We flew from Santiago, Chile one way to Cartagena, Colombia on Avianca in business class for 20,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles per person (160,000 KrisFlyer miles for the 8 of us). Avianca had a nice, lay-flat Boeing 787 Dreamliner for both segments of the flight (Santiago to Bogota and Bogota to Cartagena). We stayed a very quick 2 nights in Cartagena at the Hilton that is right on the beach and very near the old city, redeeming 40,000 Hhonors points per room per night.
We spent some time at the hotel and the pool before heading out to get some Colombian food for dinner at a nearby restaurant. We had a very busy day planned the next day, so we headed to bed relatively early.
The next morning we woke up early and had some breakfast in the hotel (complimentary for Hilton Diamond guests). There were a group of fishermen out on the beach, pulling in their nets and stacking up the fish they had caught in the early morning...it was interesting to see them pulling in their haul.
We left the smaller kids with Sawyer in the hotel for a couple hours and as adults (and Ryder) we headed to the old town for a Segway tour before the heat of the day came. We had an amazing time learning to ride the Segways and taking them all over the old town. We all felt that this was the absolute best way to take in the sights of this historic place and the guides we had were cool and let us have a bit of freedom to go where we wanted to go.
The old town is a walled city right on the Carribbean coast of Colombia which was founded in the 16th century (1533). It is full of colorful buildings, colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, historic churches, and squares/plazas. We learned a bit about some of the buildings and the history of the city and enjoyed taking in the sights and especially in the morning when the tourists and crowds hadn't arrived yet.
After a couple hours on the Segways, we headed back to the hotel to grab the kids and then we were off to catch the private boat we had booked for the day to go out and explore the Coral Islands of Rosario, which are about 100km off the northern coast of Colombia. There are about 30 islands in total, and we got to see 3 of them. We headed out of the protected harbor in Cartagena and the ocean turned from green to a crystal blue color. We enjoyed jumping the waves on the open ocean and before we knew it we had arrived. We enjoyed a local lunch on one of the islands and bought a few souvenirs from the locals, then headed to another, more secluded island for some snorkeling and swimming. We had a relaxing day in the sun out on the boat and at the end of the afternoon, the boat dropped us off right at our beach at the Hilton where we walked right to our rooms...great service!
After a long day of riding Segways and taking a private boat out to the Coral Islands of Rosario, we swam/relaxed by the hotel pool for a bit, then got ready and headed back to the Old Town to find some dinner and take in the sights at night. Cody was able to reunite with a friend, Richard Aragón, from his mission (Bogotá, Colombia South) 18 years earlier. Richard gladly showed us around the city and we had another tasty Colombian dinner. We enjoyed the night in the Old Town, then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep since we had to get up early the next morning to fly to Costa Rica for the next portion of the adventure.
Grandma and grandpa with the kids on the balcony at our suite at the Hilton Cartagena.
View of the hotel pool and the beach from our room at the Hilton Cartagena.
Enjoying an appetizer of plantains and sour cream at a local joint near the hotel.
Generous dinners of meat, rice, plantains, yuca, and coconut lemonade in Cartagena, Colombia.
Local fishermen bringing in their haul in the early morning near the Hilton, Cartagena.
A pile of fish that the local fishermen brought in near the Hilton Cartagena.
One of the churches in the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
People selling Fernando Botero art on the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Ryder and grandpa next to the foundation of an old church (made from coral) in the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Statue of Simón Bolivar in the plaza of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Our crew posing in front of a Fernando Botero sculpture in the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Old Town, Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Our crew on our Segways tour through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Church in the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Our crew atop the fort riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Eliza and grandma Toni on their Segways.
Ryder, loving every minute of the Segway tour.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Our crew on Segways in front of the entrance to the walled city in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Riding Segways through the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
Mom and dad with the kids at the front of our boat as we head out to the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Grandpa Scott and grandma Toni on our boat as we head out to the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Nash and Ryder on the front of the boat with the fortress in the background as we head out of the harbor towards the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Cody and Ryder looking at the old fortress heading out of the harbor towards the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Grandpa Scott, relaxing on one of the wooden benches at the Rosario Islands, off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Ryder and Nash, snorkeling at the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Our boys, Zander, Nash, and Ryder on the boat at the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Grandma Toni, with Sawyer on the boat as we head away from Cartagena, Colombia (in the background) towards the Coral Islands of Rosario.
Ryder, Cody and Nash at the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Snorkeling off the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
The boys playing in a fort and having fun with coconuts and sticks on the beach at the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Ryder, Zander, and Nash at the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Cody and Sawyer, relaxing in the shade on one of the Coral Islands of Rosario off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia.
Our crew on the streets of the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia at night.
Sawyer, giving Eliza a piggyback through the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
The kids, enjoying one of the street performances in the Old Town in Cartagena, Colombia.
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