Colombia + cruise

Colombia + Caribbean Cruise

January 24 - February 4, 2019 + February 9 - 14

Population of Colombia: approx. 48.65 million

Ottawa - Toronto - Bogotá (Cartagena - Medellin + bus to Guatapé + bus back to Medellin - Bogotá) - Newark - Ottawa

The colours signify the sun, the ocean and the blood shed for independence 
(according to our walking tour guides)

You may be thinking "why Colombia"? That seemed to be THE common question asked of us when we told people we were going there. After all, what comes to mind when you think of Colombia? Drug cartels, conflicts and coffee? Those days are over. The country has truly reinvented itself - although you can still find great coffee (so I hear, since I don't drink coffee)! We decided to check it out for a possible "snowbird" location for a few months of the year when Craig is retired. 

10 reasons to go:

1. Your money goes far

2. It is first world, progressive and clean with lots of greenery

3. Medellin - once known as one of THE most dangerous cities in the world has truly been transformed and was one of my favorite places we visited in Colombia.

4. Warm, welcoming people

5. Really beautiful landscapes - particularly in Medellin and as we traveled to Guatapé

6. Great weather, lots of sun and because it's so close to the equator they have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness

7.  Good roads, safe public transit, reliable internet, upscale shopping

8. The World Health Organization rates Colombia's healthcare as better than the U.S or Canada and far more affordable! Ranked best in all the Americas.

9. It's in the same timezone as Ottawa

10. It's safe! We truly felt absolutely safe there. You may think only of Pablo Escobar, but that was in the 80's - those days are gone. Get over it! 😀

Trump's border control issues delayed our trip's start by a day due to a high volume in Newark, NJ, but the next day we were on our way!

Through pictures I'll try my best to give you a real feel for the places we visited. As usual, there will be a TON of photos. I can't help myself!

1st stop: Bogotá

Capital & largest city (pop: 10 mil)
 Stayed @ Atton Hotel

Our first morning in Bogotá, Craig "rocked" my world, but it turned out that we were greeted with a mild earthquake! The chandelier above the bed was swaying a bit and the bed was vibrating (not in a good way). 

We hit the ground running with a free walking tour at 10 am. They are always a nice way to get our bearings and a feel for the city.

There is a lot of history to cover though, so we didn't really walk all that far.

This highly influential political man was part of a protest against president Suárez. I cannot recall too much said about him, but VERY briefly, according to Wikipedia he was "one for the people" and brought about big change. He was assassinated in 1948 and his death led to a period of great violence between conservatives and liberals and the rise of Communist guerrillas. I do recall the guide saying people were killing each other if they had different political beliefs... even parents killing their own children! Can you imagine? As many as 200,000 people died over the next 15 years due to the disorder that followed his assassination.

Colombia has some great graffiti! More to come..

Leon Tolstoi Cultural Institute (Russian writer of such great works as Anna Karenina)

Right after this was taken we tried "Chicha" de jora ... an alcoholic corn drink meant to be communal (take a drink and pass it along) ! It is prepared by germinating maize, extracting malt sugars, boiling the wort, and then fermenting it in large vessels for several days. Apparently if you have enough of it you could start hallucinating. It is supposed to be a spiritual drink, not something you get drunk on. Our guide said it was made by chewing the corn, but I can't find much information on that. The drink was only made legal again in 1991 following political upheaval.

Apparently eating "big ass ants" is an aphrodisiac. I'll take their word for it! Where's Alain when you need him to be our guinea pig!?

Our guide is pouring some Chicha in my little natural cup...not a coconut shell, but something similar to that

Proof I tried it (chicha)

Proof I did not like it! lol Although, to be fair, I only had a VERY teeny sip

An interesting wall mural outside where we stopped for chicha at the end of our walking tour

Next up: Mount Monserrate

Taking the funicular up - gondola broken - after about an hour wait in line in the hot sun (with an umbrella - yes, I`m one of those now)

Craig nicely crammed into the funicular car

Great views of the city of Bogotá on the ride up

See... I'm an angel 👼

Macho pose

Gorgeous views and not TOO crowded. It's free to go up on Sundays (this was a Saturday), so I can only imagine how busy it is those days. We tried some pao de queiso (cheese bread), but it was awful - with a sour cheese - we threw it out

It's a big city... not exactly relaxing, but it has its cool areas for sure

Thank you nice tourist for taking our photo!

