First of all, you're welcome for the title. Second of all, welcome back to Colombia! This week was really exciting travel wise, so hopefully you'll enjoy at least part of it.
Day 1
I missed church again this Sunday. For some reason, the times of the churches really confused me. I eventually figured it out, but not this Sunday! Instead, I went to Playa Boca Grande with Rosie. We were there all day and even watched the sunset. To be fair, the sun set at like 5:30 there, so it wasn't that late, but still later than I would normally stay out. I also met this cute boy named Jorge while I was jumping out in the waves. Most Colombians actually don't know how to swim, so that was pretty fun to meet someone else who could not only swim but also was like 6'1, another rarity.
When I got home, Mom had sent me a bunch of panicky messages. When I was in Parque Tayrona the week before, I had gotten a few bug bites and they had gotten infected. The infection was spreading to all my other sores on my legs. I didn't really know what it was, but I had sent a picture to my mom. She showed it to my Uncle David, who is a paramedic, and he said he thought I had some sort of flesh-eating bacteria. She was losing her mind. Marcela fixed me up with some creams and things, and I decided to see what kind of treatment I could get while I lived there.
Day 2
I have never met a group of people who like to party more than people from Cartagena. This particular Monday, there was some sort of festival, so I had the day off of work. I ended up just sleeping in before going to Rosie's house for a few hours just to hang out. When I came home from that, I FaceTimed Ashlyn for a while. She was at Utah State at this point, and I hadn't talked to her in ages. My favorite part of the day was when Jesus came home. He and I were the only people home. He and Ashlyn, who also speaks Spanish, traded off teaching each other Spanish and English swear words. I was dying laughing. It was a good day for sure!
Day 3
I had a really relaxed day. I worked all morning before chilling at home for a while. At the time, I was working on copying my journals over to make them current. On my California trip in 2018, I forgot my journal but still wanted to never miss a day. I wrote in my phone and have been playing catch up writing it in my journal ever since. It's taken a while.
When everyone finally made it home, we watched the Colombia v. Costa Rica soccer game. Colombia won, and I always love to watch soccer with the boys. I also called Mom, Ashlyn, and Alyssa. I was craving some English. Literally no one spoke English in Colombia except Rosie. She was the only person I met there who spoke fluent English, so sometimes I just wanted to speak my native language and would spend a lot of time on the phone. This was one of those days.
Day 4
After work in the morning, Rosie and I went to El Centro to go to El Museo de Arte Moderno (the modern art museum). I'm not normally a big art person, but I honestly really enjoyed this experience. At the time, they had an exhibit dedicated to victims of sexual abuse that was extremely powerful. We spent a few hours there and had a very enjoyable day. I also bought some postcards to send to friends and family. Those will come into play a bit later so stay tuned for that!
Day 5
This day was amazing! One of my favorite kids, Maikel, turned three, so our normal classroom behaviors were a bit more relaxed. I even got to read to him for a bit during the day, which is something that normally never happened. I love to read, particularly when it's to cute kids with adorable children's books. He's such a cutie and I loved snuggling with him while I read.
After working at the foundation, I headed home and had a mellow afternoon. I talked to my mom on the phone for a bit and just lounged around. This was quite honestly the norm while I was in Cartagena because I was so far from most of the touristy locations. At night, I watched Cristhian and Jesus play some soccer with Rosie. I loved watching the various pickup soccer games because people would get so into them. Like irrationally into it. It's hilarious and I miss it.
Post-soccer, Rosie and I walked to Exito, a massive grocery store inside the mall. At Exito, we bought some shampoo, perfume, and a bunch of snacks. Colombian snacks are really different from ours here in the US and also wildly cheap. We bought a bunch of baked goods (like a dozen cookies, cupcakes, and pastries) for $5. We also bought a few perfumes, which were very fragrant. Because we bought them to mask the stench that comes from living in a country where AC doesn't really exist, this was great!
Day 6
This was a wild day. It started off by Rosie and I showing up to find out there was no work. Colombians honestly hate work so they take it off whenever possible. Either way, Rosie and I were not informed that there was no work, so we sat there for almost three hours before it was confirmed that there was no work. It was kinda annoying, but what are you gonna do??
We eventually left and headed for the beach. There, we were propositioned by creepy men so many times. It was quite honestly disgusting. The men I met there were, for the most part, relentless. They would hit on you and proposition you for sex all the time. Even if you knew they had a significant other or were not interested, they would not take "no" for an answer. I hated it. It was quite honestly my least favorite part of living in Colombia.
On a positive note, we were able to watch a massive fishing boat coming into shore. They had filled this huge net with a bunch of fish and were pulling it into shore. It took quite a while. We watched from start to finish. Once the fish were here, they poured everything from the net into the boat and threw the unwanted fish up into the air for the birds to eat. It was really entertaining to watch. They even caught a stingray and an angelfish, but they released those back to the wild. It was by far the highlight of an otherwise crappy day!
