Becoming… a Travel Chaperone

It’s crazy to think, but almost two years have passed since Miguel and I first began preparing for our move to Cancun from Mexico City. It was around this same time that my sister was planning a 3-week trip to South America in November of that same year, 2017. Chatting with her on the phone one day, I jokingly suggested I could join her in Colombia since Cancun – in theory – was just a hop down the coast.  It wasn’t long after that conversation that the wheels began turning and plans were laid with both us of agreeing that it’s not often you get to galavant around a foreign country with one of your sisters.

While on the surface Colombia is similar to Mexico, my heart rate still accelerated when I thought about the adventure of travelling through a different Latin American country without the security of a native Spanish speaker like Miguel by my side. And, while my sister would be travelling with a group for the majority of her time in South America, her time with me in Cartagena, Colombia would be unguided, or rather, it would be guided by yours truly.

With two years of researching and planning our trips here in Mexico under my belt, I harnessed my inner tour guide and sussed out transport options, well-rated hotels, tasty restaurants, best places to visit and activities to do. While certainly not a full-fledged tour guide by any means, I did feel a certain level of responsibility (after booking us in for all of our transport, accommodations and tours) to lead us around the coastal towns of Cartagena and Santa Marta over our six-day rendezvous.

And so began, what I believe to be, a possible new career path as a “Travel Chaperone”.

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Day 1 – Connecting in Colombia

Colombia bound, flying from Cancun to Cartagena via Panama.

On Saturday, November 4, I arrived at Rafael Núñez International Airport in Cartagena, Colombia where I exited the plane onto the tarmac and joined the 500-something other arrivals inside the terminal for immigration. Surveying the crowd, a pang of worry hit as I thought how long this might take and feared I’d miss the arrival of my sister at the other terminal. But with a look at my phone, I saw I still had almost two hours and surely this line would move quickly. Twenty minutes later, a second spasm of worry hit me: Do Canadians need Visas to enter Colombia? I had not even thought to check on this one, very important detail in all of my research, and my stomach sunk. With no access to the internet, and far too embarrassed to ask anyone around me, I anxiously waited until my turn at the front of the queue.

Turns out Canadians only need to pay an entry tax (rather steep at $85 CAD) to enter Colombia – phew! But it wasn’t long before another worry appeared. Would my Mexican debit MasterCard work? With no Colombian Pesos on me, I had no other option but to wait and will the card to go through without incident. Normally the overprepared traveller, I was feeling woefully underprepared. And I prayed it wasn’t a sign of things to come for the trip that lay ahead of us and my role in putting it all together.

Thankfully, the transaction passed, my passport was stamped and I officially entered Colombia sincerely ‘gracias-ing’ the travel gods for my luck. With my first official steps on South American soil, I quickly collected my bags and went in search of the domestic terminal to catch my sister’s arrival.

Twenty minutes later, Sandy appeared with her group and exited the terminal. Reunited at last, she and I quickly hopped a cab to our hotel in the historic centre of Cartagena, dropped our bags and freshened up. Within minutes, we were back downstairs reconvening with her tour group for a quick walking tour around the historic centre to orientate ourselves after which, Sandy and I would officially be on our own.

Located on shores of the Caribbean Sea in the northwest corner of Colombia, Cartagena de Indias (as it is officially known) is an early 16th-century colonial town. A designated UNESCO world heritage site, Cartagena’s brightly coloured buildings are immaculately preserved with cobblestone streets connecting them to charming bougainvilia-covered plazas, striking churches and, of course, the 13-kilometre stone wall which fortified the city from pesky pirates from long, long ago.

Serving the best fresh ceviche and seafood since 2001, and visited by the late Anthony Bourdain in 2008.

After the orientation tour and bidding a final ‘adios‘ to her Colombian tour group, Sandy and I ventured out to find some good cocktails and ceviche and settled on a fabulous little joint, La Cevicheria, which came recommended by none other than the late Anthony Bourdain. We were not disappointed. As the sun set,  we sipped our sweaty drinks and devoured the fresh fish ceviche without apology. It was exactly what we needed after a day of travel. We capped the night off with a stroll through the historic streets and delighted ourselves with some cold and creamy helados before toddling off to bed for our early morning wake-up call.