Heading back down... this is the only spot where the two funiculars can get by each other

Last stop for the day... the Gold Museum 
(Museo del Oro)

The museum displays an impressive selection of pre-Columbian gold ... apparently the largest collection (of gold artifacts) in the world 
(55,000 pieces). 
Offerings were made in ceremonies at Lake Guatavita. The legend of El Dorado comes from this, so if you're lookin' for gold and precious stones, maybe go do some diving at the lake! 👑

When Spanish explorers reached South America in the early 16th century they heard stories about a tribe of natives in what is now called Colombia. When a new chieftain rose to power his rule began with a ceremony at Lake Guatavita. There are many stories, but basically, he would cover himself in gold dust and then he would throw gold and precious jewels into the lake to appease a god that lived underwater. The Spaniards started calling this Chief "El Dorado" (the gilded one). They believed there had to be a place filled with great riches ... thus the legend of El Dorado. They never did find a city of gold, but they did find and partially drain the lake for treasures. The above gold piece depicts the raft the Chief would go out on the lake upon to perform his ceremonies.

Lunch in the museum's restaurant where Craig tried a popular Colombian dish: Ajiaco soup/stew (generally made with chicken, 3 varieties of potato, corn and the galinsoga parviflora herb)

Dinner out at Andrés DC where we were serenaded and then given a crown and sash.

Day 1 = 19,000 steps on Fitbit

2nd Stop: Cartagena 

(population: 1 mil)

 Stayed @ Las Carretas Hotel

City founded in 1533

The doorway I'm standing in is the entrance to our boutique hotel in Old Town Cartagena. You can't really see it, but the actual door you enter is on the left and it's not much higher than I am tall.

Our hotel "inside"... from pool terrace area looking down into the open air breakfast area. So adorable. We just loved it and the great breakfast they offer. Las Carretas (meaning "the carts", but more specifically I think it means a horse drawn cart - of which there are MANY in Old Town Cartagena, but thankfully they only bring out the skinny little horse drawn carriages at night when the temperatures cool off a bit)

Main reception/breakfast area of hotel

Our cute room

The Pope blessing Craig

Although Old Town and Cartagena aren't for everyone, we enjoyed it. Too many tourists and vendors, but we're used to that and still appreciate the charm of it all

This "little door within a big door" is everywhere in Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage site) and the markings on the doors (Spanish Colonial) signify various things about the inhabitants. A lion's head, for example signifies members of the army, militia leaders and other protectors of the city. The larger the lion's head, the more important a position that person held. Any knocker shaped as a fish or other sea creature meant the owner was a member of the sea merchant. They refer to the social status of the owners. A home marked by a lizard meant high society or someone with a royal connection. We saw some of these old door decorations for sale and they were asking hundreds of dollars for them. Not all knockers are old ones, but the tradition of hanging these type of knockers continues (minus the significance to match the home owner)

Love the bright, colourful, colonial architecture

This statue faces a church in the same square.

Not sure the significance of this, but they seemed to like changing Monalisa's face in Cartagena

So quaint! I'd love to walk this whole area really early in the morning when there's no tourists or vendors. That would have been a lovely experience. Wish I had thought of it before! 😣

Just out and about shopping and roaming around

The main entrance to Old Town area

Craig wanted a picture with these native-Colombian ladies. He said to them "no, no, just stay seated" as he didn't want to disrupt them and make them get up in the heat. All day long these ladies pose for pictures with tourists (for money) and sell their fruit. They were taking a break in the shade in the archway from above picture

A large square in Old Town with one of the best restaurants in town Cebiches and Seviches where we had amazing ceviche!

This street artist did this painting on a mirror right in front of us in about 3 minutes

Awesome sangria (+ it's huge) with tapas at La Taperia (rated #2 TripAdvisor). The restaurant isn't much bigger than what you can see in the picture. Very Mom & Pop type restaurant and it was great! Tapas weren`t AS great as Barcelona, but still good!

