Colombia: The only risk is wanting to stay

We just returned from our incredible trip to Colombia and I'm already hoping we can find time to go back in the next year or two! There's something so special about embracing your roots...I would argue that you never get "the real deal" unless you take the time to fully immerse yourself in the culture.

Let me start by giving you a little family history. My father was born and raised in the capitol of Colombia called Bogota. When he was a teenager, his family met the missionaries and they eventually joined the LDS church.



A few years later, my father applied and got a scholarship to study at Brigham Young University in Utah. While studying he met my mother and eventually got married. After graduating, my Dad accepted a position at Boeing and my parents moved to Seattle. When I was in 3rd grade (1999), my family traveled to South America over the holidays to visit for the first time. I have memories of swimming in the ocean, my grandpa dressing up as Santa Claus for Christmas, going to the zoo and playing with my Aunts. To be honest I wish I could remember more.

Years passed and in 2012, we finally went back to Colombia for a family reunion. We traveled throughout the country and got to meet a lot of our extended family. Our cousins joked that they friend requested us on Facebook and we never accepted...we felt so bad but the truth was we were so disconnected we just had no clue. During this trip I remember falling in love with Colombia and wanting to stay. It was the first time I was able to really understand where my routes came from. I was able to step out of my box and practice the language, eat traditional dishes, explore the community and embrace the culture in full effect.  I wanted to return the next summer and live with my Aunt Marta for a month but life here in the US was too hectic with nursing school and work. Plus, I ended up meeting my husband and that was worth the stay. 

Missing some familia

The Bernal Cousins

The Bernal Children (Tios & Tias)

This trip to Colombia in 2016 was quite different than the last. My father had mentioned that my grandma was getting old and the she was mourning the recent passing of my Aunt Stella who died unexpectedly after multiple cardiac surgeries. He had just come home from visiting the family and let us know it would be nice if we could find time to visit because he was worried about his mother's health, plus it would lift her spirits to see her grand kids (especially from her favorite one!).  I talked to Jaime and he didn't think twice...we booked our tickets and never looked back. I'm so grateful that he is so supportive of my family and helps create opportunities for me to see them. Here's our blog post about all of our incredible adventures. 

We almost took this flight to Honduras to see Izzy during one of our layovers but sent her this picture instead. 

We flew from Seattle to LA, LA to San Salvador, Ecuador, and San Salvador to Bogota. Three brutal flights!. My Aunt Marta had arranged for a driver to pick us up at the new El Dorado airport which was way nicer than the airport I remember 4 years ago! They had just recently remodeled it. We were exhausted and our very nice driver Nicolas took us to our hotel where we stayed for the night. 

The next morning we woke up and our driver took us to our favorite brunch place in Bogota called Jaques. Just look at our eggs benedict, the pastries and the desserts! You can bet we stuffed our faces. I fell in love with the interior design of this place...event the restrooms were beautiful...which I feel is a little weird to say. I was going to take a bathroom selfie but I just couldn't do it. 

 
   
 

After breakfast we planned to go to Monserrate. I remember going here with my family for years ago but decided to take Jaime because it has one of the most beautiful views of Colombia and you take a gondola up the mountain to a very famous church. It was a little windy but I was too fixed on the breathtaking view to care. We were 10,341 ft. above sea level and I think it caught Jaime a little off guard. He had to take a little rest break to acclimate to the elevation gain in Colombia and then I just happened to take him to the top of a mountain on the first day...oops. While we were at the top of the mountain we stopped by some of the local shops and got to eat some amazing platanos and arepas.




  
   


  

 

After Monserrate we headed to our hotel Dann Norte to relax and watch the final of the Olympics mens soccer game where Brazil prevailed. We then met up with my cousin Jaime and his girlfriend Tatiana and went downtown to a festival where the had THE BEST street food.  The festival was developed to honor the wives and families of the fallen soldiers, how cool is that!? We tried a little bit of everything but loved the arepas which are a traditional Colombia favorite. They are made with either corn or flour and stuffed with cheese and meet. We also tried one of our new favorite fruits!

