Colombian Getaway
Traveling around the world fulfills me to the fullest, I love learning about different cultures and trying new things. Each trip I take I learn to step out of my comfort zone more and live on the edge. I visited Medellin, Colombia last November and loved it, even though I didn't know anyone personally and winged it with information I found online. Since it was such a cool trip my husband and I decided to take a trip back to Colombia for our anniversary. The first half of our trip was a little different this time because we have a friend in the U.S. who's from Colombia. He owns a condo and offered it to us for a couple days and made arrangements for us with his family and friends. So on March 26th We flew into Barranquilla, Colombia and lived like the locals for a few days. We stayed at our friend's condo and his family welcomed us with open arms. Our first night we took Uber to Henry's Cafe had a fun dinner with our friend's relative, who's English was just as bad as our Spanish, so the whole night we made it work with bad Spanish and Google Translator lol. After a night of good convo and food we went to a local hangout for couples to over look the city and cuddle. It was so refreshing to be on a date with my husband in a different place talking about our life goals. Day two we took a taxi to the Buenavista mall to shop, eat ice cream and have lunch at Dulcerna. We totally stumbled across Dulcerna because we loved the ambiance, but they are known for the best desserts in town. Around 1pm our friend's relative ( a different person than yesterday lol) picked us up and took us on an adventure giving us all the scoop on the everyday life in Barranquilla. We totally loved our new friend Jair, we instantly clicked and created a great bond. We enjoyed appetizers with an ocean view and coconut water from the side of the highway. We witnessed how the city shuts down and everyone comes together to watch Soccer. It was like a holiday and we had a great time watching the game, people watching, and salsa dancing at La Trojas. We ended the night with dinner at Palenque and more shopping at a cool boutique called The New Black.
Day 3 we said our goodbyes to our new friends and bought them cheesecakes from Dulcerna as a token of our appreciation for welcoming us with open arms. Then we were off to the local bus station, where we purchased two one way bus tickets to Cartagena, Colombia on Berlinastur. Once we arrived we checked into our hotel, The Hyatt Regency Cartagena and it was sooooooo awesome and one of the best hotels we stayed in thus far. Then we walked to Centro Historico a famous "Walled City" in Cartagena, it was packed with so much culture. This little city was a city of its own packed with street performers, restaurants, shops, hotels, clubs, and street vendors. We had an awesome lunch, adventured around the city, enjoyed everything the city had to offer, and even danced at a club called Leblon with the locals.
Day 4 We purchased tickets for a boat tour of the islands off of Cartagena from a company called Isla Lizamar which was half the price of our hotel's concierge. The boat ride to the islands are about an hour ride on an adrenaline packed speed boat ride, which was pretty awesome. It included lunch, an activity of snorkeling or a dolphin show for an additional 20-30 Mil pesos, and time to relax on the beach at Playa Blanca. We returned from the islands right before dark and walked around Calle 9 and Ave San Martin where it was more restaurants, malls, and street vendors. We also enjoyed everything the Hyatt Regency had to offer such as the pools, fitness center, bars, and restaurants throughout our stay.
How I faced a fear
I planned on staying on the boat while my husband snorkeled, I even put on the equipment just for fun while I waited. I was sure that I wasn't going anywhere near the ocean water, but I saw how eager everyone was to jump in the water and thought maybe I could do it. All the worker's from the boat yelled " "Chica" and waved for me to jump in, I saw the look on my husband's face like I know Shay is not going to jump in the water lol. I thought to myself Shay you can do this mind over matter and you can't fear swimming in the ocean all your life, so next thing I know everyone yelled "Uno, Dos, Tres" and I jumped into the Caribbean Sea in the middle of nowhere. I had planned on just jumping in the water and immediately hopping back in the boat, but I had no idea how to say it in Spanish, so I had to snorkel for a whole hour lol. I held hands with our tour guide or my husband the whole time and the fish were so cute, but it felt so amazing to have faced a fear. #Prevailed
My Two Cents on visiting Cartagena
Cartagena is a beach front town filled with tourist from other parts of Colombia and all over the world. Its very humid in this area of Colombia because it sits on the Caribbean Sea. Bring comfortable shoes, sunblock, sunglasses, a hat. a currency converter app, and a cellphone plan that you can use google translator because the whole city speaks Spanish and nothing is in English lol. Research cool things to do on Trip Advisor, but purchase it in person because its way cheaper. Meet someone who can give you the scoop on how much taxi rides should cost, like from our hotel Hyatt Regency to the Cartagena airport was about 10 mil. Always ask the price of something before you sit down and enjoy it (or even pay up front). Everyone was very genuine with prices except one beach food vendor who doubled the price on our food at Playa Blanca. Our Spanish was too bad to even fight it and our boat was leaving, but you live and you learn. Overall our trip was amazing and everyone was nice and welcoming, but knowing a little Spanish can take you a long way.