Only 12,000 steps on Fitbit, but it felt like WAY more in this heat

Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas

We walked to the fortress from our hotel. As soon as we stepped out of our hotel we were asked to buy something and said "no gracias"... we decided to start counting how many times we said it and as of noon our count was up to 30 times! 36 more times that evening! It's not too far to walk to the fortress, but when it feels like 38 with humidity, it's quite draining! We actually stopped along the way with our laundry at "Beer & Laundry". It was cheap and came highly recommended on TripAdvisor.

Lovely views from in the fortress and an interesting fortress to explore

Heading down into the tunnels

Cool! Not temperature wise - it was warm - but interesting. It was all restored for tourism, but it's basically as it was back in the day during all the attacks on the city.

You can't have any mobility issues around here

The forbidden photo... didn't know that until some girls tried to get the same photo after me and were told to get down 🚷

How many of these shots have we got now from around the world??? Doesn't get old 
(well, for me at least)

Cartagena's vultures... there were many around

And another (vulture) + me

And another...

After wandering around town in the heat all day we truly enjoyed a quick dip in our hotel pool

Out and about Old Town... this shop looked too interesting to pass up. Different from the typical souvenir shop

Where I came out with replica earrings from the gold museum (gold-plated tin)

Just strolling along the city's walls. It doesn't look like it, but I'm pretty high up. The darker cement on the right is about a 7 foot drop down

The awesome ceviche menu! Seriously you should try this place if you're in Cartagena

It doesn't look like much, but trust me, it's good!

Gorgeous! Great lively vibe at night.

17,000 Fitbit step day

All of the "Miss Colombia's", "Miss Universe`s" ... and me

Since we had tried the # 2 and #3 restaurant we thought we'd try #1 - El Arsenal: The Rum Box for lunch in the Getsemani area . They had an amazing sea bass and treated us with some rum and chocolate to start

Craig enjoying the free rum and chocolate

Ahhh, you're so cute honey!

The first cat we had seen so far this trip (there weren't many to be found) ... for you Auntie Judy! 😻

Craig's "before shot" from his foreign haircut experience. It was a little sketchy where they brought us, but we survived!

After photo... he did a great job

We had to stop at the KGB bar... it was pretty neat actually with lots of great memorabilia

And then back to eat more ceviche... it was that good!

Stop #3: Medellin

population: 2.5 mil (2nd largest in Colombia)
Stayed @ Hotel Poblado Alejandria
Medellin was voted the most innovative city in the world due to its recent advances in politics, education and social development. Once so dangerous you`d never want to visit, it has transformed itself with a new metro system, cable car, education, etc. It still, of course, does have its problems like any other big city in the world, but I felt safer in all of Colombia than I would in downtown Toronto.

The View as we were coming in from the airport. Because this city is in a valley, the airport is a little distance away, but worth the wait. We had dinner that first night at La Pampa Grill - an Argentinian BBQ place. The ribs and steak were fantastic!

The next day we took a taxi to the metro for our Comuna 13 (Community 13) tour. Our 20-year-old guide Estefan was from the area and he was charismatic young guy who helped make this tour even better. This is the community that was once one of the most dangerous places in the world. They've truly evolved thanks to the people, education and infrastructure. We felt completely safe and welcome here. Although there was quite a bit of "buy an ice cream here" and "buy chocolate there" I didn't mind as I knew it was helping out the community further. They need to get something out of having all us nosey tourists in their neighbourhood ALL the time. Check out the beautiful graffiti here... it's the best street art I've ever seen and instead of making the community feel run down or neglected, it enhances it.

This little girl was so cute and very much enjoying her little snack on the sidewalk. I guess her parents trust that she won`t wander off.

In this favela, mountainside community are new escalators... outside! Makes the commute up much easier for residents in an area where cars can`t travel.

One of my favorite ones!

