[This message has been edited by Seeker]
From Buga we took a taxi to the Cali airport for 70K. There was no time to waste since we had an early flight to Santa Marta. Buga's Mayor was having a jog along the main road to Cali and his entourage and security blocked an entire lane. The police forced everyone to ride behind the caravan and I thought we would miss our flight from Cali. At last, our taxi driver was able to pass the caravan and we flew to the airport and barely made our flight from Cali to Bogota. We caught a connecting flight to Santa Marta in Bogota.
I picked our taxi driver's brain for a hotel to stay in el Rodadero. He mentioned Betoma (C 8, no 1-58, T4227340) and the name coincided with a hotel recommended by the Footrpint Colombia Handbook. The taxi driver and Sandra stayed in the taxi while I went in to check it out. I asked how much and was shocked at the 75K a night quote. It must be a total dump, I thought. I asked to see the room and it was a small furnished suite with a huge balcony with ocean view, full kitchen with everything, living room, etc. The suite was very clean and well maintained. Unbelievable, what the low season in Rodadero is like compared to the January madness. I paid 4 nights in advance in cash at the manager's request. The hotel is 1/2 block away from the beach and management is very friendly.
Sandra and I settled in and then went grocery shopping. We bought food and drinks to last us during our stay. We took a short taxi drive back to the hotel and settled in. Within an hour we were all enjoying the warm, transparent beaches of Rodadero. Sandra took a picture of her daughter touching the ocean for the first time in her life. A vallenato group was hired directly in front of where we were bathing. I could count the people inside the water, maybe 20 or so along the entire beach. There were more vendors than tourists. I was in heaven.
The next few days were some of the happiest days of my life. Sandra would sometimes go out of her way to make me breakfast. I would come out of the shower and there would be coffee, juice, scrambled eggs, arepas, cheese and a plate of sliced mango and pineapple waiting for me at the table. Amazing! I would literally freeze for a minute look at my breakfast, her beautiful face radiating with happiness and gratitude, her gorgeous tan body in a bathing suit and listen to her say: "Amor, sientate a desayunar." I hope all of you will one day experience this incredible sense of happiness.
The Rodadero is a place to party and relax. One day we took the bus to Santa Marta on our way to Taganga, a small fishing village. In Taganga we took a small boat to the nearby Playa Grande and were dropped off with a few Venezuelan tourists at a beautiful beach for four hours. We had a great time. On another day we visited the aquarium, located a short boat-ride away from El Rodadero. It was nothing compared to what you might find in the U.S., but Sandra enjoyed the dolphin show and other specimens, so I played along. I mostly enjoyed going to the bakery in the morning and getting fresh bread for our breakfast, having a cold beer at the beach, swimming in the warm water and walking with Sandra and her daughter along the beach in the evenings. At last, the baby would go to sleep. Sandra and I would go out to the balcony and talk for an hour or so, have a beer and listen to the hired vallenato groups that played at the beach.
