Bogota->Cartagena->Mucura Island

[JasonA]

Here are my thoughts and experiences from my trip. I am writing this out in more of a power point style and will try to keep things in chronological order.
 
*I flew Nashville to Atlanta to Bogota. While in the Atlanta airport, I noticed a money exchange and changed $300US into Colombian pesos. I felt better not having to worry about exchanging money at the airport in Bogota. The $300 lasted me the entire trip. I used my credit card in most places where they would bring the card scanning device to your table and swipe the card in front of you. My bank charges a conversion fee, but I liked not having to carry a lot of cash.
 
*My flight arrived in Bogota at 9:30PM on Friday night. M was waiting outside for me. We took a taxi to my hotel (Hotel Santa Barbara Real on Calle 127- would recommend). M did all the talking to the young man working at the desk. She got me checked in and we dropped my bags off in the room and left to go get dinner. We took a taxi to a cool neighborhood, Usaquen Park, that had several restaurants in older buildings that had been revamped. We decided on a restaurant with latin/mexican-type food. Our conversation was going smoothly and I felt very comfortable. After eating, we walked a block or so to an Irish Pub and had a beer and talked some more. I think that it was 1:30ish when we got back to the hotel.
 
*Saturday morning, we went back to Usaquen Park for breakfast. This restaurant had a cool back room with an semi-open roof and plants growing along the wall-very cool and well kept place (will update name later). In the afternoon, we went to an interactive museum called the Maloka. They had various exhibits about dinosaurs that lived there and different energy source exhibits. We also caught a movie in the I-max theatre there. (would not recommend this place. it was geared more towards grade school kids.)  Saturday night, we went to dinner with her brother at a restaurant near the park on 93rd. The restaurants here were more expensive and upscale. We had a very nice dinner at Pesquera Jaramillo.  Our waiter, Fredy, was awesome. He was one of my two favorite Colombians that I met. He looked like he should be a game show host on Telemundo or something. This restaurant had good sea food and atmosphere, but was expensive. Would recommend if you are wanting a very classy night out.
 
*Sunday morning, we flew to Cartagena. We didn't have a hotel reservation for Sunday night. At the airport, there was a young woman working a tourist information stand near the baggage claim area. M talked with her and got names of 4 or 5 hotels that were near the beach. We called a couple and ended up making a reservation at Capilla del Mar. It was a nice hotel for $200/night across the street from the beach. #tip#- M talked with a female cop at the airport. The taxis that are allowed in the first lane (outside airport) are city(?) taxis and the ones in the second lane are private company taxis. The cop recommended the taxis in the first lane as a safer option.#   After checking into the hotel, we walked the beach while being harassed to buy all kinds of crap, ate lunch at the hotel restaurant, then hung out at the hotel pool which was on top of the building on the 22nd floor- great views!!  For dinner Sun night, we went to the old city and ate outside in Santo Domingo plaza. I loved the old city!! The history and the beauty of the old buildings was amazing!! The only negative was people trying to sell crap to you while you were trying to eat.
 
*Monday AM, we checked out of the hotel and had to be at the boat dock at 11:00AM (M was having some GI problems- possibly from the seafood the day before). As V-man mentioned in another post, the boat was 30-45 minutes late. The boat ride to Punta Faro Resort (PF) on Mucura Island was just under 2 hours. I gave my camera to M and she was taking pictures of everything during the boat ride. She made a comment that she was like a Japanese tourist- hilarious! 
 
*Here are notes/thoughts on PF. We arrived Mon and checked out Thur AM.
 
PF is a small all-inclusive resort of about 40-45 rooms. There were only 10-15 couples there at the time, so it was very quiet. It has it's own private beach (very nice!) and many hammocks under palm trees.  This is a great place for a romantic getaway or just a place to relax, clear your head and enjoy some sunshine.
 
The food is hit or miss depending on the meal- breakfast was usually good and so was dinner. I wasn't a fan of some of the lunches served, but I'm a picky eater. We both experienced some GI issues while here. 
 
Oh, alcoholic drinks are not included, so those get charged to your room.
 
The resort offers scuba and snorkeling. We did the snorkeling. They take you to a coral reef about 20 minutes away from the resort. It was amazing!! One of the best moments of the trip for me was snorkeling with M while holding hands and pointing out different things to each other (cheesiness alert!). I have snorkeled two times prior to this and this was the best so far.
 
On Tue, our first full day there, we woke up, ate breakfast, lounged in hammocks for 2 hours, then had an hour massage in a hut that was 10 yards from the ocean- awesome way to start the day!  The massage only cost $26 too.  Marta, the masseuse, was the other of my two favorite Colombians. She was just a very nice and very genuine person. She and M were friends by the time we left.
 
One evening, we took a boat tour to some other islands nearby. We got to see some houses that were built in the middle of the water- very cool. We also visited Santa Cruz, a small island that is the most densely populated island in the world. There are 1,200 people living on an island that is only 1,200 square meters!! It was a very poor island, but it was a good experience to see the living conditions there- talk about perspective!
 
