Day 5 Sunday – Hit the beach

The alarm is set for 7 am in the hopes that it will be sunny… and it is! We walk to the marina and catch a boat to the Islas del Rosario, a group of 27 islands about an hour and a half away by water from Cartagena. The boat ride is great. The sea is calm, and it’s such a beautiful day.

We stop at Playa Blanca for a couple of hours, which is a fairly rustic beach. It would have been relaxing, except for the uber-aggressive vendors. It’s hard to chill out when your palapa is surrounded by multiple people offering you necklaces, sunglasses, wood carvings, etc. At one point I actually had to get up out of my chair and walk away from this woman who was trying to give me a massage.

Playa Blanca.


Lunch (whole fish that's been flash-fried, rice, and fried plantains).

Back in the city, we switch hotels, moving to the Hilton in Bocagrande. It’s a big room with a view of the bay and the pools.

We have paella for dinner at a Spanish restaurant El Burlador de Sevilla, and a drink at the Che bar, but that’s about it; we’re pretty knackered from walking up early & being in the sun all day.