  
 
  

We had planned to go out to Andres D.C., a famous bar/restaurant, but realized Jaime didn't have any pants...plus I was a little cold so I figured it would be wise to buy a jacket. Bogota can actually get pretty cold, a lot colder than I had anticipated. Jaime Andres (my cousin) drove us to the local mall and we ended up buying what we needed. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and eventually set out for Andres D.C. bar & restaurant. I remember coming to this place with my cousin and brothers the last time I was in Colombia. It was so much fun to come back and especially fun to bring Jaime. The DJ was incredible. The best part about this bar is that people everywhere are dancing and not just club/freak dancing but actually salsa dancing. It was wall to wall packed. We ordered some drinks and food and Jaime (my cousin) kept laughing because Jaime (my husband) just about ate all the chicarrones in the restaurant. I have to quote Jaime on this one. He said "I think Colombians make the chicarrones better than the Mexicans."

 



  



My husband was so happy. I have never seen him dance, smile and eat more chicarrones in my life. He was so happy and kept hugging me and telling me how happy he was to be in Colombia, how much he loved the bar, that the DJ was killing it with the latin mixes and that he was so happy he married me. I wish I could re-live that night over and over. We just kept dancing and telling each other how much we loved each other. We exchanged how excited we were to be with our family and how excited we were for our future. We promised to bring our kids to Colombia in the future. Jaime always tells me "I knew I was going to marry you, I knew it the day I saw you." I can't help but blush every time I hear him say that because I knew it too. I saw it in his eyes the moment I met him and my life has never been better since the day I saw him. I've never been happier. After dancing we ate some soup and crashed around 0300. I wanted to try and get up to play soccer with Tatiana in the morning, but it was clear that was going to happen after only 4 hours of sleep.

 

 

The next day we did not wake up early nor did I get up to go play soccer. We were so wiped. Instead we found this cool place called Gaira cafe that we went to brunch at. Turns out this was Carlos Vives's restaurant. He is a famous Colombian singer that my dad loves and the best part about eating here on the weekend for brunch was that they ended up having a live show right as we were eating and the music was fantastic! These two women had the most powerful voices and the acoustics in the room were on point! The food was delicious and I found one of my new favorite drinks which had blended milk, strawberry and something else tasty in it. We also had the most beautiful and best tres leches cake we have ever eaten, Jaime also admitted it was better than Mexico! Colombia for the win!



  

After pigging out we went back to the hotel to rest before my cousin would be by to pick us up! Jaime Andres and Tati took us this really cool theme park with rides and family activities. It had this delicious place called El Tambor and we ordered the largest possible plate you could get that had every kind of meat and arepa possible! Potatoes, chicarrones, beef, chorizo, chicken, corn, yuca...I can't even remember it all. Jaime Andres said my Dad loved this restaurant and I can see why. We sadly couldn't finish the whole thing. After food coma #2 for the day we got stuck in bad traffic heading back to the hotel...so naturally you stop for dessert right!? We went to a Cabana Alpina cafe and ate some delicious cheesecake and pastries and I got a hot chocolate that gave me the best sugar high of my life! I mentioned to Jaime Andres that I really wanted to by an authentic Colombian jersey and we were right by the Adidas store so we did a little shopping and I bought the perfect jersey to rep my people!

  



 

 

The next day we set off to the airport to get some crazy hobo that was flying in from Costa Rica who had a ridiculuos mustache on his face. Rosy used to tease Connor when he was little and call him "Conito de chocolate" ... not even really sure why but I decided to right that on a piece of paper and stand by the airport door when he entered and the first thing he said was "What the heck is on that piece of paper!?" I missed my little bro and it was great to see him. We jumped in the cab with Nicolas and headed to Fusa for the week to see the fam. It was really cute because Marta called Nicolas on the way to check on us and he said something along the lines of "I told you I have them, they are all safe and we are headed there now." Marta said my grandma kept calling and making her call to check and see when we would arrive because she was so excited to see us. The minute we pulled up I could see my grandma waving from her third story apartment window with the biggest smile on her face.