Day 2 – Cartagena to Santa Marta

Up at the crack of dawn, Sandy and I were punctually waiting for our 7 a.m. shuttle pick-up by 6:55. We poked our heads out the front door and saw no movement so sat ourselves down near the door and waited. We waited, and waited some more while other guests came and went as their guides arrived to collect them. Around 7:45, I approached the front desk for the third time to see if they could try again to get in touch with the transport company. It was about this same time, a commotion followed from the front door as a motorcycle sped by on the street, followed by a very fit and athletic looking runner. Then another, and another…

Fun runners taking over the streets of Cartagena on Sunday morning.

Turns out, Sunday was as good a day as any to have a 5- and 10-kilometre fun run racing through the cobblestone streets of the historic centre. This however made it difficult for our shuttle bus to access our hotel. No one (including said hotel) thought to mention this to us? After finally getting a hold of the transport company, we were instructed to walk with our bags 10 minutes outside of the historic centre where we could hail a taxi to take us to the bus depot.

Not an ideal start for our first day of travel together but we eventually got ourselves sorted and boarded a bus that would take us to Santa Marta. However, as we had missed our original bus thanks to the fun-run confusion in el centro, we were left with only the slow option. This extended our original four-hour transit time to almost seven after it made numerous roadside pickups and a layover in Barranquilla where we had to change of buses.

Our oasis in Santa Marta for three nights. Photo Credit: http://www.hotelcasacarolina.com

But. We made it. Hotel Boutique Casa Carolina in downtown Santa Marta welcomed us with a warm embrace. The contemporary space was a sanctuary after travelling on the cramped, well-used seats of an old minibus. And our room, while small, was efficiently appointed with all the right amenities – namely, air conditioning. We eagerly freshened up then hopped back out onto the street to check out the seaside town.

Santa Marta, primarily a shipping port, is also a popular tourist destination due to its unique location on the outskirts of Tayrona National Park – a beautiful, nature-filled area reaching from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta down to the rugged Caribbean coast. While one of the oldest permanent cities in the Americas (established in 1525), the town today is a bit gritty as compared to the more popular and tourist-ready Cartagena. But it too contains charms of its own once you get exploring.

Our first afternoon in Santa Marta, however, felt decidedly ho-hum. The overcast skies, unfortunately, seemed to highlight the aforementioned grittiness and the town appeared a bit lonesome and uninhabited as we walked around (hence the lack of photos from this city). We wandered a bit, found a waterfront ceviche joint for a late lunch, then found our way to a local grocery store to pick up the necessary ingredients for a first-class dinner of cheese, cold cuts and red wine. After a long day, we finally settled in on our patio, poured ourselves a healthy portion of vino tinto and unwound before making it an early night.

Day 3 – La Victoria, Pozo Azul, Minca 

The next morning, Jose, our driver and guide, appeared right on time – early in fact as Sandy and I were still finishing our breakfast. Expectations were already exceeded after yesterdays shuttle service shenanigans. We loaded ourselves into his trusty Renault 4×4 and off we went on our expedition into the hills of the Sierra Nevada. From Santa Marta, we headed south on the main roads and quickly made our way to the start of the rough-and-ready road that would take us up to the hillside town of Minca. The pace slowed considerably at this point as Jose patiently navigated the crevices, potholes, oncoming traffic, hikers and animals all the while thoughtfully chatting with me in my broken Spanish.

Some 40 minutes later, we rolled through Minca and continued the trek on up through the misty, cloud-hugged hills to the coffee plantation of La Victoria. Here we stretched our legs and toured the facility where they still use the same traditional methods of picking, sorting, cleaning, roasting and brewing the coffee grown right there in the mountains.

After savouring our fresh-brewed cups of La Victoria coffee we were off, back down the hills towards Minca for lunch and a wander. En route, we made the obligatory stop and hike down to the waterfalls of Pozo Azul for a refreshing dip. Unfortunately, the water at that time of year was considerably less azul-like and more of the mud-like colour from all the rain, so we opted out of the swim. But we were just as refreshed watching the locals make the most of it – street dogs included.

The town of Minca, under the cover of clouds and misty mountains, was not much to write home about, in my opinion. There were a few shops for handicrafts, a couple of decent restaurants, and hostels for those wanting more time in the hills, etc. But a 30-minute stop for us here was sufficient and I think our late-afternoon rooftop massage appointments had us keen to head back to sea-level. So, with some snacks in our bellies, we beckoned Jose and together we bumbled our way back down the mountains to Santa Marta.

