Flight to Bogota is 1 hour and we stow our 7 pieces of luggage in a locker for the 10 hour layover. A colleague in our local office has referred and scheduled a taxi. The driver puts 5 of us in a little Toyota Yaris....give Lyn the front seat and girls and I set off in Crazy taxi ride to a few select spots.  A friend recommended - Lunch at Andres DC, visit to park - Joyeria, and cable car up the mountain - Monseratte overlooking Bogota.       Sounds ...

I realize there are so many photos around our vacation I fail to take.   Back from Playa Blanca, I shoot a bunch of the girls goofing off in the pool.....but what about the city ? We decide on "take out"  since we are all sunburnt and call the owner - Wok & Wrap to order over phone.   I run pick up and take my camera for more shots of the city and its citizens. Dinner is Tenderloin Stir-Fry w/ Green Beans, Teriyaki Chicken/Grilled Veggie Wrap, Prawn Curry...

Playa Blanca from beyond shore appears a paradise. Its the most picturesque strip of rustic beach we've ever seen. There are hostel-like boarding houses w/ strung hammocks and small room coconut log/thatch huts...some a bit more established with small bars, tiki lights strung across "dining areas, and open-air grocery stores. The water is crystal clear, shallow and smooth calm lapping slowly on a talcum white beach.  Its sooo warm.   We see an area 10...

On final day in Cartagena is a beach day. We had met a nice US State Dept officer staying at the Santa Clara w/ her girlfriend and their recommendation was stay away from La Boquilla & BocaGrande beaches.   We are headed to Playa Blanca on Baru Island.   We head to the take our "launcha" booked the prior day at the pier. The first window I'd walked up to ( TwoLines) offered 35,000 COP per person RT to Baru Island - Playa Blanca.    Seemed fair $ 19 f...

Lyn  uses her birthday SpaFinder certificates to book the family treatment at Santa Clara's Le Spa.   We set a group Hamman, Body Exfoliation, Tea Ceremony, and Massage Thursday afternoon. I protest moderately and then agree to join the girls for a package with minimum of (5).  Start day w/ my early bird - Jen to tour the city and book our Baru Island trip for Friday at the docks. Here's where I load up on Cartagena city pics.   We hit a bakery...