Story of Phil and Jen's trip to Colombia to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary below! Photo album at the end!
Saturday July 16: Fly from LAX to Bogotá on
Avianca
“Don’t swallow the hook” warned the signs at Bogotá El
Dorado international airport with regard to unauthorized taxis. So we got an
authorized taxi to our AirBNB in the El Chapinero neighborhood. Juan greeted us
warmly at the stunning 9th floor apartment and even gave us a lift
to a nearby hip wood-fired pizza restaurant “Indio.” After a nice dinner we
walked back a few blocks, got in pajamas, and tucked in for the night.
Sunday July 17: Ciclovía and Market Shopping
We woke up to a beautiful view of the city and mountains
from the floor-to-ceiling windows of our flat! First, a breakfast of delicious
stuffed arepas downstairs then off to rent bikes and take part in ciclovía.
Every Sunday Bogota closes major roads to cars and opens them only to cyclists
and pedestrians. People were out in droves! On our ride we spotted impressive
street art and a public zumba class in a central park with hundreds of people
dancing. After returning our bikes we headed north to Usaquén to shop in the
upscale Sunday open-air markets weaving throughout the neighborhood. Jen got
some neat concrete earrings! For dinner we went to the crazy and famous Andres
DC steakhouse and were adorned with Visitantes Ilustres (VIP) sashes after
dancing with the band.
Monday July 18: Graffiti Tour and Botero
Museum
We woke up and had a home-cooked breakfast before heading
off to a graffiti tour in La Candelaria. A Colombian-born, Wisconsin-raised
guide showed us the beautiful murals of the old neighborhood and explained
their often-powerful political meaning. Afterwards we checked out the Botero
Museum for more traditional Colombian art and headed home for a nap after
getting caught in a cold and nasty rainstorm. For dinner we went to a beautiful
spot in the neighborhood called “Salvo Patria.” Our poor waitress spilled our
beer on her first day but we didn’t care! Quinoa and veggie salad and arequipe
dessert were amazing.
Tuesday July 19: Monserrate and Moonlit
Paddleboarding in Cartagena
First stop was taking the tram up to the top of Monserrate
for a view of sprawling Bogota. The city fills up a gigantic valley with its
8M+ inhabitants. We checked out of our AirBNB at 12:30 and somehow thought we
had time for a sit-down lunch before our flight at 2:50. We did indeed have a
nice sit down lunch at “Mini-Mal” which we wolfed down while simultaneously paying
the check and calling the uber. We arrived at the airport 40 minutes before our
VivaColombia (read Spirit Airlines) flight and had no idea where to go. After a
panicked and fruitless conversation with the lady at the check-in desk, we
sprinted off to security in hopes that we could make our flight. Miraculously
we did make the flight and were off to Cartagena without paying the appropriate
oversized luggage fees. In Cartagena we got a taxi to our good friend Caitlin
Flannery’s house. She has been living in Cartagena for 2.5 years. She took us
on a paddleboarding excursion with her roommate Kristy (the Australian
queen-pin of Cartagena tourism) and a tour group. We paddleboarded in the
Caribbean Sea at sunset and then under the full moon. The scene was beautiful
with many tall buildings along the coast and warm salty water to catch us when
we fell off the boards.
Wednesday July 20: Brunch, Beach, Urine
Big brunch with Caitlin and her other roommate Amber to
start the day. Ditched the nearby packed main beach for a quieter beach called
La Boquilla located in a small fishing community. We rented a small tent-like
structure, drank beer and fresh juice, and swam for the whole day. Jen got
stung by a jellyfish and was a bit distressed until Phil peed directly onto the
sting and cleared it all up. At night Caitlin walked us through the walled city
of Cartagena and the Getsemani neighborhood to get a sense of the people and
vibe of the city.
Thursday July 21: Playa Blanca
We headed out via taxi for Playa Blanca on Isla Barú, a
nearby island featuring turquoise water and primitive huts. We relaxed on the
beach all day after poor Jen was again attacked by mother nature with a bee
sting! Caitlin demonstrated her mastery of the art of haggling with and quickly
dismissing the many vendors who trawled the beach area peddling massages,
oysters, and other wares and services. At night we walked along the tranquil
beach, stopping to chat with other visitors and to eat seafood. At night we
slept in the simple hut upstairs while Caitlin braved the elements in a hammock
beneath our shelter.
Friday July 22: Return from Playa Blanca and a
Fateful Veggie Burrito
We got in another morning and afternoon of sun and fun on
Playa Blanca before taking a boat back to Cartagena. The choppy 45 minute boat
ride left us much dryer than the passengers of most rides. We continued to
explore Cartagena, went home and napped, and then went out to dance at night.
Before dancing we got burritos near the main plaza of Getsemani, the same
burritos we had eaten the night before. But this time the burritos were bad!
Jen and Caitlin got sick from them. But not until the next day. We had fun
dancing to salsa champeta on Friday night!
Saturday July 23: Illness
Jen got really sick and spent Saturday puking! Phil and
Caitlin spent most of the day caring for Jen but did get out for a final tour
of the city with great coffee, food, and people watching. At night we watched a
really dumb show called Scam City on Netflix which shows all the ways you can
get scammed while traveling. Not us though. We been around the block!
Sunday July 24: Long Travel Day Gone Wrong!
Out Sunday return travels totaled about 17 hours including
the following segments:
- Nice Uber ride from Caitlin’s house to the Cartagena AirporT
- Another VivaColombia flight where we flaunted the rules and paid no fees.
- Quick lunch at Bogotá airport before an Avianca return flight to LAX.
- Landing at LAX and waiting 2 hours on the plane due to a malfunctioning gate. The LAX CEO has yet to return my voicemail.
- Shuffling through a long corridor and boarding a strange bus until we were all packed in like sardines. Then they cut the lights and took us on a 5mph tour of outer LAX until we reached the Tom Bradley International terminal.
- Lucky strike of expedited Global Entry customs screening gave a minor boost until we realized we didn’t know where our car was parked and didn’t have the keys. FML! We were able to locate the car and get triple A to come out and pop it open after an hour wait in the middle of the night.
- Quick drive home where Phil drove over a parking lot median and scraped the bottom of the Mazda just to make sure all our nerves were frayed. Then home to a place we had never slept!
Photo Album
