Today, we want to tell you about two really fantastic people who are currently sailing in the south Pacific. Otto and Lili are two very good friends Alyson and I made while traveling through the southern Caribbean. Unlike us, they have their own boat named Vagabond. Its a 46′ Dix sailboat that Otto built himself. They left from South Africa on Vagabond over 3 years ago and have been sailing their way around the world ever since.

Otto, Lili, and Alyson reveling during the Colombian Independence Day Festivals in Cartagena.

Alyson and I last saw Otto and Lili in Cartagena, Colombia where we all spent several weeks enjoying festivals, playing backgammon tournaments and exploring the city. Since then Vagabond has sailed through the San Blas Islands of Panama and on through the canal. Yesterday, we received an email with some fun and amazing photos of their current location, the Galapagos Islands. We thought you guys would enjoy these!

From Lili and Otto:

“Hola amigos & amigas

Yesterday we went on a tour of the island and the attached pictures tell a story. We are incredibly impressed how things are done here – very eco friendly and tastefully laid out. Everywhere you go, there are signs carved out of wood that are very informative and loads of benches to rest ones weary feet from all the walking in the heat. We absolutely love it here – the wildlife is amazing and we are having such fun swimming and frolicking with the sea lions, especially the pups, in the water.

Today and tomorrow we will spend refuelling with diesel and then we are going to go diving in a place that is notorious for its viewing of hammerhead sharks, the following day we will take a ferry to the next island over called Santa Cruz where we will visit the Charles Darwin Scientific Research Centre and then we will just hang around for a few more days to enjoy the wonderful snorkelling and other sites. It’s so nice being a tourist again.”

At the Volcano Crater with our guide Carlos.

Benches in the Park.

Galapagos Land Tortoise.

Galapagos Marine Iguana.

Lil in the Tortoise Sanctuary.

Looking down from the Volcano

Otto, the photographer.

Signs in the Sanctuary.

More Signs.

Sea Lions doing Yoga.

Maureen making friends.

Sea Lion Pup.

More Yoga.

Playtime.

The Scenery.

Crewing with Otto and Lili is a fellow travel blogger, Ursula at Abroad Aboard. Her stories of their trip from Panama to the Galapagos are fun, insightful and hilarious. Here is a short excerpt from her post about dealing with sea lions during their second day in the Galapagos.

“A HUGE male seal stank the whole stern up this morning, and THEN he shit…. the smell was intolerable. Otto fixed a rope, lightly tied, to dangle onto the seal, like a bad itch that won’t go away, and well, he left. Maybe it is that simple to get rid of them? They are ALL OVER the anchorage & the dock & jetty & jetty pathway…. Over coffee this morning, Otto & Lili tell me that they discovered seals snort, fart, cough, whistle, honk etc & smell bad through the night, they are nocturnal! “

To read more about their adventures check out Ursula’s blog at Abroad Aboard.

Related posts:

1. Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten of 2009 Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop &...
2. Cabo de la Vela: the Cape of Sails (Continued from previous posting): The next morning we awoke...
3. LIFE ABOARD & ABROAD Life Aboard & Abroad Since we’ve been back stateside,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Today’s post is a little different. Instead of me droning on for an hour, for you slow readers, or twenty-eight seconds, for those realizing they got the wrong site, I would like to present you with a cinematic master piece. A MONTAGE!!!

But before you cringe let me also say that it has music, and dolphins jumping, and oceans, and an amazing car race with scantly clad women….OK the last part is a lie.

It’s a video re-cap of our sailing journey across the southern Caribbean from Grenada to Colombia, over 1000 nautical miles, 7 months, and 2 sailboats later.

So go pop some pop-corn, sit back and relax!

Sailing The Southern Caribbean from Hop & Jaunt on Vimeo.

It’s also on YouTube if you have a preference.

I think your pop-corn is ready now.

Related posts:

1. Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten of 2009 Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop &...
2. Christmas Time in Cartagena One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is to...
3. Storming the Castillo The fortress is really an impressive structure.  It can...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

During the last month of staying in Cartagena (we were there 3 months) we rented a room at Casa Valdez, a hostel-like place only a block from Plaza Trinidad. We had scored the upstairs room with the only balcony/window at the place by the second week and though the water didn’t work in the sink we  called it home. The hostel technically came with a pretty decent communal kitchen but John and I were already so unaccustomed to cooking that it might have taken a half a day to recognize what it was.

Untouched Kitchen

It had most of the utensils we needed.

Nice Design.

The truth is that we had grown accustomed to eating the ‘typical’ food of the city at as local a price as we could get them. There was not many meals that we could make that would be as good or as cheap as a Chorri Perro (giant hot-dog with crushed potato-chips, four different sauces, and melted cheese) or bbq chicken and vegetables on a stick, or even a plate of beef steak and potatoes from the street vendors at our local plaza (square).  The truth be told we were quite happy to save our money by going out to eat everyday. We tried street vendors, local lunch dinners, and on a special occasion we even splurged on a five-star night out. Today I’ll take you on a mini culinary tour of the city of Cartagena.

Ironically though we ate out for almost every meal, even coffee was available by waving down a coffee man on the street, we don’t have as many photos of the food as one would think. I guess it felt so ‘normal’ that we never really bothered. But We should have enough to at least  give you a little appetizer.

On of our favorite plazas was Plaza Trinidad, it’s a small community centric area with the church overlooking the square. While it’s a sleepy place during the day with a few men resting under the shade it picks up at sundown as the neighborhood families come out to socialize. There are usually four to six stands that set up here after dark, though it is one of the smaller tucked away squares there are still a couple of sit-in open air restaurants to choose from as well. In fact, some say that one of the best pizza parlors in town is right off this plaza, Antonio’s. We ended up there a few nights as well, and indeed it is very very good pizza, specially considering you could order a large pizza and a couple of beers for around $10. At the plaza your typical evening choices where: beef steak, hot dogs, meat-on-a-stick, fresh fruit smoothies, a grill with the self proclaimed best hamburgers in town, and the more normal arepas, empanadas, and patacones.

Arepas are made from cornmeal and flour. Photo taken from La Casana Hostel

Fresh watermelon for a hot day.

Lunch Special: All this for under $5 for two.

Typical Colombian lunch.

John loved having steak for lunch!

Our local “meat-on-a-stick” Lady’s stand.

Waiting for supper.

