‘’Sin Tetas, no hay paraiso’’ (‘’Without Breasts, there is no paradise’’ )

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N.B - The title is in regards tio a film we saw whilst in Cartagena....was a bit random, and no, it wasn't filth!

BTW - There was a small lie at the end of the last blog as it stated we were bound for Medellin. This is indeed actually true, however not before we tell you about our last day trip from Cartagerna……




Our last weekend here, we finally managed to get on a trip to the Rosario Island National park and Playa Blanca. We had heard that both places were pretty special, and decided to cap of our time in Cartagena with a relaxing trip to see both. We had looked into it before, and it seemed that the best option was to stay there over night, however due to timing, and tightening the grip on the budget for now, we decided against the overnight trip, and booked ourselves on one of the many day trips that leave from Cartagena dock as it was by far the cheaper option.

Having been on this trip though, it’s quite clear where the difference in price comes, as we now know what sheep feel like. The boat we booked ourselves on was one of about 15 boats going to Rosario / Playa Blanca that morning at pretty much the same time. Of course some boats were faster than others, but eventually, everybody ended up at the same place at close to the same time, and therefore what was advertised as a scenic beauty spot in the middle of the Caribbean sea, turned out to be a tourist cattle market with the sort of ‘tourists’ mentioned back in the Chichen Itza blog many weeks ago. It wasn’t the sort of trip we thought it would be, and didn’t enjoy being herded onto boats and onto beaches where there were thousands of people already. The aquarium that we visited also hosted some very rude and inpatient sightseers with everyone pushing their way around, and cutting you up….. I know we are English, and therefore are a little sensitive about the importance of a queue, but wherever some of these people learned their manors, they should sue, and be entitled to a full refund!

Saying that, the aquarium was actually very good, and well worth a visit, with its Sharks, Dolphins, and various other large fish. The highlights being the feeding of the fish and sharks, alongside the predictable, but very clever ‘dolphin doing tricks’ show. They really are quite clever mammals! All this was very entertaining; however we would suggest refraining from going on a Saturday like we did due to the colossal ill-mannered crowds. Unfortunately, this circus continued through to the visit to Playa Blanca. The beach was described as a beautiful white sand beach with perfect clear blue waters. To be fair, this was not a lie, and the beach was very picturesque, and indeed had white sand and clear blue waters, however it was hard to appreciate when the beach was populated by a flash mob of tourists, and to serve their needs, more vendors than you could shake a stick at! So, unlike the masses that simply got off the boat and plonked their towels down as soon as they reached the sand, we walked quite a way up the beach where there were considerably less people / hawkers, and proceeded to do a spot of rain-bathing. This fortunately only lasted 10 mins or so before the sun came out, but we felt it was a bit of a reflection on the tour itself, and took it on board as a lesson learned that these types of day trips were to be avoided in future at all costs!

I know how ungrateful this probably sounds as I realise we are privileged to be able to come to these places, however it just wasn’t for us, and we felt that it was a real shame to see such beautiful places be subjected to this rabble (that we admittedly were part of) on a day to day basis.

Ok signing off this fairly short blog for me now, as we are hours away from leaving for our next destination….Medellin

Thanks Cartagena….it’s been a blast!

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