This trip started with a bang. A literal one, unfortunately. We were leaving the house for LAX when a driver (either on his phone or not paying attention; or both) rear-ended us in the Mini Cooper Countryman. Not an ideal way to start a trip, but we got the bad out of the way early. The car is still drive-able, we filed a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance and should get the repairs sorted out this week.
This Labor Day vacation was a literal labor of love coordinating schedules between Grant and his Aunt Kate, but we were able to pull it together. The main destination was Cartagena, Colombia. If you’ve never heard of it— it’s coastal Colombia, in the lower Caribbean Sea, between Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela.
With no direct flights from Southern California, we had to take a layover in Bogota, Colombia. Having learned from previous trips, with any long layover, after a long flight, a hotel room is needed. We left Thursday evening and landed Friday at 6 a.m. We hopped right off the plane and breezed through customs. We then zipped past all of the aggressive taxi drivers and just walked to our Courtyard by Marriott Bogota Airport that Grant had selected. About a mile.
I slept a bit on the plane, but Grant did not. With nothing being open that early, I wanted to get a quick nap in before exploring the city. Grant had other plans. He didn’t get any sleep but was somehow wired. When we checked in, the breakfast buffet was already going so we stopped to grab some food. Once in the bedroom, I hit the pillow and was out. Not Grant. Blah blah blah blah…for someone who got 0 hours of sleep getting him to shut down was tough. To find his missing phone he turned on all the lights only to find his phone underneath him. Then he had to download just the right VPN so he could use and download movies/shows using his streaming services outside of the U.S. while on Colombian networks.
About an hour and a half later, I was up and ready to explore Bogota solo while Grant had finally passed out. Uber worked in Colombia so I grabbed one and headed to the Museum of Gold. I toured around their prize museum and was quite impressed with how organized, expansive, and unique the artifacts were. Good job Bogota! After a while it became a bit mundane with the endless gold artifacts so I did leave to explore the Plaza Bolivar (Main Square-Colombian White House.
In the U.S. we have been programmed that Colombia is dangerous and to stay away. Truthfully, I wouldn’t say I felt unsafe, but I did feel more guarded. Armed robbery and pickpocketing is a warning locals give you so I tried to stay mostly in the tourist area with lots of people around. I snapped a few photos of the main square and the surrounding museums, but didn’t want my only way of getting home to be snatched from my selfie stick.
It was good that the internet worked without issue so I was able to speak to locals using Google Translate and also do a self-guided tour of the area. My final stop in Bogota was to Monserrate. Monserrate is a mountain top with a church that has incredible sweeping views of the entire city. There are a few ways up including walking, but I elected to just buy a round-trip ticket up to the tram. Smushed in with others, the tram climbed up the steep mountainside and dropped us off right at the top. This area was a highly religious area with people praying everywhere you went. Of course, there is me with my selfie stick just snapping photos so it was easy to spot me as a tourist. There were a few restaurants and gift shops that I rummaged through and grabbed some souvenirs.
The way down took forever, but eventually, I made it. I wandered around a bit more and then caught an Uber back to the hotel. By this time, sleeping beauty had awoken and was hungry. He went to a local cafe and grabbed some baked goods for us to snack on before our flight. The food in Bogota was not stellar. I wouldn’t recommend going for the food, but it may have just been what we got.
The hotel shuttle took us to the airport and we boarded our main flight to Cartagena without any issues. We flew Avancia, which is a Star Alliance (United) airline so we felt comfortable the entire time. You would not expect Bogota to have a nice airport, but it was clean, and modern, had plenty of food options and had all the modern technology that a large US airport has. I would argue that it was way better than a lot of US airports.
Quick hour and a half flight and we landed in Cartagena. Knowing Uber worked, we skipped the insanely priced taxis and were whisked away to Hotel Quadrafolio. Here we would be joining Grant’s Aunt Kate and her Friend Marianne (aka Mimi). The hotel itself is surrounded by walls and gated off to not show anything behind it. Not knowing what to expect, the door opened and we were greeted by several friendly faces and a beautifully designed hotel. Those friendly faces (really all Colombians were extremely friendly) gave us a local lime drink and we dropped off our bags.