It was so incredible to see my family and also my grandma. Amparo, her daughter Ana Maria and her two sons Ali and Martin live next door and it was so much fun to meet the boys for the first time!







I also hadn't seen my grandma in over 4 years and I swear she still looked healthy as an ox! I remember she came to live with us after my parents got divorce and I loved playing basketball with her outside the house. I'm pretty sure she would beat me in pig and horse. It really meant the world to me to be able to sit down and talk with her on this trip. She admitted my Spanish was much improved from the last time I visited and we were able to communicate much faster! She told me about her marriage and love for my grandpa Jaime who passed away from a stroke when I was in 6th grade. She told me about her love for gospel and how she served missions in Colombia and Peru with her husband, how she has taught temple prep and still goes to church every Sunday. She showed me family heirlooms and picture albums...all of favorite things to do when visiting my relatives. My dad saw the picture I posted and called and said he was sad he wasn't there with his family and kids and we all teased him that he lasted a day before wanting to book a flight.



The first night she sat Connor and I down and asked us some of the abstract questions she asks young couples in her temple prep class like "What is the most important thing in this life?" "What is the greatest blessing God has given us?" It's interesting because we all had different answers to these questions but all of our answers were centered around love, family and the blessing of the gospel.



My abuelita also showed us some of the poems my grandpa Jaime wrote for her. I didn't know how talented of a poet he was and I think his poems were just about the most romantic and affectionate way he could have showed his love for my grandma. Connor read one out loud and helped me understand some of the translations and by the end of the poem we were all in tears.

Now I cannot imagine living without my husband. I told Jaime he better be the healthiest man on earth because he's eight years older than me and there's no way I'm living a day without him. He may have the odds going against him by being much older but luckily he takes great care of his health. I always joke with him that I'll probably die within minutes of him passing when we are older but as cheesy as it sounds I really can't imagine a day without being able to see his smile, feel the warmth of his hugs and tell him that I love him. I don't think I could be as happy without someone to make fun of me, give me a kiss in the morning, tuck me into bed at night, cook me breakfast, yikes this is getting really sappy. Every time I think of what life would be like without Jaime I burst into tears. Anyway, I'm sure we will live a long and healthy life and point being that I'll be ready to go with my soul mate the second his or my time is up. Nobody be alarmed...we already have our plan in place and we both accept it! Just thinking about my grandma living without her soul mate for so many years makes my heart ache. Seeing how deeply they loved each other and the incredibly dense life they shared with their family really put into perspective how precious this life we have really is. It was really special to be able to share those moments with my brother and grandma. 

It was getting pretty late and we were hungry so we walked across the street to an arepa restaurant and Jaime treated us all to some delicious arepas with my personal favorite: cheese and chorizo! We had a sweet tooth and Martin walked us to the local panaderia to buy some pastries we shared with the family. We were exhausted and decided we should head to bed. My Tia Amparo came to hook my grandma up to some oxygen which is part of her pre-bedtime routine. I gave my grandma a kiss tonight and crashed like a little baby.

 



The next morning I woke up with the worst cold I have had in a while. Probably my fault for wearing a summer dress 10,000 feet above sea level on a mountain on an overcast and super windy day in Bogota. It had finally hit me. My grandma was hilarious because she kept snapping at me and saying "Ponga mis zapatos!" which means put on my slippers. She said I was going to get worse walking around bare footed. She also made me my favorite maracuya fresh juice. She had prepared some bread, cheese and my favorite Colombian hot chocolate for breakfast which I love and could drink a gallon of. Jaime kinda laughed because the two things we avoid are bread and cheese and we knew our tummies were going to be unhappy but we said "what the heck we are on vacation." After we decided to head to the super mercado to buy some groceries and we stocked up on our usual bacon, spinach and eggs for breakfast and helped my grandma with some of her groceries.

