Colombia - Day 1

Colombia 2022 - Day 1

That moment when you step off the plane, not in a terminal but right on the runway, this exact moment when you instantly feel the burning sun on your skin, when you realise that even though you left your winter jacket and your boots at home, you are way overdressed with your jeans, t-shirt and your running shoes, when, within moments you become full of disgusting sweat, that you inhale a strange mixture of pleasant and unpleasant smells at the same time and that you have this very shy breeze which does not refresh you at all... this divine moment! We are in paradise! 

We landed in Cartagena and had 3 hours of freedom before our second flight to Medellin. A short 1-hour flight to our first destination. We dropped our backpacks off and just walked out the airport to explore the surroundings and get the vibe of the place. We found an ATM that worked and got Colombian pesos, had lunch and a beer on a patio and bought a SIM card with 12gb of data for 35,000 Colombian pesos (CAN $11.30).

We walked back to the airport and flew to the Medellin airport. 

Medellin is surrounded by mountains and the airport is on the other side of the mountains. Fortunately, in 2019, they built a huge 9km-tunnel through the mountains, reducing the shuttle time by more than half, from about 1h15 to 30 minutes, allowing us to arrive at our small and cozy apartment, in the heart of Medellin, around 9pm… On a Friday… It was a long day and we were exhausted but the atmosphere was kinda contagious so we dropped our bags at our apartment and went to explore a bit and wrap ourselves in this festive and electrifying energy. We ended the evening on a small terrace in a pedestrian street.

Day 28 - Last day in Nicaragua!

I can't believe today concludes this memorable 4-week journey but every adventure must eventually come to an end!

Wait a minute, we still have an entire day here so let's focus on that for now.

We spent the morning walking around the city of Masaya. We found a nice promenade by a lagoon right at the base of volcanoes. It was lovely!

And it was a nice park with free outdoor gym. You can even see the morning zumba class…

Back home, when you go to a zumba class and you don't wear a cute sexy outfit, you are the reject of the class. Here, they don't care. They all wear jeans and a t-shirt. Isn't it cool?!

By the time we walked back to the central park of Masaya near our hostel, it was lunch time and we were hungry. The cool thing with cities in Nicaragua is that citizens are very present in their public areas like parks. They occupy those spaces, maintain and clean them without waiting on the city to do it, they have shops and restaurants with chairs and tables everywhere! It's super lively!

So we decided to grab a bite there for lunch. Steve wanted a hot dog so I found a corner stall that had hot dogs on their menu. So we sat there and ordered 2 hot dogs… and got this!

I don't know if our weinner got lost on it's way but we got a bun with a bit of butter. I don't know if it's their version of a low fat hot dog or what but it was not exactly what we expected. And of course, they didn't speak English so we just decided to eat it and have something else on the street. At least, it was super cheap!

We went to the famous artisan market… and basically found the same key chains, magnets, wooden toys and clothes than every other latin countries we visited. We were a bit disappointed because we were really hoping to find more original and artistic items. We still enjoyed our time there because unlike the artisan markets in Mexico or Dominican Republic, they were not insistent and just very happy that we take the time to visit their shop. Steve bought good leather flip flops because the ones he had were so worn that they were thinner than my thin cellphone! They were at a point where they were begging Steve not to wear them and they were trying to escape with each step.

I also bought a few things and we left because, despite the amazing hot dog we had for lunch, we were still hungry. So we had a quesillo on the street. This is a local meal which consists of cheese and marinated onions in a corn tortilla with "creme fraîche". It's simple but really good and less than a dollar each.

We then stopped in a barbershop as Steve wanted to have a last trim before leaving Nicaragua. It was a young woman and she was a super perfectionist! She took one hour, used 4 blades, did a super job and was much more delicate but even though Steve paid almost nothing the other times, this time, it was ridiculously cheap! She charged $3.50! And it's not even a joke!

We then decided to walk to a local market. It looked quite small from the street but it was the biggest inner market we visited in Nicaragua, but also the less structured. So, of course, we got lost! Between chickens, rice, beans, socks, cleaning products, clothes… everything was all over the place! And we were trying to avoid rows with chicken and pork juice on the ground because Steve had his new flip flops and let's say that I didn't particularly affectionate having toes marinating in chicken juice. Not that I was planning in licking them but still, it's not something super fun. And, having to live with the shower we had, I didn't want to have to do the toe rinsing dance for 10 minutes! We eventually found our way back, after buying a few homemade local sweet treats that Steve and I had planned to share. I always like sharing sweet treats with Steve because I usually end up having it all. He always wants to try them but rarely likes them. And this time was not an exception! Oh and we never saw so many types of rice! 