Meat-On-A-Stick Cart

Cartagena: Plaza Trinidad on a quiet Sunday night.

Everyone is inside for Mass.

One afternoon we decided to take Valencia, an adorable and energetic 7-year old that was living at the house with her mother, on a walk with us. Her mother worked nights and was thus tired during most of the day. They had moved to the city from a small town six months earlier, and since her mom worked nights she wasn’t allowed to go to the square alone to meet the neighborhood kids. Because it is so hot here, most of the families bring their little ones out to play at the plaza after sundown. So she had to spend a lot of time inside at the hostel, and thus always befriended the guest. Since I spoke Spanish and am a sucker for little kids we soon became good buddies and would take her to the square at nights to play and make friends. This particular day we thought we would let her come with us on our customary city roam. On days when we had not much going on, we would take the camera and just roam the city. She was so excited, she had not been out of the neighborhood since getting here. She had not even been to the historic downtown, a ten minuet walk away.  So off we went. First we stopped by Plaza Trinidad as there looked to be something going on. From our hostel we could tell that there looked to be a stage being built and banners where going up. When we got there we realized that it was not a stage, but a ring. The local neighborhood boy’s boxing club was having a tournament. As we arrived two boys were getting in the ring. They had the look of utter concentration and determination, each complete with a doting coach rubbing their shoulders and inserting their mouth guards. They couldn’t have been much older than Valencia. The bell rang and BAM! the match started. I was thinking how cute and little they were a few seconds ago but when the match started it might as well have been two three hundred pound professionals out there. The crowd got into it cheering with each punch thrown. The fighters were giving it their all. After a few great right handers by the red corner boy the bell rung and the winner was announced. What impressed me the most was that as soon as the match was over their serious faces broke out into a smile whether they won or lost and both gave each other a sincere handshake and hug. It is always nice to see genuine good sportsman ship.

Boxing Day at the Plaza.

Pep talk from the Coach.

In the Red Corner…

& in the Blue Corner…

Are you ready to Rumble?!!

the Winner!

Valencia getting hungry and bored after a few bouts.

I know we got a little side tracked from our food wanderings, but in this city you never know what you might walk into. Just on time Valencia pipes up with what we considered her catch phrase “I’m hungry.” Off we go again in search of food and entertainment for our seven year old buddy, the boxing match would be here all day anyway working it’s way up the to the 17-18yr old gran finale matches.

The park is only a few blocks away.

As we walked along Valencia announced that she wanted to go to a zoo! Well, we’ve didn’t even know that the city had a zoo…but a park near by used to have a zoo in it. So we walked to this old park that was built in 1811. Walking through this large and shady plaza you could almost see the rising and falling rhythm of the city. The park looked run down and ancient at the same time that you could tell it has recently been renovated and new interest and care is being put into the park. I had a feeling that until recently the park would not have been as nice a place to come as tourist, specially with a child in tow. Now there is a police station in the middle of the park and it is definitely safe during the day and worth the visit. It has many play areas for kids, including a skating track, and it’s not hard to imagine where the cages for the zoo must have been as the path winds around.

1811-1911 and soon to be 2011 as well.

Timeless Beauty.

John & Valencia with the tamale.

As we entered an open plaza there were not only food there but there was some sort of food stall competition going on. There was a band playing in the center and in a semi-circle around the band where stall selling traditional Colombian tamales. Colombian tamales are a different from the typical Mexican tamale in that it tends to be larger and is wrapped in a banana leaf.  We selected a table and sat down. We figured since John and I weren’t that hungry yet and since Valencia is such a skinny little seven year old girl that one order should do the trick. We obviously don’t hang out with kids enough, as we completly underestimated how much and how quick a hungry kid will eat! While I was busy snapping a few pics and John ordering something to drink she was already decimating the tamale! John who was now also getting hungry had to grab his fork and start scarfing down. I ended up having to elbow her away to grab a bite!

John trying to get a bite.

After the tamale that day we also fed her a corn on the cob, candy, nuts, ice cream, and pizza for dinner. I think she knew that we would be easy babysitters and I bet she dosen’t get away with all the treats normally. But we all had fun, we had even gone over to see the carriage-ride horses.

Aly & Valencia bonding with the horse.

Vale loved horses.

We ended walking around the city until seven or eight o’clock when she finally she got tired and cranky and wanted to go home and see her mommy.   But as soon as John lifted her up and gave her a piggy back ride she returned to all smiles all the way back home.

On some days we feel like something different and once in a blue moon we will treat ourselves to the finer things in life. Cartagena has many options for every levels of your dining budget. One night I had this craving for Thai food, and after a little googling found that there was indeed a restaurant in town that served Thai. Cafe San Pedro is located right in front of San Pedro Cathedral and it’s patio seating makes for a great view of the beautiful church. The first time we went there Mass was going on inside and you could hear the music and sermon floating through the air. We had ordered Pad Thai and it was excellent with an assortment of seafood such as shrimp, squid, and muscle thrown in as well! Ummm yummy.

Cafe San Pedro.

The view of the beautiful San Pedro Cathedral while you dine.

The patio seating at Cafe San Pedro.

Once in even a longer blue moon John and I will flex our culinary muscles and create our own five-star dinners!

Making magic.

Five Star Treatment

But that was when we were on the sweet luxury yacht that we were boat-sitting. When we were staying at the hostel we ended up hanging out a lot at our “bar”. Scooter’s Pub was just around the corner from us and we immediately liked the cool vibe once we walked in…even if we were the only customers. We ended befriending Manuel, the uni-cycling DJ-ing bartender, and Leo a romantic souled Borat-impressionist. The food turned out to be just like in England…terrible! (Sorry all my Brit friends!) But the atmosphere was great and since the bar was never crowded it became a club house of sorts where we would all hang out and play. It was our version of Cheers!

Scooter Dishes

Scooter Pub

Manuel, the spinning bartender.

Aly Uni-cycling: Did you know I once had one as a child?

John trying as well. He thought it would be easy…ha!

HOP & JAUNT crew and the Scooter Pub Crew.

Well I hoped you enjoyed my meandering tour of eating and playing in Cartagena. Next time I’ll try to stay more on course!

Related posts:

1. Christmas Time in Cartagena One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is to...
2. Amazing Knockers Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic...
3. 24hrs In Bogota It was a couple of weeks before Christmas when...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

 The Hop & Jaunt crew explore the largest fortress of the Spanish Main.