 

In the afternoon Marta invited us to go to a dance class but she didn't really mention that it was not just a dance class...it was salsa on steroids so it was basically like a 60 minute cardio workout. Connor and Jaime came with us and we arrived early so Marta introduced us to her friend Fernando Figueroa who was the owner of the dance studio. Marta mentioned that I loved to sing and he put a karoke song on his computer and got right to it! I was a little shy and also had no voice since I was deathly sick but I tried to squeak out some Selena as I sang "Como la Flor." Connor was up next and sang Juanes with Marta as his back up. One the dance class started we had no clue what we were in for! Fernando was an awesome teacher and kept the class moving at a great pace. I was so proud of Connor and Jaime, they killed it and I think had more fun than we did shaking their bodies and twirling around in circles.





Towards the end of the class Fernando showed us some cool partner tricks. Connor was about to try it with one lady but she totally chickened out and started screaming mid lift which was super awkward for him because she was halfway in the air. He was able to try it with one of Fernando's other dance instructors and I wish I had a video to show how cool it looked! After class Jaime and I talked to Fernando and told him we were interested in learning how to salsa together and we wanted to be able to do a few stunts. He was so excited and we booked two hour long sessions with him which ended up being the highlight of our trip! After dance class we walked through the town and took a bus back to grandma Aura's apartment. When you take the bus in Fusa you just get on and Marta handed money to the person in front of her and told them to hand it up to the driver. It was so nonchalant I was impressed with how well people trusted each other.   

After we arrived back at the apartment Jaime said he would make tacos for everyone for dinner. Ali was bouncing off the walls he was so excited for tacos! Jaime is such an awesome cook and of course everyone was shocked he was in the kitchen instead of me. In my defense, I did make some guacamole (with the help of Ana Maria and Marta's friend). Everyone got to enjoy some bomb Mexican tacos and thanked Jaime for treating them to dinner.

I was still feeling pretty sick and Jaime's neck was bothering him so Ana Maria offered to try some acupuncture. I was a little hesitant but Jaime was really excited. He actually ended up loving it and doing another treatment the next day. I on the other hand, did not like having to sit still with needles stuck in my face and arms...I never sit still. She also did this Chinese medicine technique with Moxibustian which helps soothe inflamed muscles. She did it on my shoulder which has been bothering me for a while now and also did some treatments on Jaime's neck. It was kinda funny because we were going to consider buying some Moxa from Ana Maria because we like it but I said transporting that into the US with a Mexican husband would instantly get us interrogated and in trouble. My Aunt Amparo laughed and said "Yeah don't even attempt that."



 

The next morning Jaime and I woke up and walked down the block to the panaderia to buy some juice and the best sweet bread you'll ever had. It was so nice to be able to walk to the store and enjoy a light breakfast and just soak in everything going on around us. Fusa is such a small town. Everyone jokes it is where the old people go to retire, which is hilarious because we fit right in and loved the laid back "homey" feel of the town. Everyone is so friendly. We ate our bread (so much bread it was ridiculous) and finished our fresh squeezed juice. We also decided to head to a local gym to get a little big of exercise which was the best because I could actually breathe for one since my nose was so clogged. After we headed to our private dance lessons.

One of our favorite experiences on our trip was going to Fernando's studio to learn how to salsa. He has such an energetic personality and is a very establish dancer, choreographer and teacher. Jaime and I can both get by and dance (Jaime is actually way better than I am) but we wanted to be able to learn the proper steps. Fernando was able to break everything down and by the end of the first day we actually weren't doing to bad! The second day we went he helped us come up with some choreography and also taught us some stunts! Luckily Jaime is so strong he didn't have any issues lifting, turning or twirling me. The only issue is that he was so strong he almost threw me into the mirror! Fernando kept biting his hand because he was freaked out the first time we would try something. I'm sure he was thinking, "This could turn out real bad real fast." We just kept laughing and honestly had the best time stepping out of our box and learning to dance...there really was no better place or opportunity. I am so grateful that Jaime isn't "too macho" enough to dance with me. He's always willing to try new things and tells me he will do anything to make me smile. I have always loved dancing with him at family events, to the mariachis, at the club...you name it I just love to dance with him and love that he's never shy. In the words of my Aunt Marta told me "The way your man dances is a good indication of the kind of lover he is." Enough said. We might show off some of our dance moves in the future but I guess only time will tell. We still have some work to put in. We thank Fernando for his time and gave him a pretty generous tip. He thanked us for visiting his studio and we said we will definitely come back next time we are in Fusa! He had us record a little promo for his facebook page and we told him if he's ever in Seattle he can stay with us!

