt completely safe during my day in San Francisco.

Next up - Sea days and Los Angeles

P.S. It's become a thing for passengers to hide ducks on the cruise ships. Once found, they can be re-hid or taken home. In my case, I brought this duck home for Eli. It's a bit of fun, and there are rules including no hiding ducks in retail stores or near the pools. I also found another duck, a wee tiny one at the top of stairwell, that I re-hid. It disappeared too, so someone else found it.

Cartagena, Colombia

 We had two sea days before we reached Cartagena, but I'll do a separate post with some photos shot on the various sea days throughout the entire cruise at a later date. 

We sailed into port early in the morning, around 7 a.m. I had booked an excursion for the day, with a scheduled time to leave the ship of 9 a.m. Since I was out of bed shortly after 6:15, I had plenty of time to drop off a couple of books at the library (I'd brought them from home and had planned to leave them in the sharing library), have a good breakfast, and take a few photos early in the day.

I'm not certain what I expected, but this was not it. It's clear that Cartagena is a very modern city - though I visited the old city area. I guess I need to up my research when I'm visiting new locales.

I was intriqued by these buildings - one very modern and the other, either under construction or about to be demolished. Who knows?

Early in the morning, the port was busy with vessels of various sizes buzzing about.

I headed down early to the Provence dining room, arriving at 8:10 a.m. While I waited I chatted with various other passengers. We were heading to the gangway by 9 a.m. Our medallions were scanned as we walked off the ship, and would be scanned again as we came on board - one of the ways the ship keeps track of the passengers. Our group boarded a tour bus for a drive into the old city of Getsemani - referred to by the cruise line as Gethsamane.

Our guide gave us some general information about Getsemani, and the history of Columbia. She indicated we'd be visiting three neighbourhoods; lower, middle, and upper class. To be honest, I only noticed the difference in the lower class areas - the streets were more narrow, the buildings were smaller, but no matter where we were the buildings were well kept, and often very colorful.

When we left the bus we were standing in a narrow city street with all the flags above us. I asked the guide what they were for, and she mentioned the World Cup. I do know from my research Colombia has not hosted the World Cup, so I'm not certain the purpose.

We made our way through the narrow streets where many of the buildings had murals painted on them. This was one i really liked. We had to share the streets with the vehicles, and though there were no signs, the drivers seemed to know the direction of the one-way streets. When relegated to the even narrower sidewalks, those in front would yell "big hole" to warn those behind who might be looking up rather than down. It worked, as no one fell during our walk.

We stopped briefly at the Iglesia de la Trinidad - Church of the Holy Trinity,  with a swarm of other tourists. There was a service in the church so we did not enter.

Another art installation on a side street. I recall seeing something similar in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2019.

I had to check a translation for this building. The sign Las Tablitas translates to the little boards in Spanish. I have to think it refers to the building materials. It appears to be a tavern.

We turned right at this corner and made our way to a local restaurant situated on the top floor of a hotel. We had been walking for about 15-20 minutes at this point, and the temperature was near 100F (38C). Here we were given a chance to sit for a few minutes, and have a cold drink that contained coconut milk, sugar, water, and lemon. It sounds a bit odd, but I can assure you it was delicious and refreshing. 

From this vantage point we could see the bridge we'd driven over to reach the old city.

Beyond the restaurant was a small pool with loungers for the hotel desks. There was a family using the pool while we were there so I was careful not to include them in my photo.

In the background of the photo is the Castle San Felipe de Barajas. The castle is a fortress built by the Spaniards to repel invaders. Construction began in 1536, repairs and expansions continued over the next 200 years. We did not visit the fort, but I definitely would do so, should I ever have a chance to return to the city.

It certainly looks imposing, doesn't it?

Back on the bus we made our way to a building that once was a nunnery, but is now a theatre. I don't have a lot of pictures as my major concern was locating the nearest bano (bathroom). 

During the stop, the guide spent about 20 minutes providing the history of the building and this man. I certainly didn't recall the details, so pulled the information below from various websites.

In the center courtyard was this bust of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of "100 Years of Solitude". Born in Aracataca, Colombia in 1927, he was exiled from the country in 1954, when he broke a news story about a sailor who survived the shipwreck of a Columbian Navy destroyer. Although the wreck had been attributed to a storm, the sailor reported that badly stowed illegal contraband from the US came loose and knocked eight of the crew overboard. 

Garcia Marquez died in Mexico City, in 2014. Our guide explained that half of his cremains are interred here and the other half in Mexico. He is considered a hero among the Colombian people. 

After the history lessons, here's a photo I took just because I thought it was pretty. 

I believe this was a monastery, but didn't take down any notes, and my search for information turned up other images but no details. In any event, the stained glass windows were simply gorgeous.

This sweet lady saw us walking down her street, and came to the railing to applaud us. I assume that's her caregiver beside her. We all applauded her as well.

In this area, almost all of the upper stories of the buildings had lovely balconies. This was one of my favorites with all the flowers.

