Some of the true joys of cruising come from unexpected places. Usually, when you book a cruise, you do it with one or two specific ports in mind that you really want to see. However, cruises generally involve making numerous stops at other ports of call, either on the way to or from your “bucket list” destination. Sometimes these additional stops are just routine. The ship needs to take on additional food stocks or fuel, or the port is just a convenient stopping point to break up what would otherwise be a string of sea days. You arrive without much in the way of expectations and are happy when you are able to find something interesting to do during your day in port. Other times, there are fascinating things to do in the area, but they are not particularly close to the port, so you are forced to take more expensive shore excursions offered by the cruise lines or private companies like Viator or Get Your Guide. These often involve lengthy bus rides that limit the time you are able to spend enjoying the attractions, no matter how wonderful they might be.

Every once in a while, there is a glorious exception, a place where you find an extraordinary, reasonably priced attraction within walking distance of where the ship docks. Xia and I have experienced these “happy accidents” on numerous occasions, and we will talk about many of them on this site. Cartagena, Columbia is a marvelous case in point. We were taking a cruise where the primary destination was the Panama Canal. Cartagena was simply a stopping point along the way, or so we thought.

Neither of us knew very much about Cartagena or Columbia and we were not particularly excited about stopping there. In our minds, Columbia was famous for two things – coffee and drug cartels. Not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of. I mean, I enjoy a good cup of coffee as much as the next guy, but I don’t need to sail a thousand miles to get one. Cartagena was a pleasant surprise!

We arrived in Cartagena on a beautiful sunny morning and decided we would get off the ship and get some exercise exploring near the port. We did not expect to find anything other than a good cup of coffee at a local cafe. What we found was so much more. Just outside the port terminal there is a nature preserve called Port Oasis Cartagena. It is a very special place that is home to a variety of wildlife and tropical birds. We saw iguanas, tortoises, tree sloths, peacocks, flamingoes, and several species of colorful macaws. The various critters all seem to live together in peace and harmony, something we humans might strive to emulate.