You can see the orange framing of the roof of the escalators as we climb up and up

"Black and White C13" is the name of this group of dancers in the streets of Comuna 13 that we stopped to watch (and then tip)

Photo compliments of DanCesar - the couple we met on the tour who have their own Facebook page from all their travels around the world

One more kitty for you Aunt Judy... she must have been operated on to have this little kitty hospital gown on

Do you see me in there? I kinda blend in 🙈

This reminds me of favela paintings of Brazil

Spontaneous (or not so spontaneous, not sure) rapper. Estefan would give him random words from people in the crowd and he'd instantly incorporate those words into his rap song that he made up as he went along. Although it was in Spanish, it was still very impressive!

4th stop: Guatapé

(population: 5,000) 

Off on a self-guided adventure to climb El Peñol. First we took a taxi from our hotel ($7) to the metro ($4) and from there we found the bus terminal where we hopped on our funky and squishy bus ($24) for a total of a $35 round trip (2 hour bus ride from Medellin) + $14 to go up on the rock and a cheap lunch. VERY cheap 8-hour excursion ($65 Cdn). The bus ride there was interesting. We started off with a not-so-crowded, but full bus. As we went along, the driver would stop on the side of the road and pick up random people and collect some pocket change for himself. Unique system... it was treated a little more like a milk-run city bus. No wonder it takes 2 hours to get there! 🤣

Good drafting... hope the truck doesn`t stop too suddenly!

Our first glance at the granitic rock of El Peñol that we were about to climb. Elevation: 7005 feet above sea level. It is 656 feet above its base.

About a 300 step walk up from where the bus dropped us off only to then do another 714 steps more on the rock itself!

That zig-zag pattern on the rock is the switchbacks of the stone staircase

Amazingly beautiful views all around us. I want to come back and spend some time in this lake area. A dam was built in the 1970`s making Guatapé one of the most important electric production centres in the country. The dam flooded the area creating this amazing lake!

I`m pulling a Craig pointing to the rock

And there he goes again... pointing

Looking tired old man (turning 50 this year)

Admiring the beautiful view

The step counter near the top. Missed ya Alain!

Off in a tuk tuk to Guatapé

Was a little tight, but fun!

The City of Guatapé located on the outskirts (way outskirts) of Medellin

Next up was a return trip to Bogota.  Not far from our hotel was the Botanical Gardens.  We were there in the one afternoon of our whole trip in which it rained!!

For our next adventure we decided to head 49 km's North of Bogotá to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Since our driver arrived a little early we did a quick tour of the town of Zipaquirá, which looked cute.

Inside the salt mine turned into a Roman Catholic Church and tourist haven. It is still a functioning salt mine, but the explosives are replaced by water. A freshwater bath dissolves the halite and the resulting brine is pumped to the surface The salt is removed simply by evaporation. This cathedral will not, however, last forever. In one chamber Bohorquez points to a triangle formed by the heads of three bolts drilled into the ground. The space between these bolts is carefully monitored. Researchers found that the weight of the mountain is closing the cathedral in on itself at a rate of six millimeters a year, our guide said. Near the beginning of the guided tour is this reinforced area because it is weak with large concentrations of salt (see below). The miners carved a sanctuary years before the church was built (1932) for their daily prayers to ask for protection from the Saints before starting work. The actual salt cathedral was inaugurated on Aug. 15/54 and dedicated to the patron saint of miners. Structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut down in 1992. The cathedral is 200 metres underground, but you don't have to go down any steep shafts as most of the rock is above where you enter the mine.

And then we came across the absolutely beautiful channels with crosses carved out of the salt rock. The one you see in the background looks like it`s 3D, but it`s actually carved into the rock and lit... you`ll see in later pictures. This cross is 50-feet tall!

If there weren't so many tourists it would be a really enchanting place. We arrived for the first available guided tour at 10 am and it wasn't bad at all, but by the time we were coming out of the mine about 2 hours later it was a complete zoo. Our guide asked us not to take pictures as we went in because we'd have time on our way out to take all the pictures we wanted. Unfortunately, this plan was difficult because of the thousands of tourists in the mine on our way out. The cathedral is a functioning church that receives as many as 3000 visitors on Sundays (Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday). It has no bishop, therefore no official status as a cathedral in Catholicism.

