Sloths are such bizarre animals. I know you can’t see her face, but look at those claws! Sloths hang out in the trees because their long claws make it difficult for them to walk on the ground. They spend about 90% of their lives hanging upside down. Their organs are attached to their rib cage,… Continue reading Sloths
Author: bigwoodentent
Centennial Park
Back in Cartagena, after our visit to the aviary, we decided to check out Centennial Park. We had been told that there were sloths in the park. We really didn’t expect to see any, given that the park is a downtown park and quite busy. However, I had to go and check for myself and… Continue reading Centennial Park
Bird Show
The bird show was in Spanish, so I don’t know what they were saying, but it was nice to see some of the birds up closer. The Ibis must be easily trained, because they flew in to get the food being offered. It was cool to see them flying in together as a flock. This… Continue reading Bird Show
Wading Birds
I had really hoped to see flamingos in the wild, but we didn’t, so I was pleased that I got to see them at the aviary. Colombia has three types of storks, Maguari stork, Jabiru and Wood stork and the aviary had all of them. Unlike other stork species who like to nest at high… Continue reading Wading Birds
Ducks, Geese and Waterfowl
I actually only have ducks and geese for this post. Swans are waterfowl, but the swan we saw I put in the not found in Colombia group of birds. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks White-faced Whistling Duck Blue-winged Teal These strange, warty-faced birds are Muscovy Ducks. They are one of the oldest domesticated fowl species in… Continue reading Ducks, Geese and Waterfowl
Birds at the Aviary not from Colombia
We were surprised to find birds in the aviary that are not normally found in Colombia. I have to admit that some of them are very cool birds and interesting to see, but just not what I expected to find at their National Aviary. I think my favourite of those was the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill,… Continue reading Birds at the Aviary not from Colombia
National Aviary
I posted some pictures on Day 12 from our visit to the National Aviary, but again I did not have time to post many and only had photographs that I took with my phone. We only had two hours there and as you can see, they recommend two and a half hours, so we did… Continue reading National Aviary
One More Stroll Through Cartagena
Once over the bridge, we took a different route back through the old street of Cartagena. You can’t easily get lost in the old city, because if you keep walking, eventually you find the old wall at the end of one of the streets. The street names are on beautiful plaques. I mentioned before about… Continue reading One More Stroll Through Cartagena
Castillo de San Felipe de Baraja
After our tour of the city, we walked up to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. I did post some pictures on Day 11, but time was limited to write in detail. Cartagena was built on several islands at the end of a bay. The marshes that originally surrounded these islands were later filled in… Continue reading Castillo de San Felipe de Baraja
Emerald Museum
Colombia is known for its high-quality, intense green emeralds and 60% of the world’s production of emeralds comes from Colombia. Emerald is the name of a specific green variety of the mineral Beryl. During the formation of the Beryl, tiny amounts of a metallic oxide changed the colour and the name of this mineral. The… Continue reading Emerald Museum