We made friends with some of the other couples staying at the resort. The people from Colombia would always ask what I thought of their country. They are very aware of their country's reputation. They would always say, "When you go back to the US, tell people that Colombia has nice people that are very friendly".  It is true, the people are very friendly.  As for Colombia being dangerous, the most danger that I was in was laying in a hammock looking up at the coconuts that could fall on me...    M did a great job as tour guide and keeping us in safe areas.
 
*Thursday was a long day. We took the boat ride back to Cartagena. This time, we took a river canal route back which took a little longer. The canal was built by slave labor during the time of Spanish rule. M liked taking pictures of the shipping vessels. I thought they were eyesores...  definitely a different perspective. We got back to Cartagena and our flight to Bogota was delayed 2 hours. On the flight, M tells me that her dad is driving to Bogota that night to meet me. What?!?!  Apparently, her dad had called her when we first arrived at the airport and told her that he was driving in. She tells me 3+ hours later. I had fun giving her a hard time that she didn't tell me right away.     He did give her his OK that I stayed at her place (I didn't make a hotel reservation for that night). We got back to her place kind of late. We spent a couple of hours talking with her father and brother before going to bed.
 
*Friday morning at the airport was kind of awkward. I am not the greatest at heartfelt moments...  especially in a public place like an airport. It was a strange experience for a rookie in these types of adventures.
 
All told, it was a great trip. The only 2 negatives were the GI issues and getting my iPhone wet with salt water (the phone died, so I lost many cool pictures from the trip), but there were many more positives that definitely outweighed those 2 things. M and I want to see each other again and are discussing the logistics of the next trip.
 
Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions...

[JaxPaul24]

Hey Jason, excellent report and thanks for sharing!  Now.............where's the good stuff???  LOL... I mean c'mon man, how was it when you first seen her in person?  Did she look just like you were hoping she would?  They usually look even better in person.  How was it that first night all alone?  How about your poor Spanish you said you had?  Were you two able to communicate pretty good?  Sounds like you two got along great! That's a lot of one on one time you two spent together.  Some guys end up entertaining and wining and dining the whole family and circle of friends while they are there and before you know it's time to get back on the damn plane!  So that being said, was their some love in the air? Did "M" ask you for any kind of commitment? These Colombianas don't mess around.  After spending that much quality time together they pretty much are expecting a commitment. They can be very jealous and protective and when they are NOT then that's not usually a good sign for you!   Hahaha...  So what did you think about all the other beautiful women there? That's been the hardest part for me man.  No matter how hard I try and no matter how focused I tell myself to be on one particular woman, it's been very difficult to do over there! 
Anyways.... nice report, just giving you a hard time since you left out some of the juicy details.  Not necessarily talking about intimacy, just some of the good stuff like how you all got along and if you butted heads at all.  If I remember right that was one of the biggest concerns people had for you. I remember reading your posts before you left and I was even thinking "Don't do it man!"     
I'm glad you decided to go to Colombia rather then meeting somewhere else even though it sounds like it worked out just fine...

[JasonA]

Yeah, I left out a lot of the personal stuff on purpose. I already felt like I was typing too much and I wanted that first post to be more travel information. So here's more of the personal stuff...
 
She looked just like I thought. We had webchatted several times, so that wasn't a big surprise. One thing that I did notice is that when she wore her hair up, she looks more native Indian and with her hair down, she looks a little more Caucasian-ish.  After a few days in the sun, she can get really dark. Several places that we went, I would catch other guys (or sometimes women) checking her out. She has curves that definitely get your attention. I would mentally high-five myself at those moments. 
 
We got along great. I don't think that we ever butted heads. As for communication, her English is pretty good. Sometimes though, her accent or pronunciation of a word would cause confusion. Sometimes we would get it figured out and sometimes we would laugh and just let it go. She has a good sense of humor. For example, in Cartagena walking down the beach, she points over to a guy in the water and says, "Hey, look, there's someone whiter than you!"- hilarious. My response was, "He must be Canadian".  (for the record, it was my first day out in the sun!)  It took her a few days to adjust to my sense of humor. I often say absurd things with a completely straight face. She would then take a minute to think about what I just said and then say, "Really?".  I would then laugh and say "No".  By the end of the trip, when I would do this, she would just say, "Haha, you're funny".
 
Speaking of funny...   When we were walking through the Bogota airport on Sun AM for the flight to Cartagena, she had on a pair of tall sandals (I'm a dude, no idea what they're called).  Well, an inch or two of the sole on the bottom of the sandal comes unattached from the toe down. She tripped and went down pretty hard. Everyone stops for a few seconds and stares. I think that it hurt, but she got up laughing and was embarassed. I felt bad for her, but we laughed for the next couple of hours about that.
 
As for physical chemistry...   we're definitely good there. Would like to say more, but this is the internet...   
 
