I’m taking you back to Cartagena, Colombia as I didn’t have time to finish the country blogs before arriving at the Panama Canal!

On top of the highest hill in Cartagena stands a rather spectacular monastery/convent (it is both), called The Convento de La Popa.

From here, I took the picture above which is a school built by the foundation of Colombian-born singer, Shakira! She is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, with over 70 million albums sold worldwide! She launched her foundation to focus on aid through education and, so far, has built five schools across Colombia serving some 4,000 children. Shakira has been named a national cultural ambassador by the president of Colombia!

Within The Convento de La Popa is an old satellite dish which has received a rather dramatic make-over, pictured above.

And finally, in order to get back to our ship, we had to pass through an aviary and, of course, the obligatory shop! The aviary was simply amazing, filled with dozens of magnificent Peacocks and Parrots. One of the Peacocks even put on a display for the camera!