Its been nearly a month since we left Colombia.  Alyson and I are really missing the tropically warm climates and bustling city life.  So today we are blogging about one of our favorite afternoons in Cartagena when we visited the “Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas:  The largest Spanish Fortress in the World!”

The fortress is really an impressive structure.  It can be seen towering on its hill looming over the old city and water front.  It’s a massive construction, but it needed to be.  In the days of Spanish Conquisition in the New World, Cartagena was THE major port for exporting gold back to Spain.  That meant that nearly all the gold in South America had to come through Cartagena to make the jump to Europe.  As anyone can imagine, this made Cartagena the jackpot for pirating.  Pirates plundered and attacked the city numerous times.  Most notoriously was Sir Francis Drake, the famed English privateer.  Eventually after numerous attacks and ship loads of stolen gold King Ferdinand of Spain ordered the fortress to be built.

It took over 200 years to build it.

Although you can see the castle from anywhere in town we did have some trouble getting to it.  First off, we didn’t know the actual name of Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas.  We just called it the Big Fort.  So when we got into a taxi cab we had trouble giving directions to the driver.  Neither of us knew the Spanish word for “Fort”.  We drove around in circles for nearly 15 minutes babbling to the driver about how we wanted to go to the “Big, Old, Building”.  The poor guy was so confused.  He kept staring at us through the rear view mirror asking, “Que?”  Finally, I remembered the word Castillo and he instantly knew what we were talking about.  He had a pretty good sense of humor about it.

Entry into the fort is about $5 US dollars and its definitely worth it.  One great way to spend an afternoon in Cartagena is just walking around taking pictures, and the Castillo is a pretty awesome place to explore. 

Alyson camera ready at Castillo de San Felipe. Our photo tour begins.

Guard tower at the corner of the wall.

At the top of the wall, there are several entrances into the fortress.

After climbing the long pathway to the top of the fortress you are free to explore as you like.  There are several door ways which will lead you into the different tunnels and passageways of the castle.  Some tunnels lead to other entry points on the top wall.  Others lead deep, deep down into the dark, damp recesses of the castle’s underground.  Definitely, make sure you bring a flash light.

This place would make a great hideout in the event of a zombie uprising.

Ain't no zombies gonna get me in here.

Down we go into the inner passages.

Into the depths we descend. Notice how steep is the stairway.

The cool dark tunnels are a great escape from the midday heat.

Its fun to explore the ghosty old tunnels.

Alyson has the camera, but I'm taking all the pictures.

The tunnels were designed so that rain water would run down into them via brick gutters along the top wall.  The water in the tunnels increased the acoustics of the passages so that the footsteps of approaching persons can be heard from great distances.  Also so that military orders could be yelled from one end of a tunnel and easily heard at the opposite end.

Check out these videos:

The tunnels lead us out onto a large open expanse of the wall over looking the city.  The view was incredible.  I have to say that I really miss that Caribbean winter weather.

Overlooking the city

A nice view of the city.

Cannons, like this one, surrounded the fort's top wall giving them a near 360 degree area of fire.

The soldiers' barracks...or something like that.

The mighty fortress

Alyson checking the map.

Eventually, we found our way back inside. We decided to explore the deepest depths of the tunnel.  Its rumored that the underground tunnels run all beneath the city.  Hidden passageways, so people could flee a burning city during a pirate attack, lead from the old town to the fort and possibly up into the hills.  I believe they recently discovered an new hidden passage beneath one of the cathedrals within the old city.  We wanted to see what we could find.  I expected the interior of the fort to contain some giant rooms.  Its what I expected from its enormous size, but the most we found were a maze work of tunnels aligned with storage rooms for ammunition and soldiers.  

We sneak away from the crowds to explore some unlit tunnels on our own.

The passages go down, down, down. The air gets stuffy and the temperature drops dramatically.

The underground network of tunnels.

Leading the way.

These ducts for air and water show how far down we've gone.

Eventually, we reached a level that wasn’t intended for tour use.  There were no more electric lights installed and the passage ways were as dark as pitch.  We couldn’t see anything.  We had to maneuver our way through by feeling the wall and flashing our camera every few feet.  It was pretty erie.  We kept wondering if something startling would appear before us when we next flashed our camera.  Definitely, if I go back I will take a flash light. 

One dark tunnel way came to this dead end with some ray of sun light. We literally followed the light at the end of the tunnel.

Eventually, we had to give up our exploration and return to the above world.  The floors of the tunnel were flooded with water up to our ankles and brick work in the floor was less and less stable.  Plus, not being able to see anything was starting to freak us out.  It was kind of a thrill though.

When we re-emerged above we noticed that people were setting up for a dinner party.  The whole fort was being decorated for what must surely be one of the most expensive weddings ever.  A good choice on location though.  Cartagena is reknowned worldwide for its beautiful wedding scenery, and people from all over the world come here to tie the knot.

Wedding Feast

and concert...it must be incredible to party up here at night.

That’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed.

Related posts:

1. Christmas Time in Cartagena One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is to...
2. Amazing Knockers Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic...
3. How to Tell Which is a Witch While living in a new place its important to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

After our narrow escape from the Colombian Police (see previous blog posting) we boarded our return flight to the United States with much relief.  Colombian prison is no place I would want to spend Christmas.  We never really found out why our bag was the only one set aside to be searched.  The policia never explained, and Alyson and I didn’t want to prolong our detention by asking questions.  We only knew we were free to go, so we got the hell out.

It was hard to relax on the five hour flight back to Houston.  We would have to go through a baggage inspection again once we landed.  My mind kept wandering what reason could the Colombian Police have had for searching our bag?  Had the used suitcase we purchased in a back alley been used to smuggle something before?  Maybe a dog or machine had detected something which warranted a formal search.  I was dreading that the US customs officers would have the same suspicions and we would have to go through the process again.  And customs & immigration officers don’t mess around in Texas.  Suppressed memories of a strip search in a Florida State penitentiary suddenly came back to mind.

We were also dreading the possibility of endlessly long lines and multiple flight delays.  Thats the sort of thing you expect when flying the day before Christmas Eve, right?  Packed airports, delayed and canceled flights, lost luggage.  I always hear people complain about how terrible flying is in the US, and how it’s exponentially worse during the holidays.  We were expecting the worst possible scenario ever …and maybe an arrest.  We only had an hour to make it through immigration, pick up our checked luggage, go through customs, re-check our bags and find our next departure gate.  ”We’re not gonna make it” we agreed.  We were prepared to make a mad dash off the plane once we landed.  