One travel hazard for a new romance is going to the bathroom while sharing a hotel room. Well, that is only made worse when both people are not feeling well.  In the Cartagena hotel room, she grabbed the TV remote and turned the volume up high.  At the resort, we just told the other to leave the room if we had to go.  It was good that we were both adult about it and just rolled with the punches.
 
Yeah, I know that many people warned me about vacationing with someone I had never met. I think that everything worked out great. I got the sunny vacation and the great woman. Also, I got over the fear of visiting Colombia. Sometimes, you just gotta swing for the fences...
 
The only bad moment was when I was pouting about my iPhone dying. I was super pi$sed at myself for taking it out in the kayak with us (had a waterproof bag that I use when kayaking here, but water got in when I opened to get the camera out). She let me pout for a bit and didn't say much (for any women reading this, that is the best thing to do in those moments).

Will post more if I think of anything else...
 
   
 
 

[whitey]

Thanks for an interesting report, Jason.  Really glad to hear that you got along well, and that you went to Colombia despite some initial fears - 99% of guys never get that far and don't know what they are missing ... so congratulate yourself!

$200 for a hotel room near the beach ... there would be tears in my beer over that one!  I had to pay $150 one night in Cartagena, but that was after dark and close to New Year's, so rates were high ... still having nightmares over it!

I prefer to stay in the heart of the old city where the sights, restaurants, bars, museums, beautiful historical buildings, etc are, or even Getsamani (cheaper and only 5 minute walk from the old city).  The beach in Cartagena is only worth a couple hours at most and is only a $5 cab ride from the old city.

This hotel for about $85-$90 is nice and great value, right in the heart of the old city where you can get to anywhere inside the walls within a 5 or 10 minute walk:

http://www.cartagenainfo.net/hotelbalconesdebadillo/english.html

So ... when is the next trip?  Are you spoiled for life now with Latin women, or was it no big deal?

[Deseo]

Great report Jason.
 
You rolled the dice and it sounds like it was a 100% success, regardless of the long-term outcome.

[ceeangelo]

Yeah, I left out a lot of the personal stuff on purpose. I already felt like I was typing too much and I wanted that first post to be more travel information. So here's more of the personal stuff...
 
She looked just like I thought. We had webchatted several times, so that wasn't a big surprise. One thing that I did notice is that when she wore her hair up, she looks more native Indian and with her hair down, she looks a little more Caucasian-ish.  After a few days in the sun, she can get really dark. Several places that we went, I would catch other guys (or sometimes women) checking her out. She has curves that definitely get your attention. I would mentally high-five myself at those moments. 
 
We got along great. I don't think that we ever butted heads. As for communication, her English is pretty good. Sometimes though, her accent or pronunciation of a word would cause confusion. Sometimes we would get it figured out and sometimes we would laugh and just let it go. She has a good sense of humor. For example, in Cartagena walking down the beach, she points over to a guy in the water and says, "Hey, look, there's someone whiter than you!"- hilarious. My response was, "He must be Canadian".  (for the record, it was my first day out in the sun!)  It took her a few days to adjust to my sense of humor. I often say absurd things with a completely straight face. She would then take a minute to think about what I just said and then say, "Really?".  I would then laugh and say "No".  By the end of the trip, when I would do this, she would just say, "Haha, you're funny".
 
Speaking of funny...   When we were walking through the Bogota airport on Sun AM for the flight to Cartagena, she had on a pair of tall sandals (I'm a dude, no idea what they're called).  Well, an inch or two of the sole on the bottom of the sandal comes unattached from the toe down. She tripped and went down pretty hard. Everyone stops for a few seconds and stares. I think that it hurt, but she got up laughing and was embarassed. I felt bad for her, but we laughed for the next couple of hours about that.
 
As for physical chemistry...   we're definitely good there. Would like to say more, but this is the internet...   
 
One travel hazard for a new romance is going to the bathroom while sharing a hotel room. Well, that is only made worse when both people are not feeling well.  In the Cartagena hotel room, she grabbed the TV remote and turned the volume up high.  At the resort, we just told the other to leave the room if we had to go.  It was good that we were both adult about it and just rolled with the punches.
 
Yeah, I know that many people warned me about vacationing with someone I had never met. I think that everything worked out great. I got the sunny vacation and the great woman. Also, I got over the fear of visiting Colombia. Sometimes, you just gotta swing for the fences...
 
The only bad moment was when I was pouting about my iPhone dying. I was super pi$sed at myself for taking it out in the kayak with us (had a waterproof bag that I use when kayaking here, but water got in when I opened to get the camera out). She let me pout for a bit and didn't say much (for any women reading this, that is the best thing to do in those moments).

Will post more if I think of anything else... great report bro, im going to Colombia in March and I want my best chance for a successful and endearing trip and this helps alot... Question... How did you initially meet your lovely lady guide, and, on what program or site did you do webchatting with her....
 
   

[V_Man]

I wonder how this turned out?