San Andrés and Providencia - an introduction

We decided to visit San Andrés and Providencia during Betty's first week in Colombia. When we were deciding where to go I was thinking about Cartagena or Rioacha, before Mateo asked me why don't we go to San Andrés? Good question!! I keep forgetting about the islands since they are so "far away". They are closer to Nicaragua than to Colombia and the flight tickets are usually more expensive than for example, Cartagena. In the end, the flight tickets we found were almost the same as to the coast and  the flight took only 30min longer. 

We arrived in San Andrés very late on a Tuesday evening, which was no problem since we had booked a catamaran to take us to Providencia early the next morning. The only way to get to Providencia is by taking the catamaran (www.elsensation.com), which operates every second day or taking a small plane (www.satena.com). In San Andrés we stayed in a hostel called El Viajero, which I would not recommend to anyone, it was dirty and the staff a bit rude, but it was very convenient since it was close to the airport and 10min walking distance to the harbour. The catamaran leaves at 7 am so we had to be there very early, when we arrived to the harbour they had a stricter security check than at the airport and it took twice as long. It is stuff like this that I find quite funny, why have such a strict check between two very small islands.

We were vey excited about getting on the catamaran, we were planning to sit outside in the sun and maybe even see some dolphins jumping next to the boat… The staff ordered everybody inside and told us time after time that the ride is not convenient if you have some heart problems or if you are pregnant. We thought they were exaggerating… When we got out on the sea we understood why… The waves were so big and the boat went up and down - side to side for almost 4 hours!!! I don't know how many people got seasick on the boat but many. I'm quite used to being on a boat but even for me it was quite a bumpy ride!! Believe it or not, when you get to Providencia it is all worth it!!!

Where the islands are - in the middle of the caribbean sea

Welcome to Providencia

My first Finnish guest

This is all very exciting - I had my very first visitor coming to see me in Colombia!! Betty brought a lot of delicious things from Finland, yumm! Obviously not everybody has the same taste as me. I got some Finnish black sweets called "Salmiakki"and I have so far only met one Colombian who did not make any funny faces or spit it out right away.. The good thing is I get to eat it all myself :)

The very next day we were invited to a friend's graduation barbecue just outside Bogotá. We went there to have lunch in a place called El Tambor, and against all odds it was really sunny as well. We had a typical colombian BBQ with some colombian beer, a perfect introduction for Betty. 

Betty obviously wanted to go someplace warm and since Mateo's family has a "summer house" close to Bogotá we decided to take our guest there. I don't know what could be a perfect name for this place, maybe weekend house or vacation house.. It's called Puerto Peñalisa and it's located about 130km south-west from Bogotá. While driving there you realise how the climate changes, again because you are driving down the mountain. We stayed there for 3 days since Monday was a national holiday. Funny thing about the national holidays here: there are like 15 in a year, perfect for weekend trips!! 

Peñalisa is located close to a town called Girardot, almost 300 meters above sea level, and there it's 30 degrees celsius all the time, I love it!! The fact that it's only a 3-4 hour drive away makes it even better.

Okay, so what to do in Peñalisa? Well, there is a lot to do but we usually do more or less nothing.. We lay around the pool, we play in the pool, we drive around in the golf car, we read, relax and we eat a lot! It's like a mini-hoiday!!

Picture on the left - Finnish Salmiakki
Picture above - Betty and me enjoying the lunch

Tatan and his harem..
Can you spot the two non-colombians in the picture..?

Typical Colombian breakfast
Left: Tamal
Above: Calentado con huevo y arepa

Happy Betty

The pictures above describes our pool, the golf court and us driving the golf cart.

Group picture

Sunday Funday

Cartagena de Indias

Last week I went to Cartagena for the second time, it is probably one of the most beautiful and most visited places in Colombia. The city has quite the history, it was first founded in 1533 and due to a fire which destroyed most of the wooden houses only stones and bricks were allowed to be used as building materials. Cartagena has also suffered from a lot of pirate attacks through the years, since the harbour was used as a storage place for all the goods until they were shipped overseas. Yes, quite an interesting history.