Finally the plane touched down.  The doors opened.  We grabbed our carry-on bags.  And we ran off the plane…right into an empty airport.  It was amazing!!  There was no one there.  It’s like everyone decided to stay home this year.  I’ve never had such great service.  We made our way through all the checkpoints with no lines and no waiting.  Our bags were practically waiting for us at the carousel and no one even glanced at our luggage.  We made it to the next gate with time to spare.  We got out the laptops and surfed the web while we waited for our flight to Atlanta, which was right on time.  I was impressed.  That being said; however, we are soooo happy  we made it back before the whole Amsterdam terrorist fiasco on Christmas Day.    

Alyson, all our luggage, and I made it to Atlanta’s Delta Hub safe and sound.  Now we just had to cross that Alabama state line before Christmas Eve.  Here is where the hero of our story comes in.  No one in my family knew we were returning for Christmas.  No one ‘cept one man.  Twas my taller, funnier, hell raisin’, cadillac drivin’, tattooin’, trailer park residing, ladies man, cousin Griff.  We had let Griffin in on the secret weeks before in an attempt to secure a ride back from Atlanta.  He’s awesome.

Griff Saves Christmas! My cousin Griffin picks us up from the Atlanta airport.

We loaded our bags in Griff’s white Caddy and headed for the land of cotton.  Here are a few interesting facts about our great state (Feel free to post your own interesting facts about Alabama in the comment area below):  Alabama is a Creek Indian word meaning “Tribal Town”.  The state has one of the largest concentrations of caves in the world.  And no, Alabamans aren’t a bunch of tribes living in caves.  In fact the first rocket to put a man on the moon was built right here in Alabama.  And speaking of rockets, the largest fireworks warehouse in the world is located in Alabama at Shelton Fireworks.  We passed by it on the interstate. 

Our first night back in Alabama we stayed with Griff.  He owns a house trailer at a place called Ridgewood in Auburn.  And guess what?  It’s the largest trailer park in north america (most likely the world)!  The wonders cease to amaze.  We did a lot of catchin’ up over a dinner of fried chicken and sweet tea, but mostly we were kept entertained throughout the night by a little Heaven Hill Party Liquor and Griff’s hilarious stories.  I’ve never met anyone with a more genius sense of humor.  Griff’s an amazing graphic artist, too.  Graphic designers always have plenty to talk about with other graphic designers.  Its like meeting an old friend at a 20 year class reunion.  If he looks familiar it may be that you have seen him on the cinematic screen.  I believe his most recent appearance was in Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2.

Griff in a Pablo Escobar hat we brought him from Colombia.

We arose early the next afternoon.  The long trip from the day before combined with the freezing cold temperature and  a late night put Alyson and I in hibernation mode.  We never knew an air mattress could be so comfortable.  It was the night before Christmas, and before making the drive to Andalusia (my hometown) we stopped by the iHop for a pancake lunch.  It was a blistering cold day with a damp drizzle  falling from the bove.  The IHOP workers were merrily lurching about donning their festive Santa hats.  It was just like a Christmas card.

Merry Christmas from IHOP! Artist Rendering

 We began to discuss ways of making our surprise entrance that evening.  We wanted to wait for the perfect moment when the entire family would be gathered around the Christmas tree.  Many ideas were suggested but in the end we decided to pull the old “giant gift box with people hiding inside trick”.  Griff knew a few places where we could get some big boxes.  He’s a man of many resources.  So we paid our bill and left IHOP to the cheery farewell of, “Finally, they’re gone”.  

Riding home in style in Griff's Cadillac.

The two hour drive home passed by quickly.  Griff kept us laughing nonstop with his Bing Crosby Christmas Special impressions.  I wish we had it on video.  We only had to make one quick stop in Montgomery to grab some big cardboard boxes.  Unfortunately, though the rain hadn’t subsided and we were running a bit behind schedule.  This was going to make it difficult to pull off our surprise plan.  So we quickly devised an alternative.

When we arrived at the house everyone was already there.  They were waiting for Griffin before opening presents, but weren’t expecting Alyson or myself.  We decided that Griff should walk in doing his Bing Crosby impression.  He would get the whole family to sing a Christmas carol while Alyson and I waited outside the front door.  Once they finished singing, we would knock and Griffin would say in his Bing Crosby voice, “Oh! A knock at the door.  You know I love it when friends and family drop by for the holidays”.  Then he would open the door and we would be standing there like the surprise guests on some old Christmas special.  That was the plan.

So Griffin went in.  Its not really that common for people to just walk around singing Christmas carols, so when Griff came in saying in Bing Crosby voice:  ”Merry Christmas Everyone!  Let’s all sing a Christmas Carol.  Oh you know Dasher and Dancer and all of those reindeer…but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all…Frosty the Snowman…was a happy jolly thing…with a corn cobbed pipe (hey whatcha got in that pipe Frosty?) and two eyes made outta coal.  Yeah!”  The family began to exchange worried looks and whispering, “Oh, God.  Griffin has shown up to Christmas drunk.”

While the entire family stared on at Griff questioning his sobriety, Alyson and I waited by the front door for our big entrance.  With all eyes watching Griff threw open the door and all ear drums were shattered by the excited scream of my mama.  The next few minutes were a whirlwind of hugs & Merry Christmases.  I’ve always wanted to make a surprise homecoming on Christmas Eve, and in reality it’s just as nice as I had imagined.

Surprise!

John's sister Mimi can't stop smiling.

My brother Justin opening the Christmas wine.

Cousin Matt and Cousin John sporting the Colombian look.

A Christmas Reunion: Alyson, John, Mimi, Justin, Tamara, and Dave.

John's family

Dave & I a putting together the toys for the kid's.

Griff as BumbleBee, "I should have been a Volkswagen"

We made it!

Christmas Eve turned out great.  We had good food, lots of stories to tell, and great family to share it all with.  We will be staying in Andalusia, Alabama for a little while.  We have some major plans to improve the website and add some very cool new features.  So keep checking back.  We’ll fill you on our continuing adventures.