Kate and Mimi were around the corner at a restaurant called La Pichua so we set out to join them. We quickly realized that the cool, mild temperature of Bogota was not the same as the humid, hot temperature of Cartagena. Think Miami, maybe worse. Instant sweat! We found it without issue and ordered some local dishes. The food was nothing extraordinary, but it filled our tummies. We stayed and chatted for a bit then walked back to fall asleep.
The next morning, we started the day with breakfast and had an amazing egg/meat stuffed arepas. The food at the hotel was incredible. Well above the food we had been eating.
Afterward, we set off to begin exploring the city. We walked up and down the streets for a bit and then stopped at Las Bovedas in the Old City. It was an old jail that they turned into gift shops. With it being hot, we decided to jump in an Uber and go to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. Right before we went to the castle, at the street light, a street performer built a tightrope and proceeded to walk across it while the light was red. I had seen similar performers in Panama, but it was exciting to see. Later on the trip, I saw a guy juggling knives at a traffic light, which is a tad scarier for those waiting for the light to turn green.
Eventually, we made it to the castle. The one apparent thing is that tourism is important there. That is a nice way of saying that a million locals are surrounding you trying to get you to buy water, tours, taxis, souvenirs…whatever they can to make a buck. We pushed through and explored on our own. The castle was designed in 1536 by the Spanish for the protection of the city and was never taken despite numerous attempts to storm it.
Back in the Uber, we went, and up next was Plaza de San Pedro Claver. This area is one of the main squares in the walled city of Cartagena and is famous for its beauty and its proximity to the San Pedro Claver church and museums. We walked around a bit more, checked off some of the tour highlights, and then went back to the hotel for lunch. We decided to eat at the hotel (great choice) due to Grant and I having a tour at El Totumo (mud volcano).
The tour guide knocked on the door right on time, we hit the road in a clean van and made our way to Santa Catalina. Here we were greeted by a mound of dirt we climbed. There are plenty of blogs out there that tell you what to expect and there is a reason. It’s a bit sketchy. You leave the van and are ushered into a place to change. You locked up all of your belongings in a cabinet and this random guy keeps the key. Grant was super uncomfortable with this, but I was less so as I was expecting this. Grant kept his wallet in a pair of shorts with us, left it out of the mud, and it was fine. Once everyone in our group was done changing, sufficiently anxious about their belongings being stolen, we were ushered up the stairs to the mud itself.
I was the first one in and it’s super rickety. The whole area is caked in slippery mud and you have to grab the railings otherwise you will slip. I climbed down and slowly sank into the mud. I was told to lay on my back and I just kind of floated. The guy in the mud with us then slid me to a guy who began to give me a massage. Once he was done, I was slid out of the way for the next person. I just kind of bobbed in the mud. I tried to sink further into the mud, but couldn’t. Eventually, everyone on the tour was in the mud and we just relaxed. There were about 10 of us in the mud at once, but it’s supposed to hold up to 20. We then were told abruptly to get out. Dripping mud, we climbed the ladder while a photographer took photos of us. We were led to a stream where local women cleaned the mud off of our bodies. They got in there not shying away from sticking their fingers up our noses. Then they asked us to take off our swimsuits. When in Colombia, right? Naked in this muddy lake we watched as they cleaned the mud off our suits and then returned them. All the while they were telling us to remember their names— Chili and Yasmina.
As we walked back, we found the man who had stored our belongings and thankfully they were safe. Then the circus began. To get our phone back from the photographer we had to tip. The guys helping us in and massaging us wanted a tip. The ladies who washed us wanted a tip. And they were aggressive. You…you…you…propina propina propina (tip). Thankfully we finished first which means this was before they got aggressive with the main group. Each one got a tip and they were not shy in showing their displeasure if they didn’t like the tip. We asked to be let back into the van to hide out while everyone else had to deal with the circus.