Well, anyways, Mateo's parents went there for one week to participate in a medical congress and I decided to tag along. Seeing the city from a tourist point of view, it's mostly divided into two areas; the old city and the new city. The old town is protected by thick colonial stonewalls, meant to protect from outsiders. Inside the walls there are idyllic small streets with colourful houses with their pretty flowery balconies. It just makes you happy walking around the old town and it's the best (the only) way to get to know it. The hotel where we stayed is called Hotel Santa Clara. It is really beautiful and it has everything you need; big pool, great service and even a resident toucan called Mateo. Santa Clara is a former monastery from the 17th century, completely remodelled and one of the best hotels you can find it Cartagena.

The new part of the city is on the peninsula of Bocagrande, which is filled with luxury apartments, hotels and all the food- chains you can imagine. We went there one day to walk around and to have lunch at the famous "Kiosko el Bony". It's a small restaurant on the beach, nothing fancy, but the food is amazing!!  

Unfortunately all the pictures I have are taken with my phone, since my camera suffered from some moisture-accidents thanks to the strong AC in the room and the humidity… I will write more about Cartagena another time!

Hotel Santa Clara

Pictures from the hotel and Mateo the toucan resident

Pati, Mateo's mom, and some pictures from the old city

  

The beach in Bocagrande, next to Kiosko de Bony

Kiosko de Bony

Bogotá and its hidden places

What better way is there to enjoy a weekend than going out and try new cafes and restaurants!? Since we are in Colombia it's not really a problem to find good coffee, but to find new, cozy, coffee places is still a challenge. I have a soft heart for small cute places, and if they are french - I'm sold! This weekend we found a really nice patisserie, Camilia, just a few blocks away from our apartment. The small details in this place were just amazing; the coffee cups, the plates, the small tables, the flowers… well, everything! And one of the best things was that even Hako was allowed on the inside of the terrace, hurra!! 

On Sunday we went to a new place called Al Agua Patos, I have been walking by the place for months but never entered... Since the parents are on vacation we decided to go out for brunch instead of lunch to change the tradition a bit. This restaurant is also just a few blocks away from where we live, close to Parque de la 93, which is known for its wide range of restaurants. Their speciality is a kind of toast called "pato" or "patito" with different kind of filling; cheese, meat, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. We decided to share a few different ones and they were all so yummy, so delicious!! For dessert we ordered a pato with hot arequipe and vanilla ice cram, YUM!! Beside the toasts, I can honestly say I tried one of my best granolas ever!

Camilia patisserie

Camilia patisserie

Hako and me in Parque El Virrey

Al Agua Patos

Pato de Stroganoff

Pato Horneado y Mexicano

Granola con yogurt Griego 

    

Mother's Day

Last weekend we celebrated Mother's day by having breakfast at Mateo's sister's new apartment. We spent the morning relaxing and then later on we went to the park, Parque de la 93, which they have just finished remodelling. In the afternoon we went to Estancía Chica, an Argentinean Grill Stake House, to have lunch with the family, just Mateo's parents and us children. Every Sunday we go out to a restaurant to have lunch, it's a tradition since many many years. Later on we went to buy some decoration and home-stuff that Mateo's sister needed. Mateo and I have been looking for a big glass bowl for our apartment for a long time, and now we just happened to find one without even trying - everything happens for a reason!! Anyway, we were very happy to finally fill our empty spot in the apartment :) ...when we came home I decided to change the place for the bowl so now we are looking for something to fill the old empty spot, again… 

Mateo's uncle taking a picture of the grandmother and the cousins 

Hako happy in Parque de la 93

The women of the family
(From the left: Mateo's cousin, mum, aunt, grandmother, me and his sister)

Our newest decoration piece