Why here?
I got this question several times. Prior to this year, Colombia had been on my bucket list but didn't rank very high. The original plan was Maui, Hawaii in January then nothing until April. Instead of that, I figured that I could take 2 smaller tropical trips for roughly the same price as Hawaii. I just felt like it was the right fit for this year and was excited about my first foray into South America. This is not the furthest south I've been. That title belongs to Jaco, Costa Rica by a slim margin.
Logistics:
Direct 4 hour flight from Atlanta or fly out of Birmingham with a connection in Miami. I chose the former and there was some drama as I will explain later. There was no need for a rental car. It was only a 15-20 minute taxi ride from the airport to my hotel. I chose to stay on the north side of Playa Boca Grande, which proved to be a good call. I was right on the beach and the Centro Historico was not too far to walk. I was warned about aggressive vendors but had no such problems. I found that if you simply walk away, they won't follow you.
Language:
I've been to several other Latin American destinations. This is the first time I've been in a situation in which knowledge of basic Spanish was necessary. Most people that you encounter here have limited English skills. For example, I found a Tex Mex bar that played American country music but the servers didn't speak English. However, when I switched to broken Spanish, yes I was understood. I'll need to actually speak Spanish more often to become conversationally fluent but Duolingo counts for something.
Food:
Normally, this is not a priority for me on my trips but this time, I did get some more authentic Colombian cuisine. I got a delicious seafood dish from a restaurant on the beach and grilled beef with fried bananas on the side from the mall. The rest of my meals were nothing special. I did eat my first empanada and it was pretty good.
1/18- Flight went off after a short delay and I was able to get a sit down breakfast. That was necessary because there would be no lunch. The flight landed at about 2:30 PM then it was a 2+ hour line at Immigration. Because it was a holiday weekend, that should not have been a big surprise. At any rate, there was no hassle when it was my turn. I was simply asked where I was staying then my passport was stamped and I was in South America.
No big plans for the night. I did catch the sunset over the water. Dinner was a mediocre pizza but I liked my server and the views of the city were beautiful at night.
1/19- Mostly a beach day. If you are looking for snow white sand and clear turquoise water, this isn't the place. The sand is dark and the water isn't clear but I wasn't about to complain. Every day was at or near 90 degrees F with nary a cloud in the sky. This is at a time when much of the USA was in deep freeze. Water temperature was 85 with decent surf conditions. Waves broke deep but did not take you all the way to the shore. One blogger described it as being comparable to South Carolina in early August without the rain chances. I'll go along with that. You can take a day cruise to a beach with clear and calm waters but I elected not to do so.
I'm leery about leaving stuff unattended on a beach while I am riding the waves. Fortunately, the lifeguard stored it in a locked door so I didn't have to worry about it being stolen. I only would have lost a ratty t-shirt but it would have been awkward to go into the hotel lobby without a shirt to explain why I needed a new room key.
In the evening, I took a walk to the Centro Historico just to check out the Wall. I would save the night out for the next day. I did get a cheap burger for dinner and kinda wish I had tried my luck back in Boca Grande but I spoke nothing but Spanish during the meal. On my way back, I checked out a shopping mall, where I would get my lunch the next day.
1/20- Morning walk to scout out the Getsemani neighborhood and I determined that it was worth another night out. In both Getsemani and Centro Historico, it's easy to get lost briefly but if you make enough turns, you will eventually see the famous clock tower. Once I got back there, I knew where to go. Got lunch at the mall then stayed at the beach until 4 PM.
Changed clothes then headed to Centro Historico. Dinner was a T-bone steak then a drink at the aforementioned Tex Mex bar. I also got some delicious gelato for dessert. Centro Historico reminded me a bit of St. Augustine but it was bigger and better.
1/21- Checked out more of Boca Grande in the morning and it looked to have some fun restaurants and bars but most of the action was surely in Getsemani. That proved to be a good call. After another fun surf session, I got a beef and chicken combo for dinner then met a nice couple from Montreal.
1/22- Had time to take a dip in the morning before my flight out. I just took it all in with the cloudless sky and high rise buildings. I wanted 3 hours in case of a long line at security and that proved to be a bad call. Because of a freak snow storm the previous day in Atlanta, the flight was delayed 3 hours. I was back in America at 10:30 PM. Surprisingly, there was no line at Immigration here but I did have take a shuttle back to the Domestic terminal to get my car. I was looking at a 1:15 AM arrival in Bham. I probably could have done it but elected to get a cheap motel about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta. Very good trip overall. I'll certainly be back to South America.
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