 We set out to Marta's house but got lost on the way and eventually found our way to her street. Marta had invited us over to her place for dinner but joked "I'm not cooking I'm getting someone else to cook for you." Her friend made us this delicious mazorca which is a traditional Colombian soup. It was delicious and as you can imagine perfect for my throat. It was fun to spend time with everyone and we reminisced about past times together.



Marta also showed me some of the scrapbooks she had put together and I got to see pictures of all my family including my dashing grandparents when they started dating. I saw pictures of my Dad and Mom and even some of Garret when he was a baby. My Aunt Marta told me that my grandpa saw my grandma Aura at a local competition and said "That's going to be my wife." My grandma Aura was a very talented athlete and had won medals for her achievements in track and field. My grandpa Jaime won her heart and they dated and were shortly married after. They started having kids right away and my grandpa Jaime gave up his dreams of being a professional soccer player to work to feed his family and support his wife. I will treasure these pictures forever.

 

 



  
 

 After we were in a food coma and Marta took Jaime and I up to her room and told us to take a nap. My Dad got her addicted to this company called Nikken and she said "I have a Nikken shower, pillow, mattress...everything is Nikken so enjoy!" We slept like babies it was so awesome. We woke up about an hour and a half later to say goodbye to Cono. Fortunately Jaime Andres was close by and drove him to the airport.



  

 After our nap we were hungry again so we walked to a local restaurant and treated my grandma to some Pizza. When we were walking back to Marta's I could help but be a creeper and take this photo. My heart just melts at the way Jaime treats my family. He treated my grandma like his own and would let her hold his arm as he escorted her down the street. My grandma had the sweetest things to say about Jaime. She kept telling me that she could see I was so happy. She also said she could tell we were so deep in love and said "Jaime siempre es una nombre bueno."



She told me she has never known a Jaime she hasn't liked and that you can always trust he will be a good man. Her husband was named Jaime, his first son my tio is named Jaime as well as his son Jaime Andres. I joked with my grandma that she enjoyed Jaime's company more than mine because she was always asking him if he was hungry, if he needed anything and would always give him the responsibility of carrying the keys to the apartment. She would say "Jaime es el patriarcho del casa" which means Jaime is the patriarch of the house as the eldest man. It was pretty darn cute.



 

On the topic of keys it's pretty cute how my grandma devised a plan to get the keys to someone at her front door if she wanted to let them in without having to walk down 3 flights of stairs. Just see for yourself. She tied a rope to a basket and throws it out her window, hilarious!

On our last day in Fusa we just enjoyed walking around the town, working out, our traditional stop at the panaderia and just hanging out with my grandma. We also got to visit the local market that had streets packed with fresh produce and meat. We bought what we thought was bacon which was really what you buy to make chicarrones so I cooked Jaime my first plate of chicarrones ever and was attacked by flying grease the whole time. I had to call my aunt Amparo for backup. I kept saying "This does not cook like bacon!" Amparo was so sweet and also helped us do all of our laundry that had been piling up.



In the evening we also went to one of Martin's dance classes because his group was preparing for a show on Sunday. Ana Maria explained some of the native dances they were going to perform and it was so cool to see how they differed depending on the region. I wish we could have stayed until Sunday to see the show! Little Ali wanted us to go watch his soccer game but he hurt his knee at school so he wasn't able to play.

Even in another country this man was hard at work!