We left the market, walked back to our hostel and got ready for dinner. Since it was our last dinner in Nicaragua, we wanted to play safe as we wanted to enjoy this evening. So we went back to the same place than the night before. Again, we had a great dinner! We had fun remembering the adventures, good and less funny, of the trip, we spoke about good memories of other trips, we chatted and we had a good time. 

But we had to head back to our room because we had to pack everything, or should I say make everything fit in our backpacks. We now had to find room for a big aluminium pan, 2 bottles of rum and a few more souvenirs. And we had to order a taxi in Spanish for tomorrow morning at 3:30 and make sure our host would understand. "Necesito un taxi a la aeropuerto para mañana, a la tres y media de la mañana." I don't know if it's how you say that but I know I wasn't too far. And, the most important thing is that he understood. And the least interesting thing was that they were charging us twice the price we paid to get there because it was in the middle of the night. Oh well, at least, it confirmed that he really got what I said!

We packed everything and made everything fit, which is a miracle, turned on 2 alarms and we went to bed early. 

Day 27 - Cheap plastic plane… wait, can I get off?

I had my last coconut bread French toasts, we packed our stuff and relaxed at our guesthouse until noon.

We had to walk to the boat dock to buy our tickets and have lunch before leaving the island. It was so hot! After 5 minutes, it was like we didn't shower at all. I was disgusting! And I was out of deodorant!

We got on the 2pm panga boat and this time, unlike the fishing boat we took to get there, it was quick, smooth and fun.

It took 20 minutes compared to 1.5 hour! And it cost $5 instead of $20 each! "Adios" Little Corn Island! I hope to see you again one day!

Once on Corn Island, taxis were all waiting for us and we got a ride to the airport for $2. The airport there is so small that I thought the taxi driver was dropping us at the wrong place and that we were at the taxi stand!

Since I had the window seat on our way to Corn Island on the cool bush plane a few days earlier, Steve and I agreed that today would be his turn. He doesn't usually care but this little plane was so cool!

But unfortunately, we got a bigger plane this time. It was for about 40 passengers so we were disappointed and I felt bad for Steve.

And I didn't trust this plane! For the first time in my life, I thought I would not make it to Managua alive! Steve thinks I exaggerate but this plane looked so cheap! It wasn't old but everything was made of cheap thin plastic.

First of all, because it was bigger than the other plane, I wasn't even sure the runway would be long enough! I mean, I know it is, because they know what they are doing, but you know what I mean. 

Then, just when we took off, a big plastic piece of about 1-meter long detached from the plane ceiling right above our heads with the vibration and almost hit passengers. I was just hoping that they had invested more money in the mechanic and electronics!

As you know, the most critical moments when on a plane are the take off and landing and, lucky us, we survived it twice because we made a stop in Bloomfield, Nicaragua on our way to Managua. And guess what! After our landing in Bloomfield, in order to get ready for take off, we continued to the end of the track to make a U-turn and, of course, got a big bump on the track. Really?! Who got the smart idea to put a "speed bump" on a runway?! Euh! I'm not an engineer but it seems a bit dangerous to me. Because obviously, if we got this bump while doing a U-turn, we will get the same bump while accelerating for the take off! Ok… Can I please get off the plane now? Shout! It was too late! We started accelerating, I closed my eyes, just like it would totally save my life, we jumped a little bit on the bump and miraculously lifted off. I opened one eye to make sure I was still alive and started breathing again. Now, I was all sweaty again.

At least, we had a smooth landing in Managua and I was very happy to touch the ground. Although I smelled like a teenager who just finished a marathon at 40°C!

In Managua, we took a taxi to Masaya because apparently, this is where most of the craft in the country comes from so it's a good place for shopping. It's a good way to spend our last day in Nicaragua! And it's less than 1 hour from the airport.

We arrived at our hostel at about 7pm. First thing we did was to get naked. Yes! Our clothes were begging us to free them. Luckily, a few days earlier, we bought a fabric refresher spray so we sprayed our repulsive clothes and hanged them everywhere in the room.

And now was the time for a well-needed shower! Of course, we had no hot water but I was now used to it and didn't really care. However, I had a problem with the showerhead. You know, when the little holes on the showerhead are kinda half-blocked and the water goes crazy! Well, I think this showerhead had a mind of its own and was actually playing with me. Just to find more than 3 water mists that were going sort of the same way was almost impossible. And I won't even talk about the almost non-existent water pressure!