Ventena de la Denuncia - Window of denunciation

Situated in the Palace of the Inquisition, this small window was a place where individuals would accuse their neighbours of being a witch during thr period of Inquisition. Once an accused had racked up three accusations they could be prosecuted. This generally meant torture with various devices, though if one was wealthy enough, they could pay off the church to be acquitted. Approximately 800 people (mostly women) were executed as witches during this period. Our guide explained that the property of those who died, was ceded to the church. She suggested that the inquisition was a money-maker for the Catholic Church as one either paid for their freedom or it was taken from them in death.

At the end of our second 15-20 minute walk was the Iglesia de San Pedro Claver.

The church was built between 1580 and 1624 and has been renamed a few times. The church is currently named for Saint Pedro Claver, who died in 1654, after spending much of his life ministering among the black slaves. The story our guide told us was quite different from the information I found on Wikipedia but I don't recall the details so won't try to share her comments. Let's just say her comments were not as favorable. We didn't enter the building this time because there was a baptism ceremony. 

Across the square from the church were several metal sculptures. I thought this one was most interesting.

The bus picked us up here and we were delivered to the shopping area. It was obvious the tour company had an agreement with the vendors of store #3 and we were shepherded into the store where souvenirs, jewellery and local products were available. I picked up a package of Columbian coffee for my son and then ventured outdoors to get some fresh air. I soon hurried back indoors as the vendors outside the store were more ferocious than those I've encountered in other countries. We had been warned not to look at the goods they carried, not to make eye contact, and to be wary of a vendor attempting to put something in our hands.

The bus pulled up and I headed to the air-conditioned comfort of the coach. Back at the port, we walked through the aviary where a number of colorful birds were on view. It was still very hot, and I didn't stay long. Looking back, I wish I had taken my time but I did get a few photos. One I've shared with you previously was the parrot. 

I was most excited to see the albino peacock pictured below. My first photo was of his butt - thankfully he turned and faced me. 

I was back on board by 1:30 p.m. and headed to the Grille on Deck 15 for a burger and fries. Then it was off to the stateroom to chill (literally and figuratively) for the rest of the afternoon. There was NFL football to watch while I relaxed.

Later, I went to the singles and solos get-together and then to dinner at the buffet with one of the group. C is from Ottawa, and we had lots of interests in common. After dinner, she headed off to the early show in the theatre while I went back to my stateroom to watch more football and do some reading. I knew I wanted to be up early the next day.

Between my rest and meeting with the solo/singles I did get up on the deck to get a photo of the city as we sailed away. 

Next - Panama Canal

Magnificent Martinique

Warning - this will be a photo heavy post!

We arrived in Martinique in early morning, shortly after sunrise.  The clouds in the sky were a harbinger for what was to come later, but this early in the day it was just overcast.

This is a brand new port to me, and I was excited to get the opportunity to visit. Martinique is a rugged Caribbean island that’s part of the Lesser Antilles. An overseas region of France, its culture reflects a distinctive blend of French and West Indian influences.

For a change, there was a smaller cruise ship in port with us.  This is the Royal Clipper ship owned by Star Clippers, and yes, one can take a cruise on it...if one has sufficient funds.  I think it would be wonderful but my budget just doesn't cut it.  Plus I would suspect my record of not feeling seasick might be broken.

The port is in the city of Fort-de-France.  It was obviously raining in this photo so my memory of no rain until later in the day is false.  The walkway from the dock took us into a shopping area, (the white tents) and then it was a short walk to the main part of the city.  I did visit there later in the day, but first, a tour to the Balata gardens with a visit to the Balata Cathedral (Sacre-Coeur de Balata), a replica of the church in Montmartre, Paris.  

We met just on the far side of the white tents where there rows of buses waiting.  Our trip took us through the city and out into the countryside and up the hill to the Balata Cathedral.  

It is not a large church but lovely in its construction.  It also provided a viewpoint to see our ship in port.  It looks tiny from this perspective.

I did visit the interior but photo opportunities were limited as there were parishioners as well as tourists visiting.  This is the view of the dome with a bit of light from the windows.  There is some damage apparent but overall it is in good shape.

Next up Balata gardens...and I'll let the photos tell the tale.

 

 The variety of flowers and trees were so incredibly beautiful.  The paths wound around and up and down the hillside.

 As I made my way around the garden, there were short bursts of rain.  Once it started coming down harder, I decided to make my way back to the main buildings.

This photo is of a poinsettia on the front deck area.  At least I recognized it!


Along the side of the building were several hummingbird feeders.  Unfortunately they were all empty but it didn't stop the small birds from trying.  

This isn't a great photo as it was taken from the interior of the bus.  But it does show how the street winds down the hill.  

Once we arrived back in the city, I went for a walk-about.  There was a church spire visible from the ship I wanted to see.

On my walk, I was surprised to see this store!

 This is the St. Louis Cathedral.  I didn't take the time to go indoors as the rain was threatening again (come to think of it, I probably should have).

Just beyond the cathedral were these buildings.  I don't know if the center building was damaged in a hurricane or simply left to deteriorate.  

At this point, it was time to head back to the ship, to change into dry clothing, find something to eat, and relax.  That's just what I did.



Late afternoon as we sailed away the sun was shining, though the clouds in the distance would indicate there was more rain to come.

I had a wonderful day in Martinique and would love to return again one day to see more of this beautiful island!