Our apartment looks out over the bay and one of our favorite pastimes is watching all the different ships and boats that come to visit Cartagena.  This past weekend we had the chance to tour the beautiful Chilean Navy boat, The Esmeralda.

She is only visiting Cartagena for a few days, so we hopped over to the port for a tour.  The Esmeralda is a training ship for the Chilean Navy, and I read it has been described as a floating Chilean Embassy.    We were welcomed aboard and got to climb and explore all the different areas of the ship.  Even the cook was prepping a meal, making the lower decks smell amazing.

The kids wanted to take her out to sea, maybe next time guys.   They did get to ring the bell and I got to buy a specialty bottle of Esmeralda wine, so win-win.

Once we were home, we got to spy the Esmeralda from our balcony with all her lights on.

And here she is up close at nighttime. Photo via

So glad we got the chance to see this beauty up close.   I love being able to take my kids to visit things that are out of their normal circle of activities.  This is what makes life abroad so interesting.