Great! I looked and smelled like I didn't see civilization for ages and the water was tickling me more than wetting me... I did what I had to do… the soap and shampoo rinsing dance! It consists in moving your body and head from mists to mists back and forth and left to right and hoping to remove as much soap as possible. It was… interesting! Especially for my hair! I really envy Steve sometimes!

After this fun activity, we stopped at a grocery store and I bought deodorant so I don't poison more people and we went to a very good restaurant. I had a delicious vegetarian burger and Steve had chimichurri steak. This was a lovely night and we had a good time.

We walked back to our hostel to relax and make research to know where we wanted to go shopping and went to bed.

Day 26 - Sharks, stingray & a cute little boy

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Today would be another day in paradise and we were also going to see the fabulous wonders hidden under the sea. 

We had 2 dives booked with an American dive master named Sandy who seemed super nice and was affiliated with our guesthouse. We had a little refresher because our last dive was in Thailand back in 2016. Then we left for our first dive.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures because I don't have a waterproof camera but it was awesome!!! We saw a few outstanding nurse sharks that were bigger than us. They are very impressive but they look totally inoffensive. We saw one big shark rolling in the sand on its back like a dog does in the grass. It was really cute! We also saw a big stingray, initially hidden in the sand. It was so exciting!  I downloaded pictures from internet so you can have an idea of what they look like.

We also saw thousands of colorful fishes of all sizes, funky sea plants and magnificent corals. 

Our first dive lasted about 45 minutes and we went back on the boat and to the beach. We relaxed on the beach for about 30 minutes while Sandy was switching the oxygen tanks and we left again for a second dive, a little further, by a bigger reef. Again, we saw a few sharks but what was impressive this time were the corals. It had hundreds of different colors and there was life in every single hole and under every plant. Also, the sea over there was much more agitated and we could see entire shoals of fish moving all together like a perfect choreography. I cannot describe how fabulous this was!

Our second dive lasted about 50 minutes, we went back on the boat and then directly back to our guesthouse.

When I dive, I usually get anxious for the first few minutes in the water and when it happens, all I want to do is swim back to the surface but you can't do that. But Sandy was a 57 year old diver with a lot of experience and she had a few tricks that really helped me and I really entirely enjoyed my 2 dives. So I said a big thank you to Sandy and she hugged me.

This great morning whet our appetite so we walked back to the same restaurant than the previous night and enjoyed a great lunch. I also had the best margarita I ever had!

We hung out by the beach and made a new friend. This kid, and I'm very sorry to say that I forgot his name, was selling orange juice. Steve bought him one and he sat with us and we chatted for a little while. This kid was smart and had a lot to say! He wants to be a pilot and he loves mathematics. After school, he has to work and sell food or drinks that her mom prepares and he then spends the rest of the day playing with his friends. He loves "Tortuga Ninjas" and has 2 younger brothers.

He seemed to really like Steve's sunglasses so Steve gently offered them to him. He was so happy! He saw paper tissue in our backpacks and asked if he could have some to clean the glasses. I never saw them so clean!!!

I asked him if he would accept if I take a picture of him with Youppi and I explained to him who Youppi was for me and why I was carrying him with me everywhere. He was very happy to get to know Youppi and know that each time I would see this picture, it would remind me of this great afternoon we had. And I told him I was truly hoping to come back one day and have him as our pilot. His eyes were really bright!

We said goodbye to him, walked back to our guesthouse and had a couple of Flor de Caña (It sounds less alcoholic than if I say rum!) Steve had rum & coke and I had rum & toasts… no it's not a new drink… I was super hungry and couldn't wait until dinner time so since I really like their coconut bread, I ordered coconut toasts with my rum. It was very yummy!

We played a game of dices but before we started Steve said that if he lost that game, he would never play with me again… so I let him win.

We enjoyed every minute of our last afternoon.

We went to a different restaurant for dinner. We chatted with the owner of the place to realize that she was a Canadian, from Ottawa, who bought this place 10 years ago.

Steve had a pesto and palm heart pizza and I had a wrap with green papaya salad. It was not as tasty as the night before but it was good! And we had some friends who were truly hoping we would have leftovers!

And the view was stunning!

We finished the night at the café right next door and enjoyed an authentic islander drum and dance show. What a fabulous way to conclude our stay on Little Corn Island!

Days 24 & 25 - Let's just never leave!!!