Day 7
Rosie and I woke up early to go to the Rosario Islands this day. We had booked a few days before with one of the many tour agencies right near the main harbor. Because both of us spoke Spanish, we were able to negotiate a good deal for ourselves. Gotta love it!
When we arrived, we were given a wristband and assigned to wait outside under this massive tarp for our color to be called. There were TONS of people there and various colors depicted which tour each of us had bought. Rosie and I had bought a very basic tour that did not include food, drinks, or island hopping. Honestly, I'm not sure why you would need any of those things. Each passenger is allowed a bag on board the ship, so we just packed some drinks and snacks in that. It was not a big deal at all. However, some people are really into the ease of the experience, so I guess it would make their life easier to not have to worry about food even a little bit. There were so many tours for a reason I guess! The nice thing about our tour was that since it was more of a budget option, we had mostly other people our age on the tour.
When we finally made it onto our boat, we took off cruising out of the harbor pretty quickly. I love boating so this was an absolute dream! Unfortunately, our boat broke down on the way to Playa Bonita on Isla Grande, our final destination. On the plus side, this allowed us to stop at Fort San Fernando for almost an hour and explore everything from the castle walls. The fort was built in the 1500s, so it was an interesting look into old architecture. We were able to explore for a while before making our way back onto the boat.
Once we all made it back onto the boat, we headed towards the Rosario Islands. We dropped off several groups of people at various beaches before making it to Playa Bonita. When we got there, it was a dream. The water was super clear and a really nice looking blue-green color. All the water in Cartagena is in the mid-80s, so it's always the perfect temperature for a swim. Rosie and I took the opportunity to walk a little ways down the beach before laying our towels out, taking a nap, and just relaxing in general. A few vendors tried to sell us things, but for the most part, we were left alone. This was a nice change from mainland Cartagena, where you are constantly harassed by vendors. Behind Parque Tayrona, this was by far my favorite beach of the entire trip.
After Rosie and I swam for a bit, we decided to go take some pictures on the super photogenic dock we were originally dropped off on. Apparently, I started a time lapse on accident while I was taking pictures of Rosie. I've attached it here because I think it's absolutely hysterical to watch. It's like 13 seconds of just me taking pictures and the most random shots from the camera. I love it. Fun fact: the sundress featured here now belongs to my host mom from Cartagena because she really wanted it so I gave it to her.
When we were finished taking pictures, I actually ended up playing with the two cutest boys named Banner and Alejandro. They were among the 200 locals who lived on the island. Unfortunately, they disappeared before I could get a picture with them. They were so cute and just wanted to play catch. I helped them learn how to swim better as well, which is always a really satisfying feeling.
We were eventually picked up by the same boat we drove out to Isla Grande on. By this point, the boat was about half full with other people. When we boarded, I ended up waiting to be assigned a seat next to this super cute German boy. When we first got on, another couple on the boat was making out pretty heavily. Another couple had a wet dog (GROSS) smashed between the two of them. I really don't like dogs, so this was definitely in the cons column for me.
I think the cute German boy saw the disgust on my face because he definitely offered to make out with me to avoid both these other circumstances. I laughed and turned him down, but sometimes I think I should have said yes. We made eyes across the boat at each other the whole ride home while I was smashed up next to the wet dog.
On the way back to Cartagena, our boat ran out of gas and we had to make a quick pitstop right out of the harbor to get gas from this small community. They didn't have much and the community was honestly quite rundown. There was garbage floating everywhere in the water, but the kids seemed happy. They jumped right in the disgusting water and were swimming all around our boat. Maybe they just liked all the attention they were getting from all these white tourists. Rosie and I were the only people who spoke Spanish and could communicate with them outside of the staff, so we were able to have a fun conversation with all these village kids. It's always interesting to hear various perspectives on life from people in vastly different socioeconomic statuses from you. I really enjoy hearing other people's views on life and learn so much from them.
When we made it back to the dock, Rosie and I took a taxi back to her neighborhood. On the 15 minute walk from her place to mine, I gave into my own weakness and stopped at the corner bakery. I bought a caramel filled croissant, a jam tart cookie, and two carbonated lemonades for $1.50. One really nice thing about Colombia was how cheap the food was. I ended up FaceTiming Kenna King for a while before heading to bed.
Life Lessons
Don't immediately text your mom if you think you have an infection because she might freak out and then cause you to freak out and think you have a flesh-eating bacteria.
Always snuggle with cute little kids.
Find a way to check if there's actually work before you just show up.
Always watch live fishermen pull in their catches where possible.
If your boat is gonna break down (twice), make sure it's in a really beautiful or enlightening place so you won't feel frustrated about it.
Time lapses are hilarious if taken accidentally.
Make out with cute random German boys if offered the chance.
Don't feel guilty about your snacks if they're cheap.
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