We had a wonderful week in Fusa but it was time to head back to Bogota. We gave Ali and Martin hugs and told them they could come visit us whenever. I told Amparo I will be back sometime over the next few year so this is definitely not goodbye. We thank Ana Maria for all of her acupuncture and Moxa treatments and she was so sweet she just kept telling me how wonderful of a man Jaime is and how I am so lucky to have him. Jaime always jokes that everyone always tells him how lucky he is to have me but it goes both ways. Marta and my grandma drove us to the bus station and I'll admit saying goodbye to my grandma was tough. I realized it was one of the first times I had to say goodbye to someone not knowing if I would ever see them again. Who knows how many more years she has left. I teared up and told her I wanted to stay and that I didn't want to leave her. She laughed and gave me a hug and I thank her for a wonderful week and told her how much I love her. She also said how happy I am that I have found Jaime and that she was so happy she could meet him. I finally had to wave goodbye and Jaime gave me a hug as I wiped away the tears. Saying goodbye to Marta is a lot easier because we know we will see each other again soon. We boarded the bus with the most wild driver on the planet from Fusa to the bus station in Bogota and set off for our next adventure.

 

 

We took a taxi from the bus station to our hotel called Hotel Black. We decided to try out their restaurant and it was the worse food we had ever eaten! Yuck, yuck, yuck!

 

We ended up walking to one of the main restaurant areas a little farther away from our place and found this awesome restaurant called Crepes and Waffles so we loaded up banana and nutella crepes and hot chocolate for the night...which was awesome because Bogota was so stinking cold!

  



In the morning my tio Jaime, tia Jenny and cousin Juliana came to pick us up to take us further into the mountains. I was so happy I was able to see them while we were back in Bogota for a short bit. My tio Jaime is such a jokester. Poor Juliana got car sick along the way and my uncle joked "We are taking you higher in the mountain so you can see the beautiful land, smell the fresh air....and Julian's vomit." Juliana was so sweet and kept apologizing. She has always had problems with vertigo since she was little. I wish I could describe how peace and beautiful the houses in the mountains were. It was always really cool to see so many people biking in groups as well. We stopped at the BEST arepa restaurant we had yet to experience and filled our tummies with best chorizo and steak arepas, orange juice and Colombian hot chocolate...ahhh take me back to El Alto De Las Arepas.

  

After we went up to this beautiful resort and walked around and took some more pictures. They were in the process of developing more homes and condos and I told Jaime we have to buy one and my aunt and uncle can take care of it when we are gone....but for real it would be so awesome.

    

   

After we drove to Sopo to go to the flagship store of Caban Alpina. I told Jaime that this was one of my favorite places and he quickly realized why. They have a plethora of desserts freshly made. My tio Jaime looked at me and laughed when I walked up to the register with a cart full and told him "And these are only for me, I'm not sharing." He laughed and I admitted a few were for our family back home.

  



After the driving and sight seeing tio Jaime dropped us off and we took a nap. Julia was so sick she had to go to urgent care and my uncle apologized because they wanted to take us to dinner but I told them not worry. We walked back to the restaurant area and they had a Sunday market going on. We always try to bring something home whenever we travel so we walked around and eventually bought a painting. I ended up buying a new scarf I clearly loved.

  

After Jaime Andres came to meet us and we went to a restaurant and had bomb empanadas...I think it was an Irish pub though so I'm still confused how I ordered empanadas but they were delicious! Jaime Andres drove us home and also drove us by the Bogota, Colombia Temple which was very cool to see after knowing my abuela and abuelo had served there.

The next morning we packed our bags again and headed to Cartegena! The weather is always hot and sunny and we definitely needed a change from the cold! We had a driver arranged from the airport who took us to the airbnb we had booked. We met Olga who was such a wonderful lady and had the coolest "hotel" we have ever stayed at. Only pictures can explain how cool this exotic tree house was. We were able to stay on the coveted 3rd floor terrace which had our own bathroom, out door shower, king size bed with a mosquito net, balcony, book collection and even internet! We were so excited to finally have some alone time together. If you know me you I had my suit on within minutes and was out on our private beach enjoying the sun.