We woke up on this paradise island, in the Caribbean sea, with the sound of the waves dying on the beach, children running and laughing on their way to school, a sweet bird melody and some proud roosters. No cars or any motor vehicles and no electricity on the entire island from 6am to 1pm. It was so quiet and peaceful!

I combined 2 days because even though, for us, they were remarkably refreshing and unforgettable, you have to live it to love it like we did. Without the 360° panorama, the context and the magic that happens when you are there, it just sounds any other carribean beach...

We had good breakfasts at our guesthouse. Oh, by the way, on the island, they make the best coconut bread I ever had… ok, I must admit that it's the first time I have it but it's damn good!!!

We basically spent the 2 days exploring the island, enjoying the beaches and the clear water, having good food, hanging out in hammocks and making new friends.

It is so incredibly wonderful to walk on narrow sidewalks and not see actual roads!

In fact, even these narrow paved paths were not the norm because I would say that more than half of the "paths" on the island were just soil, tapped by people over the time.

And even on this miniature island, with no indication of course, and with locals making their way the way they want, it was easy to get lost.

And all of the sudden, right in front of us, we would see a perfect turquoise ocean with a white sand beach and almost no signs of human life.

And we would keep walking and find another beach and another one. And I think that the most crowded beach we saw in 2 days had no more than 10 people. We even spent a couple of hours, just Steve and I, to a more secluded beach, apparently called The Lost Beach. We had a really good time!!! In fact, we also had 3 friends who followed us everywhere, stayed with us at the beach the entire time and came back with us. But when they left us, we all agreed that what happened at The Lost Beach must stay at The Lost Beach...

The first night, we went to the very first restaurant that was opened for tourists by an islander years ago and had the best lobster tails ever.

The second night, we had an amazingly good filet mignon with a dijon and mushroom sauce. Steve was not touching the ground anymore! Beef is not very popular here and usually, when they have some on the menu, you have to chew on it for a few minutes before you can actually eat it. But this time, it was a moist, perfectly cooked, tasty filet mignon and Steve, whose not a big fan of mashed potatoes, even enjoyed having something more comforting for him than rice and beans. Our palates were having a big party!

After these 2 days in paradise, we knew we would never want to leave. In fact, we spoke with a few other tourists and almost everyone single person had decided to extend their stay on the island. We still had 2 nights there but unfortunately, we couldn't stay longer because we have our flight to catch to come back to Canada on Saturday. And since the boat to Big Corn Island and the flight to Managua are very dependent on the weather, we cannot take the chance to come back too late.

But for now, let's just think of the present moment...

Day 23 - Bush plane & rocky fishing boat on a hangover… Great!

Today, we were leaving San Juan del Sur. We had  a 100-km taxi ride to get to the Managua airport, then a flight to Corn Island, a 10 square kilometers island about 70 km east of Nicaragua in the Caribbean sea and finally, a 1-hour boat ride to get to Little Corn Island.

This island, of only 2.9 square kilometers, has a population of about 500 inhabitants. Unlike the rest of Nicaragua, the islanders are Afro-descendant English-speaking Creole people mixed with indigenous.

But first thing first… we had to put our brain and stomach back in the right place! Holy crap! I only had 2 speeds… slow and super slow! I definitely needed food!

We played safe and went back to the same good restaurant. Coffee and eggs helped and my stomach was a bit less resentful for what I've done last night. 

We called a taxi and packed our stuff. Our flight was at 2pm and we had to be at the airport for 12:30. Once there, we entered the tiny national airport located right next to the international one. We did our check-in and they asked me to put my backpack on the scale to weigh it… and then they asked me to go on the scale with my carry-on to weigh me. That's the moment where I realized how small our plane would be!

After our check-in, we went in the bigger airport to get a bite. After yesterday night, I wanted to put some fat in my stomach before leaving on this bush plane, that would then be followed by a rocky boat ride. We went all in and had greasy fried chicken.

We went back to the other airport and passed through security… with our shoes, clothes and bottle of water. Isn't it cool?! 

When our plane was ready to leave, they called our names and we walked to it. We were 12 passengers. It was very exciting to get on such a small bush plane!

The entire flight was very cool! It's so different from a big plane! You really feel like you're flying! And Steve and I were in the first row so we were sitting right behind the 2 pilots. It was amazing!

It was a 1.5-hour flight and we landed on Corn Island around 3:30. You know the tiny runway we saw on Ometepe island, well it was about the same size. The landing was super cool!

We got our backpacks and took a taxi to the port.

Usually, the commute between the big and the small island is made with panga boats like that.

