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Published: January 23rd 2012
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Hotel Aluna
Love this place and Patrick is a wonderful resource for places to visit and things to do. He is ALWAY happy to help. Thursday 1-19-12
I started my Spanish classes early again today (7:30 a.m.). My teacher is wonderful. If you are in Santa Rosa, and want to study Spanish in a very informal setting, check out Neotropical Language School Calle 21 3-88 Corner of Calle 22 & Carrera 4,
www.neotropical.se. After classes, we tossed our stuff into our bags and ran for the bus. Four hours later we were back in Cartagena. Tomorrow we will fly to Botoga.
On Wednesday afternoon I called Hotel Abril (the place we stayed our first two nights in Cartagena) to get a reservation for Thursday night – they were full. I called 3 other places, all full (Dec & Jan and holy week are the busy tourist times). I spoke to Patrick (Owner of Hotel Aluna in Santa Marta) he called a lady he knew and got us reservations at Lucie Spragge Buelas, Calle Sargento Mayor No. 6-74 Tel: 5-6642517/Cel: 310-6101551, e-mail:
luciaspragge@hotmail.com. The place is fabulous! It is a historical home in the central area. The minibus dropped us at a large wooden door along the walled street – no sign, just an address above the door 6-74. The door
Bus Ride
Bus ride from Santa Marta to Cartagena has a VERY LARGE brass knocker. I knocked once very lightly. No response. I knocked 3 times hard. The door opens in 20 seconds. It is Lucy’s daughter. She is very nice, but pleads with me not to knock so hard in the future – very loud in the house. Oops…..um sorry……it was my brother not me. Entering created an almost breathless moment as you view beauty waiting to surround you: a floral tile floor, antique furniture, high ceilings, all flowing into a center garden filled with lush green plants in big terra cotta pots. Oh my gosh, I feel so relaxed in this so old-world home. The place is hushed and quiet. An older Columbian couple is in the garden area reading and enjoying the beauty. We are shown to our room. Our room has 3 beds and is filled with antiques, with a large bathroom. Lance discovers we have HOT water and is thrilled. Ten minutes later he is in the shower. Included in the room cost is the most gargantuan breakfast possibility. The following morning we started with a huge tropical fruit plate with seven varieties of peeled and quartered delights; and a homemade bread basket with
Selling Fresh Fish
Selling fresh fish on the road to Cartagena fresh preserve and honey and coffee. The second course was scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. We were served on a linen-covered table with china and silver. Birds fluttered in the banana trees and flowers. It was a very peaceful way to start the day. If you ever get to Cartagena, email Lucia Spragge Buelvas at luciaspragge@hotmail.com to see if she has a room open. The cost was $73 for a double and she has WiFi. We really liked the place. The only drawback was no A/C. Really did not need it. Rooms are totally shaded and have two fans mounted to the wall.
After our room was secured, mission one was to return to a small tienda located in Las Bovedas. Before I left the U.S. Teresa put me on a mission to find her a certain style necklace made of Tagua nuts. They are grown in Columbia, and are something of a specialty item. Well, I was able to find several shops with Tagua jewelry, but none were anything like what she wanted. Last Sunday, our new found friend/guide took us to the shop of Karin Herzog. I showed her the picture and she seemed inspired to
Casa de Lucie Spragge Buelas
Entrance to Casa de Lucie Spragge Buelas try and make something identical. She kept telling how she would make it. The string was leather; she had none like in the picture. She was worried about finding some and the cost. But in the end, she said, “I think I can do it.” She took pictures of my materials and asked me to call her the following day. I called and she said, “I can do it!” I asked her to make 3. I picked them up today. OH MY GOSH!! They are identical, and very well done. She was so proud of herself. It was really, really cute. She kept asking me if I liked them. Then she showed me that she had arranged the colors identical to the picture and had made certain that the number hanging Tagua nuts were identical also. She said the first one took her almost 3 hours to make. The remaining 2 took her less than 2 hours. I told her I was certain my wife would be very happy. As we were leaving, she handed me her card and asked if I would e-mail her and tell her if my wife liked them. I promised her I would. She was
so proud of herself. As I left I thanked her and gave her a hug.
We wondered the city for a while; Lance and I both bought a few trinkets for our kids. We stopped and had a really good chicken sandwich, french fries and a beer at a little place we passed during our journey. We returned to our hotel both of us spent some time checking e-mail. We both wanted to return to a small German bar we had gone to earlier in the week. It had REALLY good beer. It is located in Getsemani on Av del Arsenal (look for the place that is dark wood, with Club Columbia chairs – waitresses all wear German outfits). Three main beers: wheat, a darker wheat, and really dark beer with 7.3% alcohol. We had the first two and loved them both. We returned to the room for an early night as we had to be at the airport at 7 a.m.
Up early for very good breakfast (see above). We arrive at the airport 65 minutes before our flight departs – all is good. We stand in line, the power in the airport goes out 3 times
and the line is moving at a snail’s pace. With only 20 minutes before our flight departs, we are getting nervous, but we are the next one to be ticketed. But wait, some lady is arguing with the nice Columbian people at the counter. At first she is very calm, moments later she is screaming and very angry. Everyone is watching. 3 people are talking to her. She is so upset and speaking at the speed of a Spanish bull charging a matador, that I can’t understand everything. But I hear her say over and over again “look at this paper” while she slamming it on the counter, followed by “I paid and I do have a ticket”. They keep telling her the paper is a bank draft and not proof of a ticket. They finally move her to the side and process Lance and me. Feeling major stress, plane leaves in 11 minutes. We run, we make it through security with no problems and run to the gate. The attendant looks at us and says in Spanish, “calm, calm, all is good the flight is delayed 30 minutes.” Oh, ok. Well, it was fun doing the O.J. Simpson through
Casa de Lucie Spragge Buelas
Breakfast in the morning with a linen table cloth a Columbian airport. Um, perhaps I should make an admission: Small airport. Our O.J. dash was for about 30 or 40 feet to security and an additional 30 or 40 ft to the gate– nonetheless we really did give our very best and now were are both exhausted. We decide to sit and rest before our flight. We are both confident that our strength will return.
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sarah
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Interested in having your blog on tripping?
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