       






    

We were told the cooks would be serving lunch soon so we patiently waited not knowing what they were cooking. It turns out it was fish and Jaime was really nervous. He has never liked fish and thought he was going to die having it as the only option to eat in Baru. I'm proud of him because he gave it a shot and was shocked that he actually loved it and finished it all! I don't know how those ladies cooked it or what they put in it but it was literally a miracle! Jaime announced to the whole table that he actually liked the fish and it was hilarious. I think one of the coolest parts about staying at Olga's place was that you get to have your meals with the other guests all at the same table. It was fascinating to have multiple cultures, languages and to hear about all the other places people have traveled. Everyone we met at this place loved to travel and we loved sharing stories of the coolest places we have visited. At one meal we had people from the US, Australia, Netherlands, London and Brazil. What a melting pot! 

After our meal we left the complex to head to the official Playa Blanca because I wanted Jaime to get a taste of the crazy beach life. It was packed with people!

 

Jaime was nervous about swimming and leaving our stuff on the beach. We ordered a drink and relaxed for a little bit but decided we would rather have the home cooked food at Olga's. We were in a predicament because our ride wasn't going to be back for another two hours. We tried to get a taxi but there were none in site and it was a long walk to the main road. These guys offered to take us on their motorcycles back to our hotel and I looked at Jaime because I was certain he was going to say helllllll no are you getting on the back of a motorcycle with a random Colombian man. But it turns out he was so hungry he regretted to admit that it was the only option, ha. So we both got on the back of these strangers motorcycles and trusted that they were going to take us to the right place. The whole I was thinking "How badly would I get road rash from jumping off this motorcycle if I had to?" Jaime was close behind me and I could tell he was so nervous about me. The Colombian dude I was hanging on to started talking to me and asked me simple questions like where I was from and what we were doing in Colombia. He asked if I had a boyfriend and I told him "That's my husband on the other bike." He didn't really have much to say after that. In all fairness though these guys were both really nice and did exactly what they said they would. 

I know Colombia has had a bad reputation because of problems with drug trafficking and the infamous Pablo Escobar who really tainted the countries image years ago. In all honestly, everyone we met in Colombia was honest, kind and really wanted tourists know that Colombia is not the same place it was 10 years ago. Not everyone does drugs or is involved with the Cartel. The people are happy, friendly, love their culture and want people to have a good time. I always get asked "Did you feel safe!?" In all honestly, I felt safer in Colombia than I do sometimes in the U-district or Seattle. 

So yes, we made it back for our dinner and the food did not disappoint. Every single meal we had with Olga was healthy, home made and unique to the Colombian culture. I was so impressed with the cooks, the service...everything was amazing and surpassed all of our expectations. The next morning we planned to go to Isla Rosario. Olga arranged for a boat to pick us up and we went with the two Netherland girls. Boating across the ocean was incredible. Some areas of the water were so clear you could literally see the ocean floor in the more shallow areas.

   

    

We went through some pretty awesome canals and got to see some smaller villages. We did a little snorkeling and if you know Jaime he hates the water but this guys jumped in and got to enjoy seeing some of the ocean life. I think he got sick of the boat driver teasing him about not wanting to swim in the most beautiful ocean water he had probably ever seen.

    

After snorkeling we went to a restaurant that was instantly my favorite because it had a water slide into the ocean. I went down it within 10 minutes of arriving and the Colombia coast guard passing by had a fun time watching me look like a 12 year old. We ordered some drinks and waited for dinner. We ended up eating some of the best fried fish, coconut rice, salad and platanos. I swear I wish I could take a cook home with me. The food was so fresh and the fish in Colombia isn't "too fishy" as Jaime says. I don't know how to explain it but once again Jaimee loved it. We tanned in the sun and enjoyed the water for a few more hours before we finally headed home. We did some island shopping and picked out the island and home we are going to buy someday!