One leaves in the morning and the other one at 4:30. But once there, the guy at the port said that the sea was too rough for the panga and our only option was this bigger old and rusty fishing boat for $20US each instead of $5.

Since we didn't want to lose a night on Little Corn Island, we accepted.

Let me tell you that after less than 30 minutes on the boat, we were incredibly grateful that we were on this old but solid fishing boat! Almost half of the passengers were at the back of the boat or on each side, emptying their entire digestive system in the water and feeding the fishes and the other half was very busy focusing on the horizon not to get sick and had a greenish tan! And, I don't know by what miracle, but neither Steve nor myself got sick! Thank you greasy fried chicken! But after 1.5 hour, it was more than time for our feet to touch the ground of the island! Our dark and sexy tan was slowly turning into a Shrek look!

Once on the island, it was dark so we didn't see much but from what we were able to see between the dock and our guesthouse, it looked very charming! And every few minutes, someone was offering to help us to get to our guesthouse.

We found the guesthouse and it looked really cute and right by the ocean. The owner was super kind and our room was perfect. Look at the view from our balcony!

Since they were also serving dinner and it was a bit dark to explore the island, we decided it would be better to eat there and gain our sexy tan back. Food was good and I even made a cute little friend.

I immediately fell in love with this adorable kitty! And I'm not the only one! Youppi and him chatted for a while!

We went to bed early to recuperate from the previous night. Gosh, am I already too old for that?

Day 22 - 1 Irishman + 2 Québécois = Hangover

This time, I was not going to fail. I was on a mission to find the best breakfast in town… and I think I did a pretty good job!

This restaurant was renowned for their coffee, roasted by the owner of the place, who really liked innovating and trying new things. I knew I was already winning points. And Steve ordered spinach and avocado eggs benedict. Boom!

More points for me! I ordered french toast made of homemade bread, rum, coconut milk and caramelized plantains.

And we even ordered this fancy coffee.

I think I won the 1st prize for the best breakfast for the entire trip.

After breakfast, we tried a few ATMs because we needed to withdraw money for our next destination, which was a 2.9 square meters island in the Caribbean sea, with no bank or ATM. But we were out of luck because we tried at least 3 ATMs and none of them worked. 

We walked the city a little while and went back to our room and sat by the pool.

There was another Canadian, Craig, from Victoria and he started talking to us. You know the kind of guy you who sticks and just never leaves! And who's seen everything, been everywhere, but doesn't know much! At one point, I just stopped listening and started writing my blog and poor Steve was stocked with him. Until another Canadian, Sean, initially from Ireland, based in Montreal and flying in and out in the north of BC for work, joined us. We started talking to him and Craig went on the rooftop patio. 

Sean offered us beers that he had in the fridge. We chatted for a while and he asked if we wanted to go with him and visit a few beaches around the city. Of course, we said yes!

We first walked to an ATM that was a different bank and, this time, it worked. 

Then, we stopped at the first beach and had a few beers. It was much cozier than the central beach! We went to another more remote beach with only a few locals and had a few more beers.

Of course, we didn't just have beer! We chatted with Sean and had super interesting conversations. It was a very cool afternoon!

We came back to our homestay, sat by the pool and I asked Sean if he would accept to take a picture with Youppi. 

And Craig joined us. It's not that he is mean or a bad person! But he was a bit heavy and annoying. But he had rum and wouldn't let us refuse the glass he offered. So we sacrificed  ourselves and I must admit that it was good rum. But our breakfast was really far now and we needed to eat. Of course, nobody wanted to be rude and tell Craig he was not welcomed so the 4 of us left for dinner together. We went to a restaurant right on the beach and next to a big bonfire. We had food and, of course, a few more beers! After dinner, we sat on more comfortable chairs by the fire, with another beer. Poor Steve was stocked with Craig again while Sean and I were observing how long he would survive without discreetly kicking or punching me in a last hope to save him. But after a few minutes, I started feeling sorry for him so I politely interrupted them to say that I was ready to go to bed. I lost the count of beers and rum that we had but it was definitely more that I can remember!

So we all left and called it a night. At least, it's what I thought. But  life has decided otherwise. Or maybe Sean or Steve. Anyway, it wasn't me… We were walking back to our comfortable bed, that I was already dreaming about… and, I don't know how but we finished on a rooftop patio of a bar, with a live band and another beer. Apparently, we even hijacked a young Californian's table that I thought was Australian.

After an unidentified period of time, we left the bar. I managed to survive the stairs and finish in my bed… without even being sick!