“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.”

Brooks Atkinson

Saturday morning I woke up at the usual time, then slipped out of our cabin to walk the upper decks before circling back with our coffee and a couple of pastries.

Evidently, we had quietly docked in Cartagena and instead of the ocean, my view was an imposing city skyline.

There is no way to adequately capture such an expansive view with still photography, so I took a panoramic video instead (look for all the videos once we return to North Carolina).

Overcast and cloudy weather days are great for photography, and – again – what really impressed me were the cloud formations.

Rebekah and I spent all day at the pool, reading and swimming. We even picnicked out there on the lounge chairs, with wait staff obligingly bringing burgers and beers our way at just the right times!

It all reminds me of one summer in Pensacola, when we spent a week at a beach house. Andrew – who must have been eight or nine, found a hammock on the screened-porch, right on the beach. There he was, completely relaxed, lemonade in hand, enjoying the sea breeze. He looked at us and summed it all up in one sentence. “This is the life!” He said.

Amen, Andrew, this really is…