We got back a little later than we expected, but that was fine with us. We met up with Kate and Mimi and ate at another local restaurant. This place specialized in Coco Limeade with coconut and it was delicious! Kate drank most of mine! The food just was so-so — nothing to rave about. That evening we needed to plan the tour for the next day. The idea was to go island hopping, but Mimi and Kate decided that they didn’t want to go because of the early start. So Grant and I pivoted to a drive and a private beach on the Caribbean. We worked with the hotel’s front desk and were able to figure it out for the morning.
Sunday morning, Grant and I met up with Kate and Mimi at breakfast to discuss the new plan. After very little convincing, they were in! Not long after we concluded breakfast, the driver arrived and we were off for Baru Island. The drive was interesting and required a lot of skill to avoid potholes, cars, motorcycles, and people. As we got closer to the beach, more people were in the street. At first, I didn’t think much of it until we got to a large horde. They were aggressive. Knocking on our driver’s window. Following the car. We even saw one of the guys jump on the car as it drove away. Thankfully he was able to shoo them off the car. We drove down this dirt path only to be accosted by more “helpers” who wanted us to park where they were. They did the same thing as the first horde and by then it was getting ridiculous. We found parking, parked, and were accosted by people who wanted to take us on a tour even though we had a guide.
Eventually, we made it to the beach area and it was beautiful. It was developed, every inch was taken by some business, and people were trying to hawk anything. Our driver warned us about the massage ladies who rub you and when you are not paying attention steal from you. So we are a little on guard with our belongings.
The tour guide brought us to a boat and after a quick 10-minute boat ride we were on the other side of the island away from everyone. They had a private cabana for us set up with beach beds, reclining chairs in the water, and direct access to the water. We started with some Caparini drinks, like a mojito but better, and then hit the water. There was always one person with the belongings at all times to make sure nothing was taken. The massage ladies came over and we said no thank you. There were other vendors and again we said no thank you. It was a bit annoying, but it was much better than what it could have been.
The water was lovely and we had an amazing time just swimming in the water. We took tons of photos. I forgot to put on suntan lotion on my shoulders so they are beat red.
Lunch came and we ate chicken, burgers, and ceviche. We didn’t eat the ceviche — Kate did. Afterward, we swam around for a bit and called it a day. The boat came, and dropped us off where we were accosted by “helpers,” and was able to make it to the cat in one piece. What we didn’t realize at that point was that as we were getting out— Kate handed her bag to one of the helpers on the boat when she was getting off. During that split time, they had taken her AirPod case and glasses. Thankfully they didn’t get anything that was valuable or irreplaceable.
The hotel was about an hour away. We drove around the potholes, back over the connecting bridge, near a few tourist spots, and then back to Hotel Quadrafolio. Restaurants don’t open up until around 6:30 pm so we just laid around the room and relaxed until then. We got cleaned up for dinner at the Sofitel. We attempted to eat at a place called 1612, but they didn’t have any availability so we ate at their sister restaurant called Jardin. Grant was in heaven because they had Beef Wellington, an English dish, which was the most random dish to find in Cartagena. He was thrilled and there was no persuading him about any other option. The food was a bit slow to come out in Colombia and tie that with a notoriously slow dish— we were there for a long while. But while we were waiting we got to catch a surprise fireworks show. The food was good and most importantly Grant was happy that he got the beach and Beef Wellington all in one day!
Our plane departed early in the morning so we called it an early night. Kate came back to our room to chat and then we said our goodbyes. Lights out and the next thing I know lights back on. Sleep is a premium on these trips and I didn’t have any money left to spend on sleep. We made it to the airport in Cartagena, landed in Bogota, and then made it to Los Angeles without any hiccups.
Everything good must come to an end and this was a good trip! Not looking forward to working on Tuesday, but hoping to keep the good Colombian vibes going!