Bogota
Christmas in Colombia was a fantastic culture experience. Colombian celebrate Christmas at midnight on Christmas Eve. Around 5:00 pm on Christmas Eve my host family and I joined around 15 relatives at one of their homes. The house was full of people, laughter, talking dancing and gifts. We ate the main meal at midnight and headed back to our house at around 2:00 am.
Cartagena
The next morning, I boarded a plane for Cartagena at 8:00 am. Tired but excited, I headed to the Caribbean coast to enjoy one week of vacation with friends. I was looking forward to the warm Caribbean sun, beaches and water. This was not my first time spending Christmas in the Caribbean, but it was my first Christmas in Colombia and specifically, Cartagena. I was determined to make the most of it.
Albin was spending two years on the Colombian coast working with the Mennonite Central Committee in their SEED program. It was wonderful to see him and I enjoyed his two-day tour of the Cartagena, a beautiful colonial city. Many of the buildings in the in the center were brightly painted. We saw walls and cannons of the original “old city.” The city also over-looked the Caribbean sea, which made it even more spectacular. Here are some photos that I took while in Cartagena….
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| I couldn't get enough of the bright colors |
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| My travel buddy, Albin |
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| Over looking Cartagena |
Libertad
Although Albin was familiar with Cartagena, his home was actually in a small village or “pueblo” called Libertad. After two days visiting Cartagena, we took a bus from one of the main bus stations in Cartagena and drove to a small country town. From there we rode for 30 minutes on motorcycles to Libertad. Thankfully, I carried only a back pack that allowed me to simply hop on the “moto” and head on to my next adventure.
When we arrived, we spend the rest of the day relaxing in his home. In the evening, Albin introduced me to some of the people in the pueblo. At Albin’s house I took a “bucket bath” since he did not have running water. And for the first time in my life, I got to sleep in a real hammock! It took some time getting used to, but it was a fun experience.
Over the next few days, other SEEDers that lived in the area visited us in Libertad (Lwendo and Leanna). We ate, played games, talked, visited the pueblo and went to the beach. Since Libertad is located about a 15-minute moto ride from the beach, we took several opportunities to enjoy the ocean and sun. The countryside was beautiful. The people of the coast, the culture, and some of the scenery reminded me a lot of Haiti. The people were loud, warm, and friendly. The ocean was blue, the sand was warm, and the buildings were bright and colorful.
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| Holding a little Chau Chau bird |
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| The "Chau Chau" bird |
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| Albin painted my nails. Jejeje |
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| Mornings in Libertad |
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| Some of the SEEDers: Leanna, Lwendo, and Albin |
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| Lwendo |
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| Albin and his friend form Libertad |
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| Preparing lunch on the beach |
Cartagena Again
One of my goals for this trip was to go snorkeling. I had booked a tour to Isla del Rosario and Playa Blanca to snorkel. So I made sure to return to Cartagena a day earlier than my flight. It was a bit expensive but worth it.
That night, New Year’s Eve I met up with my friend Easter, who is in the same program as I. She and her host family happened to be visiting Cartagena for a few days and agreed to let me spend the night with them at the apartment they were renting. It turned out to be a crazy night, so I was happy to get some rest before flying back to Bogota early the next morning.
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| Made a new friend on the boat tour to the islands |
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| Isla del Rosario: more or less, where we went snorkeling |
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| Playa Blanca |
And this is what Cartagena looks like at the end of the day.