    

That evening we decided to have a special candle lit dinner on the ocean. The cooks set up a special table for us and I felt like we were wrapped in a blanket of stars. I remember looking up at the stars when we were in Southeast Asia and being amazing by their clarity. Well, Baru knocked that out of the park. If you want to feel small, travel to some of the most beautiful places on the planet and really look around to see what nature has to offer you. Jaime and I sat and ate our dinner while listening to the waves, looking at the stars and just being thankful for our of our blessings. We talked about our plans for the next few years and looked back on how far we have come. I told him it meant the world to me to be in Colombia with him and that I couldn't have asked for a more devoted husband to both me and my family. I wish I could re-live those moments for a lifetime.

 

After dinner Olga built a big bonfire and we laid on a blanket on the sand and watched more shooting stars than we could count. Eventually we headed back to bed.

 



This really was the sweetest ending to our stay in Cartegena in Baru. The next morning we woke up early and enjoyed some of the morning sun. We said our usually hello to the friendly man sweeping the beach and talked about how sad we were to leave.

    


We ended up splitting a cab with a couple heading in to Cartegena. They were so thoughtful and offered to let us keep our bags at their hotel so we could explore throughout the day and not have to worry about leaving our things behind. The hotel they were staying at was called Quadrifolio and we are hands down staying there when we go back. They had the best service ever and we kept getting worried because we didn't even have a room booked for the night but they kept offering us drinks and other services! The people were so kind! We left our bags and set off to walk around what was called the Walled City. It is actually a historical place in Cartegena because there is little a defensive wall built around the borders that protected the land from foreign invaders. Within the walls you can find the coolest restaurants, hotel, cafe and stores. I really wish we had more time to stay and explore. With the little time we had we walked all around and window shopped.



 

 

We found the best Cuban restaurant that even had a pool to dip your feet in which was perfect because it was so stinking hot. We had the best cuban sandwhiches and empanadas one could ask for. Can you tell empanadas are my favorite?

 

 

After lunch we found the best Gelato I have ever had I decided to order a double scoop, which was tough because it was so hot I had to eat it all before it melted so I got a huge stomach ache.



 



We also ran into a painter with the last name Silva and almost bought one of his paintings but realized it was more than we wanted to spend so we settled on a smaller and more easily transported size that is now hanging in our home! After all the walking we were tuckered out and sat in one of local parks and watched flocks of birds storm anyone that had bought some seeds from one of the local street vendors. It was pretty impressive how close they would get to the people. There we also a lot of beautiful churches and sculptures.

   

After, we went back to the hotel to relax and watch some TV before heading out to Juan del Mar for some delicious seafood. Then we looked on travel advisor for a great dessert place and wound up eating one of the best desserts!

 
   
We decided to head back to the Cuban place to order some empanadas for the flight home and we ran into our friends! I had actually texted them earlier and recommended the Cuban restaurant and we admitted we came back for round two which they thought was hilarious. It was a really great coincidence because we got to learn more about each other, where we have traveled and got to enjoy our dinner together. They offered host us if we ever traveled to Washington D. C. Jaime and I talked about how much of a blessing it was that we met them. Our day could have been miserable without a comfy place to stay and a safe place for our luggage. Plus it's always fun to meet new friends. They said we have to go to Machu Pichu next.

After dinner it was about that time and we called a cab and headed to the airport. It was a struggle again with 3 flights back to Seattle but eventually made it home. We got to use our Global Entry pass which was amazing because we had 45 minutes from international landing into LAX until our next flight and we made it in 20 minutes from the plane to our next gate. The only problem was it took forever for people to get off our incoming flight so we missed our connection. Luckily, Alaska Airlines was amazing and got us on a flight 15 minutes later! We were so thrilled because we were so ready to be home. The flight attendants moved around some of the seats so we could sit next to each other. Jaime joked that he was sick of being around me for 2 weeks and he liked his previous seat better and the flight attendant laughed. 

We had such a wonderful trip and were so grateful for all the amazing people we met and the beautiful places were able to see. We know it won't be long before we go back.