Related posts:

1. Christmas Time in Cartagena One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is to...
2. Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten of 2009 Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop &...
3. Designers of Curacao Island Tour of Curacao   Hello, Hop&Jaunt fans! As...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It was a couple of weeks before Christmas when John and I decided to heed the call of his family and visit them for the holidays. We managed to find a decent deal flying out of Cartagena (not the cheapest place to fly in and out of) and as a bonus due to the flight schedule we had an entire day to spend in Bogota. The catch was that we had not told a soul, our visit was to be a complete surprise to his family. The only one who knew was his cousin Griffin, who we had arranged to pick us up at the airport. In order to achieve maximum impact we orchestrated the arrival to be on Christmas Eve, at night when we knew the entire extended family would be sitting around the tree at John’s childhood home.

Flying To Bogota

We flew out of Cartagena without a hitch and in a few hours found ourselves racing through city highways and traffic as our yellow cab wound it’s way through Bogota to our hostel.

Airport Vendor in Bogota

Handy Translations For Tourist In Bogota Cab

We arrived in the hostel by 3:30pm and we had to be at the airport no later than 5:30 am the next morning. With such limited time we wanted to hit the city fast to see as much as possible. After checking in we realized a few things about our immediate surroundings: 1.) Our hostel, the Cranky Croc, was the nicest backpacker hostel we have been in, and 2.) It was CHILLY in Bogota at 60F! It was a little worrisome that it was already feeling freezing to us at 60F when where we were going in the U.S., even though in the South, was a nippy 30-40F! I guess spending 8 months where the temperature never dropped under 70F had seriously damaged our sense of hot and cold.

Our hostel, the Cranky Croc, was created by a backpacker who fell in love with Colombia and wanted to create a hostel where all the needs he had identified while traveling where put into practice. The results are quite nice.

Cranky Croc Hostel

Aly at the Cranky Croc Hostel

Our Room At Cranky Croc Hostel

The hostel itself is in the historic university area of the city, easy walking distances from most of the major sights and sounds of the capital. The building is historically colonial in style with several room options. We opted for a private room with a shared bathroom as we were only going to be there one night. As it turns out, since the bathroom was right next to our room it made no difference if we had paid more for a private loo. There were several communal areas, a large communal kitchen, a TV room, and an computer area with several computers available, of course the entire hostel offers wi-fi as well. Though we would have loved to have enjoyed the amenities, such as the bed to take a nap in we only had precious few hours until our boarding time and Bogota was waiting!

The first thing we did was dig through our bags and locate the warmest clothes we could. I had carried a couple pairs of jeans and a North Face jacket with me since leaving on the trip. Throughout the trip we have been getting rid of any extra clothes or items to lighten our load, and every time John would look at me as if I was crazy to keep the jeans and jacket when it was almost always over 80F in the daytime. Now was the chance to finally use these clothes I’ve been lugging around! Though slightly musty smelling the jeans and jacket were a life saver. Oh and it was also the first time since leaving that I wore shoes, literally I had worn my flip flops almost everyday, except when I wore nothing at all! Needless to say I did not even have a pair of socks. But at least I was now ready to go exploring.

The city of Bogota has quite a different vibe from Cartagena. Where  as Cartagena retains it’s laid back feelings from it’s Caribbean roots Bogota inherited it’s look and feel more from it’s European heritage.

Narrow Streets Lead To Mountains in Bogota

Cobble Stone Streets To The Mountains

Cathedral In Bogota

Plaza Buildings

The Archbishopric Cathedral of Bogotá

Plaza Bolivar

Colorful Church

Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen

With the first chilly and overcast day we’ve seen in so long combined with all of the Christmas decorations we were finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit.

Aly in Plaza Bolivar

John at Plaza Bolivar

The main plaza in downtown Bogota, Plaza Bolivar, was decorated with a giant Christmas tree surrounded by a handful of Santas, Christmas Llamas, Santa Shrek, and yes, even Barney.

Sunflower Christmas in Bogota

Santa and His Red Nosed Llama

John, Santa, and Barney

Yep, Barney. Haven’t seen him in a while. The Santas were all over the place and each had a photographer with them, and for a set price will let you take a family photo with him and the tree. We were not willing to pay for a photo at first. So half jokingly we tried posing casually behind the santas, but their handlers were keeping a sharp eye out for us “gawkers” and shooed us away quickly. We ended up coughing up the couple of pesos and took our first official Christmas card photo with the beautiful Christmas llama.

Official Chirstmas Card From The Crew

Red Nosed Llama

We passed by the Presidential Palace and the motionless guard agreed to let me pose by him.

Presidential Palace

Serious Business

As we started walking through the narrow city streets, with views leading to the mountians, we noticed another major difference between the two Colombian cities. The city walls were covered in a wide range of street art, everything from minor taggings and graffiti to major murals where sprayed onto almost every surface of the street. Though out on the highway the graffiti was typical names and gang names. However in the center of town, or La Candelaria area, the skills and artistic talents obviously rose. I wonder if the art college being near by has anything to do with it.

Being graphic designers and doodle fanatics, John and I enjoyed the sprayed streets as much as if we were in an art gallery. Even a local store had gotten cleaver with their guerilla marketing with their line of Cliche designs. We fell for it, however the store did not actually sell the t-shirts with these great designs on them. Too bad, we are always on the lookout for original designs while traveling to pick up. That is why in the newest re-incarnation of our site we are now working on we’ll be adding our own travel inspired t-shirts designs. So do keep an eye out for up coming changes to the site!

Cliche's Graffiti Guerilla Marketing

A Graffiti Mural

Shadow Heart

Street Art Chicken

My Favorite. It Shows Street Urchins Looking Through The Doorway

City Art & John

That evening, after a quick dinner and a little rest we headed back out into the city looking for more sites, sounds, and a night cap or two. As it was a few days before Christmas the city was in a festive mood. Along the main through ways of the city the roads were blocked off for pedestrian traffic,  street vendors, and performers. As we wondered through the crowds we decided to try and spend the last of our coins, as it turned out John had enough to buy himself some pop corn while I spent my change on a very un-Christmasy performance by this man.

Creepy But Funny Performance

He is a “living statue,” popular in many cities but I had never seen one dressed as the killer from Scream before, when I gave him his money he began moving and soon had me in a choke hold. John’s popcorn was good but I got a memory that will make me scratch my head for a life time.

