Ahhh…the Caribbean Islands

Ahhh…the Caribbean Islands

Two weekends ago I thought it might be nice to get away to a Caribbean island, I am in the Caribbean after all. I’d heard and read that Islas San Bernardo had the clear turquoise water that dreams are made. That was all I needed to know to motivate me to take a rather lengthy trip for only having a weekend in which to do it.

Kären and I left on Friday afternoon at 3:30 and got as close to the islands as we could safely. Luckily, our colleague Gabriel suggested we take a bus to Sincelejo and then we could take any kind of transport to Tolú. We arrived at 9:30 and spent the night in Sincelejo, which was actually a nice little city. We got a laugh out of Kären’s sheets.

Hmm...you tell me what this elephant looks like he's doing.

A church in Sincelejo the next morning

Notice the dogs below the statue with a dog

una mariposatree

Saturday morning we arose early and headed to Tolú. We took a taxi, a buseta, and a bicycle taxi to finally wind up a little over an hour later at the boat tour place. Our tour to the islands would leave at 8:30, just enough time for an arepa de huevo y jugo de naranja.

Arepa de huevo, one of my favorite, yet extremely unhealthy foods of Colombia

We boarded the boat with about 40 other people and were off to the islands. I felt like a total tourist, but I really didn’t care. The first island had a tour of el Acquario, which was definitely not the right name for this place. It was kind of kitschy island folklore, zoo, aquarium, and museum put together. OK, I don't have a better name for it either.

We saw...

very clear water with tiny fish

camouflaged turtles

A beautiful shot by Kären

mangroves

island kitsch

odd artifacts

Yes, and flamingoes!

Since our trip to the Guajira Peninsula never happened due to the sharks (see: Sharks, Flamingoes, Guerillas, Oh My!), this was the first time in my life to see a real live flamingo. Aren't they weird looking? They almost look prehistoric. Apparently they along very well together as they seemed to be yelling and pecking at one another.

the one leg neck tuck

Kind of looks like the ideal tool for dusting. My apartment in Barranquilla could use a good dusting.

cute little toucan

and even one of these birds. Does anyone know what they're called?

Then we re-boarded the boat and sped off to the island where we had 3 hours for lunch and snorkeling. The water was amazing. The snorkeling was good. I love swimming as if I'm a part of a school of fish. A new and enjoyable experience was being towed on a rope off the back of the boat while snorkeling all the way into shore.

turquoise water

the view from where we went snorkeling

This is where we had lunch. It was the opposite of horrible

Kären

Please note the color of the water in the background

lunch, brought to you by our proud sponsors at Aguila

After a bit of shopping in Tolú, we took another buseta to the town of Coveñas. We passed through some gorgeous rural countryside that was illuminated in the pre-twilight time of day. Is there a word for that time? That night after finding a place to stay, I fell asleep extremely early and almost the second I hit the bed. Traveling, being in the sun and salt water is sublime, but it's also exhausting. Believe me, I am not complaining. I am smiling.