CenAm 2008-01-16

...where we flew from Panama City to Cartegena, Columbia (you know, where Romancing the Stone was supposedly at). I guess I should call this "Cartegena Airport" and "Photos from a mad dash for food."

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 18.0 mm; 1/100 sec, f/16.0, ISO 100

Jerry, Deena and Carl conspire on how to get Flight Surgeon Jim off the damn phone. I'm amazed how much a Mooney can haul, compared to a Bonanza. Tell me again, Pa, why I suffered through a crappy duffel bag for five years? Aside from the fact that it wouldn't physically fit, that is....

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 144.0 mm; 1/100 sec, f/12.9, ISO 100

A first for the Bush Pilots -- the airport take care of us. Chilled water, vans to the terminal, a tent for shade and a portapottie!

Parking in Cartegena, Columbia. Very organized. Hospitable -- they brought chilled water out to us, had a PortaPottie set up, and a tent with chairs. Unfortunately, fuel took hours, and we needed all that hospitality.

Bright? Nope, reality. It was HOT, HUMID and SUNNY here.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 10.0 mm; 1/125 sec, f/12.9, ISO 100

The crew. Sadly, though they brought out water, they had only one fuel truck, and it was even slower than in Mexico. We were out there for nearly two hours.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 20.0 mm; 1/125 sec, f/12.9, ISO 100

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 20.0 mm; 1/60 sec, f/16.0, ISO 100

Again, yes, we're bringing drugs INTO Columbia.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 28.0 mm; 1/50 sec, f/9.9, ISO 100

The first impression of old town Cartegena...was pretty much the truth.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 28.0 mm; 1/50 sec, f/7.0, ISO 100

Busy, busy. This picture kinda shows that the street vendors self-organize. We've got a row of vendors selling kitchen wares. Another street had a row of shoe repair.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 40.0 mm; 1/25 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400

Another first impression. Color. Chaos.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 28.0 mm; 1/320 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400

I'm guessing this is from the western-most wall, looking east.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 18.0 mm; 1/30 sec, f/9.1, ISO 1600

Row of vendors just outside the walled section. We stopped here (tomorrow) and had a good haggle over some Coke (-a-cola). Seems like they wanted to get 2x the cost...hmmm. That sounds familiar (inside comment).

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 18.0 mm; 5 sec, f/18.2, ISO 400

Just in front of the Hotel Monterrey.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 48.0 mm; 30 sec, f/14.1, ISO 100

From the Club de Pesca. Great food, except I just had a massive bowl of fish soup a couple hours earlier. Remember, the whole "mad rush to get food" above? (That was the other 2x the cost event, FYI). The soup was great, even though it had a lot of mussel and I hate mussel.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 17.0 mm; 10 sec, f/11.3, ISO 400

Just shocked this worked. Boats at the Club de Pesca. Apparently, we like sailing here.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 106.0 mm; 15 sec, f/18.2, ISO 100

CLocktower entrance into old town, with a &!&^!$# fountain in the way.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 21.0 mm; 25 sec, f/22.6, ISO 100

Better, no fountain here. Note the green thing sticking out of the building on the right (just above the traffic signal). You'll see it again.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 10.0 mm; 13 sec, f/22.6, ISO 100

Not sure what it is, nor why I have two of 'em. Unfortunately, this is already at 10mm...and I didn't take the fifteen minutes needed to get the perfect shot. Some cropping and rotating would make it good... The building shows up again, tomorrow, with a pigeon on it (Rafael del Castillo).

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 14.0 mm; 13 sec, f/22.6, ISO 100

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 10.0 mm; 25 sec, f/19.9, ISO 100

No clue.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 10.0 mm; 6 sec, f/19.9, ISO 100

Ah! Fountain at the Plaza de Bolivar. A great plaza, not a great fountain.

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 at 10.0 mm; 0.5 sec, f/4.0, ISO 400

Baja Bush Pilots Executive Committee meets and discusses....nothing. On the roof of the Hotel Monterrey (where else?).

Canon EOS 40D with Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS at 18.0 mm; 20 sec, f/14.1, ISO 100

Camellon de los Martires, from the roof of the Hotel Monterrey. The green building is a bank...nice, eh? The other side was blue, IIRC. Came in handy when wandering around.