Native Colombian Band

When the chill of the night began to get to us we headed back into the university neighborhoods and sure enough found ourselves in a warm pub. There is an alley there, Callejon del Embudo (Funnel Alley), that is hardly more than a car width wide. This small winding cobble street is lined with tiny bars, cafes,and eateries. Each one was about the same size with a hand full of tables and chairs but what made us smile was that each had worked hard to distinguish themselves with the decor and mostly with the music. Did you fancy a drink with hard rock playing? No, then step three steps further down the road and listen to Reggae, Pop, and even Colombian rock. A niche for every college kid out there.

Warming Up By Fake Fire

Night Cap For A Chilly Night

Last Night In Colombia

Funky Self Portrait

After our nightcap we sadly had to bid Bogota farewell for now, though we had only an afternoon in this fascinating city it captivated our imaginations. Three hours later our cab was waiting for us outside and once again we were zooming through the city back to the airport, much faster without the traffic.

Early Morning Bogota

We walked in expecting the two hour international travel window would be more than enough time and ran smack into the line winding around the lobby. Isn’t flying during the holidays just the best? The man at the check-in counter told us that there was a issue with our tickets. He was going to have to take our passports and leave us for a min….oh no…never a good thing to happen, specially when no one in the world even knows where we are! Luckily he came back after ten heart stopping minuets, and gave us nearly 200.000 pesos! That’s about $100! Ironically we had spent the last few days budgeting to make sure we had no pesos left…

Already Missing Colombia

A Tired International Traveler

As we were about to board the plane the attendant asked John and I to step aside. At this point I was thinking maybe we won a car or something equally good since our luck seemed to be on the rise. This time however the momentary fantasy was crashed when she said ” please wait here until the police arrive.” This comment and the sight of our luggage out in front of us no longer checked in made us gulp aloud. We had just bought this cheap suitcase in Cartagena, on “Contraband Alley.” You can imagine the thoughts running through our heads as we are pulled aside in Colombia waiting for the police as our luggage is pulled aside! The policemen arrived and asked if they could inspect the luggage, “ofcourse!” we nearly yelled. I tired to make a joke in Spanish about buying it on the streets but the policemen were not in a jovial mood. After leafing through every page of every notebook and sketch book in our luggage he took out a ice pick and began poking our suitcase. We had bought the suitcase thinking that the lock worked, however it was such a bad imitation suitcase that when you tried to zipp it shut in the locking position it left the bag half open. So it was unlocked now, we were having visions of someone tampering with our bags. Visions of Colombian prisons, having to prove our innocents, and realizing that the phone call would definitly ruin the family’s Christmas! After the police had stabbed our poor bag for a while they seemed to change their minds about the whole situation and curtly told us to go board the plane. Wow, what an intense moment.

Flying Back To The United States

Safely on the airplane we settled down for our trip back to the U.S. and concentrate on the next item on our itenerary. We were headed to Andalusia, Alabama to surprise his family on Christmas Eve!

Related posts:

1. Christmas Time in Cartagena One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is to...
2. Perros and Plazas of Cartagena During the last month of staying in Cartagena (we...
3. Festival Week in Cartagena Hi Hop & Jaunt Readers! Alyson and I just...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop & Jaunt Travelouges!  We’re excited about the new adventures and travels that lay ahead in 2010.  But before we jaunt into the last year of the decade, lets hop back and take a look at some of our favorite experiences from the past year.   Its Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten Favorite Adventures of 2009.

10.)  Beach Bumming at Roger’s Bar on Hog Island, Grenada

Roger's Beach Bar - Hog Island, Grenada

Roger’s Bar on Hog Island was our first Caribbean experience after joining Alyson’s parents on Quercus.  Roger’s ramshackle beach shack not only had the appearance of being thrown together with driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves, but it literally was put together with nothing more than driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves.  Many afternoon ’sundowners’ turned into late night ‘howl at the moon’ sessions underneath the glow of the single 12 Volt powered light bulb.  Live reggae music, sand between your toes and always a cold beer set the perfect mood for mingling and socializing with the  locals and sailors from around the world.  To read more click here.

9.)  Baby Sitting a Whale in Curacao

Giving baby Sully a tummy rub.

While boat sitting in Curacao we decided to try a little baby sitting as well.  We volunteered to watch after a 10 foot baby pilot whale that was being nursed back to health.  Sully the pilot whale was beached by his family after becoming too ill to keep up with the rest of his pod.  Efforts by local marine biologist and volunteers helped to restore the baby whale back to full health.  We spent a few nights lying by Sully’s pen keeping him company as he vied for our attention by requesting several belly rubs.  It was an experience we will always remember.  Unfortunately efforts to integrate Sully back into the wild have failed, and there are talks that he will be moved to a tank in Sea World, San Diego.  For more click here.

8.)  Oil Down in the Jungle

Hiking into the Jungle for an Oil Down Party

One of the most authentically local island days we’ve had. We joined a young group of locals and sailors for a cook out by the jungle rivers up in the mountains of Grenada. The dish we cooked was a local delicacy called an “oil down” because the different oils sink to the bottom of the pot.  As Grenada is one of the famed ’spice isles’ we drove through the island picking up our fresh ingredients from along the road, people’s yards, and in the trees.  After a hike through the jungle with our pots pots, herbs, and breadfruit we jumped in the river to cool down before building a fire and cooking our very own “oil down” in the jungle. Click here to read more.

Cooking Oil Down in the Jungle

7.)  Windsurfing in Curacao

Windsurf Curacao

While anchored in Spanish Waters in Curacao, we were constantly watching windsurfers whizz by us.  So when we were given the opportunity to learn ourselves, we jumped all over it! Though I would not say we were exactly graceful during our first lessons we did manage to pick up the basics and enjoyed surfing past our friends on the sailboats.  To read more click here.

6.)  Scootering Around Bonaire

Our Macho Scooter from Bonaire

One of our most favorite days was just riding around the small Dutch island of Bonaire on our rented scooter.  Speeding on the curvy roads alongside breathtaking cliffs that plunge down into the blue-green sea was an incredible way to see the island.  We spotted ponds of flamingos, scattering iguanas, and the occasional wild donkey.  Nothing like having the salty sea wind whip by your face as you race full speed through the desert.  We also enjoyed Bonaire for the unbelievable snorkeling.  The underwater wildlife was other-worldly yet beautiful.  Its definitely somewhere we would like to visit again.  For more photos and video click here.

