Actually, not Baranquilla itself, but Puerto Colombia, 16 kms West of Baranquilla center. This is a small city with almost no tourists in view, with beach front and a long "malecon", (boardwalk along the sea). This city is a getaway for families of big Baranquilla. The atmosphere is relaxed and it's quite safe with all the families and children around. The ocean color is not Caribbean turquoise but it's okay. Along the malecon, many artists painted benches and other objects. The small animated center is one street inland of malecon. The hotel we stayed was Hotel Boutique Porto Bello. It's by far, the nicest hotel around! We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and all weekenders left the hotel, so we were alone for 2 days! With all the personnel to ourselves, we felt like movie stars! ... read more

Still staying in hotel Kantawa, decided to do a little ride to explore east side of the region. At first, I was supposed to go to RioHacha, explore a bit the desert and then go South to completely drive around Sierra Nevada mountain range. But I changed my mind soon after arriving in Colombia. Problem with Guajira and far East, is that the desert doe snot hold many interesting attractions for me, even after looking at some blogs and read about it. So, instead, I'll stay a couple of nights in Minca after Tayrona. The drive. Road is smooth and with not too much heavy traffic. I passed succession of banana plantations, forests, little villages and coastline. About the coastline, at one point, the road is on a cliff with many nice views, but there's no ... read more

At this time of year, the temperature is quite high in the city around midday, 33-35 Celsius with lots of humidity. So better go out in mornings and evenings to really enjoy yourself. In the middle of the day, stick to AC or in the water. Cartagena has many beaches in the city limits. Water is not blue-green Caribbean, but it's okay. Nicer waters could be found South West near Baru and other surrounding islands. Waves are quite strong so many water sports can be done there. in the city itself, there are two major regions where beach hotels are: BocaGrande and La Boquilla, I have seen both regions and those in La Boquilla are nicer to my taste, especially those on the good side of the road. I stayed in Holiday Inn Morros when I ... read more

St. Augustine, Florida, was the first city founded by European settlers in North America in 1565. On one street you can see the oldest (and very small) house, which is converted into a museum store. The Spaniards built a fort there to protect the place. All buildings use a local rock called 'coquina', a kind of limestone made of small fossilized shells. In one state park, you can visit an old coquina quarry. This is an interesting and beautiful city. There's the Spanish colonial aspect: the fort and the old city. There are more modern and nice building like Flagger's college, which is an architecture's highlight of the city. The Aliigator's farm, is a zoo specialized on crocodiles, (all species are present there), but also showcase lots of other animals. The crocs feeding's time is a ... read more

Next part of the trip is in Georgia state. We have a special stop to do in Savannah: the Bonaventure cemetery. It's renowned for being very beautiful, leafy and full of statues, and that's right! We stopped along the coast in small beautiful small town like St-Mary. Near of Florida's border we went inland to Okefenokee swamp. This is a protected area with many trails and beautiful nature. It was a bit cool when we went so the alligators were a bit sluggish, but easy to photograph up close. Also, many carnivorous plants. In forests parts, I really like the mix of pines with palmetto. For us from the North, it seems like a weird combination to have these 2 types of plants together, but it was just an impression because they all thrive. Next part, ... read more