Cool rock striations

Baby Jesus for you Francine. Do you like his 6-pack? We actually tried to find you a small salt-carved Jesus, but they weren't great

Here's that cross that looks 3D but is back lit in blue (changes colour) and actually carved into the rock for a cool effect. It's also huge!

Interesting narrow tunnel I just had to explore

I just LOVED the chandeliers - made with salt crystals of course!

In one of the gift shop areas you could buy this very large replica of a bullfight arena (it's about 4 feet across). No thanks, but it was really well done with all the tiny people figurines.

Emerald anyone?

This tree was carved into the salt stone. Amazing!

Another one of the many crosses within the mine

And yet another

Too bad the lighting was not great for this shot

The ceiling lit up in various flags...Craig captured it as it created our Canadian flag!

In the early days they used to chop chunks of salt out of the rock and haul it up to the surface.

Sculpture just outside the entrance to the mine/cathedral

After the amazing tour of the salt mine, our guide Jorgé brought us for a yummy lunch before heading back to Bogotá.

Adrian, the New Zealander who joined us on our salt cathedral tour

Jorgé, our amazing driver! Such a fun-loving guy

Back in Bogotá - view from our hotel restaurant

Celebrity Infinity Western Caribbean
5-night cruise

A quick cruise with just 2 stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Key West, Florida

This one's for you Alain (your favorite Captain Morgan pose). This is outside the bar at our hotel (Roadway Inn and Suites). There's nothing special about this hotel, but it was one of the cheapest ones around just to ensure we made it to the cruise for all aboard. It was comfortable enough for our purposes and made our suite on the cruise ship seem even better!

What a nice little horse bench

Oh Florida...you're so quirky

At the gate to the port Craig thought this "no weapons" sign was hilarious (the fact that they have to say that at all).

On our ship all of about 15 minutes before we were drinking at the back bar!

Our lovely suite (handicap suite, so even more room than a usual suite - the bathroom was at least double the size of a regular cabin). This was our first experience in a suite and I, personally, loved it, but don't worry honey, I didn't get too spoiled by it that you have to book it every cruise! 👸

The fantastic and enthusiastic waiters at our Luminae restaurant (for suite guests only). Suraj from India and Serkan from Turkey.

Yum yum... huge margarita

How nice of this pelican to pose for us!

One of the nicest sunsets I've ever seen. It looks like a tree is in front of the sun, but it's just the cloud formation as we are in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.

Amazing lamb dinner at Luminae

Which was the same night as lobster night and scallops, so we shared all 3! 🐷

Key West ... Craig just HAD to have this shot of the southernmost point even though we literally had to get in a line up on the sidewalk to have this picture taken along with all the other tourists. As you can see, I have pants and a sweater on as it was only about 20 degrees. It had absolutely poured rain earlier and after we were back on the ship, but we were lucky and kept dry.

Why does Key West have so many chickens and roosters running around loose everywhere?

Hemmingway's house... too big of a line up, so we just took this picture as we were walking by

Craig enjoyed his Key Lime Pie at Blue Heaven

One last kitty photo for you AJ!

Craig wants one of these statues in our garden!

The Harry S. Truman Little White House built in 1890. It was originally built for the base commandant and paymaster and converted into this single family residence in 1911. Apparently Presidents Taft, Roosevelt, J.F. Kennedy and Clinton visited here and Thomas Edison lived here for 6  months during WWI while inventing 41 new weapons. President Truman lived here for 175 days during his administration 1945 - 1953 and spent 11 working vacations here. In 1948, the joint chiefs of staff met here to create the Department of Defense (merging the Dept. of War and Dept. of the Navy). It also created the CIA, US Airforce and National Security Council.

Some flight training around the cruise ships? Doesn't seem like it should be allowed as they were flying really low and close

Craig enjoyed it and took about 100 pictures of it

Our new US friends Conrad & Vicky who we really enjoyed spending time with. Together we followed Bryony the singer around to each venue she played at as we enjoyed her singing and chatter. We also spent time in the Luminae dining room chatting and laughing so loud that I am sure all of the "richy rich" diners did not appreciate us!

It was a fantastic cruise as usual, but we missed our usual cruising buddies Francine & Alain.
Until November...