5.)  Scuba Diving in Curacao

Spotted Eagle Ray

Speaking of breathtaking sea life we can’t forget to mention our scuba excursions off the coast of Curacao.  Thanks to our good friend and dive instructor Andy along with some money earned by cleaning boat bottoms, we were able to obtain our Scuba certifications.  The sensation of being 65 feet below the sea’s surface is both tranquil and intense.  The imagery we saw would be difficult to explain in words.  I can only recommend that you do it for yourself.  The fish and coral are like living works of art.  One moment in particular that stands out for us was our very first time diving together.  It was just Alyson and I…and one curious Spotted Eagle Ray.  The sight of that giant ray gracefully flying through the water as he circled us was awesome.  For more Curacao adventures click here.

4.)  Festivals in Cartagena

Festival Parade in Cartagena

Everyone loves a good party, and no one does it quite like Cartagena.  The beautiful old world city is the perfect setting for the week long celebration of parades, fireworks, and concerts.  We had a blast hanging out with our good friends as we all joined in the fun.  The festivities were filled with amazing costumes and dances with plenty of good food and beer, not to mention the all out foam wars.  A not to miss for those energetic enough to last the never ending fiestas.  Plenty of photos and videos here.

3.)  Sailing the Seas

Alyson tanning on deck.

The only way to travel, there is nothing like coming into port by sailboat.  While we have been to some amazing places and done some pretty cool things, one of our favorite parts was just getting from point  A to B.  At times it was relaxing and easy going.  Other times we were wet, tired, and struggling to keep wind in the sails.  Still we love it.  The splashing of dolphins on the bow.  Catching fish underway.  And being alone in the cockpit on a late night watch with just the millions of brilliant stars above.  If you ever want to have an experience of a lifetime…then go to sea.

Click here for more tales of the Spanish Main.

2.)  Turtle Watching in Los Testigos

Watching the Turtles Lay Eggs

We will always remember that dark night on the east coast of Testigos when we watched the giant, dinosaur-like sea turtles emerge from the crashing sea waves.  Their immense size and prehistoric appearance reminded us of how enormous and old the world really is.  Its important to have moments like that every once in a while.  We were also surprised by the gentle nature and careful precision of such an odd and slow animal.  These turtle mothers plan their nests with the most patient manner.  They are actually quite capable of digging with incredible accuracy.  Not to mention the delicate care they treat each egg with.  The whole experience was in a word…beautiful.

Click here to read more.

1.)  Our Secret Cove

Alyson Drinking Coconut Milk at Secret Cove

Everyone out traveling and sailing is looking for that one paradise spot.  The one isolated, remote, and private place that makes you say, “this will always be our spot”, and from then on when you think of paradise its the image that comes to mind.  Ours was secret cove.  Sailing along the Colombian coast and through the morning mist we were awed by the landscape before us:  Beaches, rainforests, water falls, and snow capped mountains.  We spent nearly a week in Secret Cove enjoying the snorkeling, dinghy sailing, beach BBQs, midnight rows, and being away from the rest of the world. You know, this spot actually has it’s own name, but it will always be our secret cove.

See more amazing photos and video of ‘Our Secret Cove’ here.

Beach BBQ at Secret Cove

If you would like to go back and read the blogs about each of these places just click on the link after each paragraph.  Thanks to all our readers who have followed us this year and to all our good friends we’ve made along the way.  We hope you all have a Happy New Years and look forward to seeing you again soon in 2010.

Related posts:

1. Designers of Curacao Island Tour of Curacao   Hello, Hop&Jaunt fans! As...
2. Wrapping Up Chapter One We have now been in Curacao for over three...
3. The Secret Cove (Continued from Post 1     and 2   of sailing to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Old Walled City of Cartagena at Night

One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is to go for a ride and look at the Christmas lights and decorations. This year we continued the tradition in Cartagena by taking a horse drawn carriage ride through the old walled city. We picked a nice warm night, grabbed the cameras and hit the streets.

For me its different to be in such a warm climate during the holiday season. Its odd to be sweating in the mid-day heat while listening to “White Christmas” (although I suppose there is plenty of “snow” here).  Despite the heat, Christmas season is celebrated in Colombia just as enthusiastically as in the United States.  The city becomes decorated with an array of vividly colored lights and ornaments.  Nativity scenes are especially prominent in front of the gigantic, ominous cathedrals. 

A Large Illuminated Nativity Scene

Cherry blossom Christmas lights are set in trees throughout the city

The old city is safe enough to stroll through during the nights and evenings.  In fact, it was one of our favorite activities to aimlessly meander around town in the cool of night.  But if you want to view the city in style, you can’t beat a horse drawn carriage.  The clip-clop of the horse’s shoes on the cobblestone streets really add to the charm of the city.  A fair price for a coach ride is around 25,000 Pesos ($12.50 US).

We hire a coche for a ride around town.

Our Faithful Stead

We're Off

Cartagena is in a very tropical climate.  Therefore, evergreens are not really common.  You can, however, see plenty of lighted palm trees, flower bushes, and water fountains. 

Lighted Fountain in Plaza Bolivar

Christmas Palm Tree

Alyson Walking Through a Decorated Plaza

Fireworks burst above an old tower.

An Old Pirate Ship

Here are a few more photos from our night out:

Balcony at Night

The Govenor's Palace

Christmas Trumpeter

White Horse

Marriage Carriage

The was a wedding going on in a large church and the bride and groom arrived in the white horse drawn carriage and this white Cadillac.

Decorated Balconies

San Pedro Cathedral

Next time we will post some more Christmas photos from Bogota, the capitol city of Colombia.  Its located higher in the mountains which gives a chilling and colder climate.  Very european-esque with amazing graffiti art.  Plus we meet a ghost & a llama.  Check back soon!

Happy New Year & Ciao,

Aly & John

Related posts:

1. Festival Week in Cartagena Hi Hop & Jaunt Readers! Alyson and I just...
2. Teatro Heredia When you’re traveling abroad knowing the native tongue is...
3. Amazing Knockers Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

La mesa de la bruja

While living in a new place its important to learn more about the local culture and history.  For this museums are just great, and Cartagena offers several beautiful buildings outfitted with a variety of historical artifacts and relevant information.  Recently, we visited the Palace of the Inquisition which is considered one the most significant constructinos of civil architecture in Colombia.  Built around 1770 this building was the center for the Spanish Inquisition in Cartagena, where witches, heretics, and other ‘sinners’ met the infamous torture devices hidden away in the dungeoun cellars. Over 600 of the accused met their end inside those walls. Today it is a museum with some of the torture devices on display, and the building itself is an amazing piece of work but knowing what happened there gives you a bit of a chill. 

