La Playa Blanca is a beach about an hour away and it is on every tourist’s hit list. We signed up. But we enhanced our trip a little bit too. The bus picked us up at 6 am and an hour later we had finally picked up the last of about 16 people and headed …
Continue reading “The Aviary, Playa Blanca and Jardines de Botanico”
A few days before Cody’s arrival, one last unexplored “island” of Cartagena, Manga, was on our agenda. Not to be repetitive but we took the VeHi bus to El Castillo. From there we walked a few blocks, crossed a bridge, and veered to the left toward the marina. Nice! Big expensive boats have always intrigued …
I can’t say how many times we have returned to the Old City in our time here in Cartagena so far. And I am certain we will visit again in the next few days. It’s big enough to present a new street or area to see each time we pass through. There are plazas where …
Cartagena is a city of three rather elongated-shaped areas that might appear to be two closely-spaced islands and a section on the mainland. The old colonial walled city and fortress, The Walled City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located on a peninsula on the island of Getsemaní. The city sprawls over the island of …
Yesterday, Thursday, we took that little un-air-conditioned bus that passes our apartment to the main station where thought we might pick up a city bus to see the newer, more modern, and certainly more affluent area of Cartagena called Bocagrande. It is on an extremely elongated piece of land between two waters. The Bahia of …
Old town Cartagena was the Spanish banking center for South America in the period from the 1500s to the 1800s. Gold mined and stolen from the Incas was shipped from Cartagena and later Colon, Panama, back to the Spanish monarchy to pay off debts and stock Spanish war chests. Because there was so much gold …
As we made our final approach toward Rafael Nunez International Airport, the view from the window told us this place would be different from any we’ve visited on this adventure. The land is flat and the vegetation is primarily brown. As we departed the plane onto the tarmac, a brisk wind, blinding sunlight and intense …
We are leaving Medellin but not forgetting. Some of the good tidbits worth recalling: Good packaging – The detergent bottle with a top dispenser – just put your sponge or cleaning clothe on top and press down on the spring-loaded dispenser and just enough to wash dishes from a meal for two come out on …
We are in our last few days here in Medellin. Check-marks are being placed on our list of important to-dos. After our fantastic, over-the-top paragliding experience everything else might seem downhill or a bit anticlimactic. No, oh no! It all was still fun, exciting, and educational. El Castillo Museo This elegant castle was built in …
The car picked us up at 9 am, right on time. We drove through heavy city traffic toward the mountains. It’s doubly hard for drivers here. Not only do they have to drive defensively among so many cars, but motorcycles that almost outnumber the cars, dash in and out, create new lanes of traffic, cut …