This old guy had a well-practiced street game, shamelessly lapping up food offerings from all of the tables.

Feeling somewhat rested and relaxed after our (rather unorthodox) massages, Sandy and I ambled into town for dinner finding a delightful pedestrian street with plenty of cute cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating and roaming street performers. Not ones to forgo tradition, we shared yet another round of delicious ceviche and sat back with our bottle of wine, taking in the atmosphere around us. As compared to the night before, the colonial charm of Santa Marta started to come into focus. People were out – locals and travellers alike – enjoying the warm evening breeze, strolling through the quaint streets and parks, relishing the company of friends or family. And the two of us were no exception.

Day 4 – Tayrona National Park

Our final day in Santa Marta saw us boarding our boat, Samoa, bright and early and charting a course eastward to Tayrona National Park. Sandy and I, along with 8 or so other people from our hotel, proceeded to spend the day visiting three different locations within the park and only accessible by boat (or by foot if you’ve got the time – and the interest – to hike in).

Group tours are always a funny thing – sometimes you really hit the jackpot with who else is travelling with you and well, other times your luck just leaves you behind. Luckily for us, we hit tour winnings with this incredibly fun and interesting group – including the two guides. The steady chatter between us all made for the best accompaniment to the stunning surroundings of the green, lush, jungle-covered hills meeting the Caribbean sea.

Once the ice was broken at our first beach stop with a friendly round of water football, the rest of the day was filled with constant conversation and laughs as we floated in the buoyant and clear waters at beach number two, ate our grilled seafood lunches sprawled across the sand, bobbed around the fish-filled waters at our third stop and then all the way back to the hotel.

A warm end to our time in Santa Marta with new friends.

We hit it off with a couple of great gals too – Mariah and Michelle. The four of us ended up continuing our chats poolside at the hotel and well into the night when we went out for dinner all together. This, along with our fortunate day with the group, reminded me of why I love to travel: for the people you meet, the experiences you create and the interesting conversations and perspectives you share. And it all made for a perfect finish to our short stay in Santa Marta.

Day 5: Santa Marta to Cartagena

The brand-name coffee of Colombia.

On our last full day in Colombia, Sandy and I stepped aboard our on-time door-to-door transport in Santa Marta and arrived at our hotel in Cartagena in less than 4 hours. After dropping our bags and grabbing a very Colombian coffee from Juan Valdez, we were back on our feet wandering our way around the colourful colonial streets of Cartagena.

We hit up Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas where we got lost walking the cavernous hallways and took in the city views from the top.

On our way back into town, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a Carnaval parade full of young, brightly dressed dancers and lively music.

And from there, we just let our feet do the tour guiding, leading us from one corner of the city to the other passing churches, vibrant buildings, bustling park squares and humming restaurants.

Catching our final sunset with the Cartagena flag front and centre.

After packing in as much as we possibly could in the waning hours of our time in Cartagena, Sandy and I plopped ourselves down at a popular bar atop the fortress walls for a couple of sunset mojitos overlooking the sea. We each took a moment, leaned back and let it all sink in. While only four full days of adventure together, we were incredibly grateful for the chance to connect in Colombia. Any opportunity to create memories, share experiences and have stories that begin with “Remember when …” makes hopping down the Caribbean coast for a 6-day rendezvous with your sister worth it.

Not to mention, by testing my Spanish further afield and playing “Travel Chaperone” – researching, planning, and then eventually shuffling us from point A to point B – this little trip helped stoke my curiosity and build my confidence. So much so that I have happily “Travel Chaperoned” on countless trips around the Yucatan in the two years since, shuffling my parents, my mother-in-law, both my sisters, visiting and local friends and, of course, Miguel from point A to point B.

The two of us conquering Colombia and then some.

Those short, but sweet, six days to Colombia and back really made an impact. In addition to the absolute honour of spending time with my sister in a vibrant, beautiful and engaging country, it reminded me what is possible when you get a little out of your comfort zone. It helped unlock a new level of confidence in me that had me embracing my life here back in Mexico that much more. It proved even the shortest of trips can leave long-lasting impacts on your life and reaffirmed why travel itself is so important to me.

And for all of that, and so much more, I happily accept my unofficial role as “Travel Chaperone”.