Palace of the Inquisition, Cartagena

No One Escapes the Spanish Inquisition

Interior courtyard of the palace

So during their reign of terror the Spanish Inquisition used a variety of twisted and sadistic tools to convert protestants, slaughter indigenious indians, and interrogate witches about the details of their craft.

 As you will see from the following photos, they were some pretty sick bastards.

The twisted things people do for politics and religion.

Torture device to be worn around the neck. This instrument slowly killed the victim with gangrene caused by infection of the wounds around the neck.

The Rack. Used to tear limbs from their sockets and waterboarding prisoners by pouring pitchers of water down their throats.el Executioner

Apparently, Cartagena was full of witches back in the 17th Century.  It must have been a big problem because the Inquisition had some pretty detailed records on how to tell if someone was a witch, how to cast spells and encantations, and how to kill a witch.  The process for determing witches was pretty scientific.  They placed the witch onto a giant scale.  Depending on how much she weighed the tribunal could tell if a woman was a witch and how powerful a witch she may be.  If you were too light then you were a witch.

Recipe for a Witch's Brew

Ingredients for potions

Witchcraft paraphenlia

The interrogation process for finding out a witch was pretty bizarre as well.  Here is the standard list of questions the tribunal would put to the accused.

1. How long have you been a witch?
2. Why did you become a witch?
3. How did you become a witch and what happened on that occasion?
4. What is the name of your master amongst the evil spirits?
5. What is the oath that you had to render to him?
6. Under what terms did you become a witch?
7. Where did you celebrate your wedding?
8. What demons and people attended your wedding?
9. What kind of food did you eat at your wedding?
10. How was it served?
11. Did you sit at a table?
12. Was there music?
13. Did you dance?
14. What evils have you caused?
15. To who and why?
16. What children have you given the evil eye?
17. What animals have you cursed to die?
18. How do you fly?
19. Who taught you to fly?
20. What words do you say to fly?
21. Do you fly fast?
22. How do you make a witch’s brew?
23. What worms and catepillars have you created?

Alyson at the Rack

A beautiful place with an ugly history.

While the gallows and the guillotine are sufficient enough for mortal men witches have to be burned at the stake. Thats the only way to make sure. The museum had a guillotine erected in the courtyard. Alyson and I were going to take pictures with it, but neither of us were brave enough to put our heads through. It all seems ridiculous until your standing up there beneath that giant rusty blade. Not a good feeling.Playing chicken with the guillotine

Sticking our necks out

Courtyard

Alyson makes a friend with a demon

she's a witch!

While witchcraft was a major problem for these “exectuioners of justice” natrually political opponents to the Spanish crown were finding themselves on the cord as well. It was not until the revolution and Cartagena’s declaration of Independence on November 11th, 1811 that the Inquistion was put to a halt. Though it breifly resurfaced with the ironically named Pable Morillo the pacifier, the Inquisition was once and for all exciled when Simon Bolivar’s patriot army liberated the city from the Spanish in 1821.

Related posts:

1. Amazing Knockers Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic...
2. Teatro Heredia When you’re traveling abroad knowing the native tongue is...
3. Dia Del Independencia “Kid’s Parade” We arrived in Cartagena by sailing over a sunken...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Crew of Hop & Jaunt

When you’re traveling abroad knowing the native tongue is a handy asset (obviously), and since Alyson is well versed in Espanol it saves me alot of  time with complex translations.  However, I do like the challenge of being able to do things myself.  Living in Colombia has definitely helped my Spanish to improve.  Alyson also has been a good tutor and often gives me the opportunity to take the lead in some conversations.  The practice has helped me come a long way from my first failed attempt at trying to rent a computer at a Colombian internet cafe.  As we approached the counter I was so surprised and unprepared when Alyson told me, “You try this time” that the only Spanish word I could muster was “Senor”.  As in ” uhh…I’d like to use a computer…Senor.”  That didn’t really get me anything but a blank stare.

Luckily though I’ve gotten much better.  Now its absolutely no problem for me to go out in the city to do things on my own.  But on occassion I do find myself in conversational situations that exhaust my basic knowledge of the language, and I’m forced to resort to awkward charade-like gestures.  Today it happened again when I attempted to purchase tickets to tour Cartagena’s World Famous Teatro Heredia.

Relaxing on the Balcony

We woke up midmorning today with nothing in particular to do.  The day was warm and the skies were clear.  While enjoying the view from the balcony of our new hostel room we decided it would be a good day to take the cameras around the city and take some photographs.

View from our suite.

Nice warm weather here with cool December breezes.

Hitting the streets in search of coffee.

more doors

Cafe Havana: a cuban club on the corner

While walking along we noticed a long line outside of Teatro Heredia.  This is a beautiful 100 year old theater that we’ve been dying to go inside.  While Alyson was busy taking photographs, I decided to approach the ticket window and buy our admission for the theater tour.  Tickets can be purchased for 11,000 Pesos (roughly $5.50 US) per adult.

Teatro Heredia

I’m not quiet sure where I went wrong in the conversation.  I thought I was doing pretty well, but instead of the tour I accidentaly purchased tickets for a school performance of The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  Its strange that no matter where you are at Christmas you end up going to watch someone’s kids in some type of holiday play.  It wasn’t what we were expecting but it got us into the theater anyhow.

Our box seats

View of the interior

Not a bad place to have a school play

Lights dimming...

the Stage

Indian Princess

Ceiling of the theater

The play was good.  Apparently, Colombian schools are not broken down into Elementary, Junior High and High School.  All ages attend the same school and participated in the performance.  It was very well done, and since it was a familar story the dialogue was easy to follow.  We were surprised that the school performances are held in such an elaborate and historic theater, but I suppose if you’ve got it…use it.  We wanted to post some video from the show, but a slow internet connection is preventing us from uploading any.  So instead here is a little holiday play of our own. 

After the play we spent the rest of the evening playing darts and listening to music in a British pub.  I really love the variety of things to do in this city.  Check our photos page for more images and have a Merry Christmas or uhh Feliz Navidad!

Feliz Navidad

Related posts:

1. Amazing Knockers Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic...
2. Festival Week in Cartagena Hi Hop & Jaunt Readers! Alyson and I just...
3. Dia Del Independencia “Kid’s Parade” We arrived in Cartagena by sailing over a sunken...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.