Regular PeruNorth clients, Elana Dallas & Alastair Hatchett, give their thoughts on a trip to Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Cultural visit to Cartagena, followed by few days at nearby beach resort, Baru.
Particular interest in work of Colombian author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
“Thank you for another brilliantly organised trip that once again exceeded all our expectations.
In the courtyard of the Ananda Hotel, Cartagena.
The Ananda Hotel in Cartagena was great and in an excellent location.
We had a large, airy room and access to a swimming pool, which though small, was lovely. (As an aside, we had the best massage there, and we've had quite a few in our time).
The staff were really friendly and helpful.
We went on two tours - the city tour was fine, and took us to the top of a castle and into a monastery that we would not have climbed on our own.
With guide on Marquez & Food tour in Cartagena.
The real highlight, however, was the "Marquez & Food" tour, which was wonderful. So much depends on the guide - and our guide was charming, passionate, well-informed and just lovely!
I don't know how you found the tour (I tried to find it online without success) but we're really grateful. It was just perfect for us.
We both reread Love in the Time of Cholera while we were there, and the walking tour went to many of the locations described in the novel.
Four days exploring the old city was about right, and three days at the beach suited us too.
Caribbean beach at Baru.
We've never been to a "resort hotel" [Royal Decameron Baru] before, so it was a slight shock to the system - a lot of people, a lot of quite noisy activities ... but we soon got into the swing of swimming in the Caribbean (much calmer than any of the many swimming pools) and free cocktails at sunset.
We were glad to have the upgraded room - quiet and overlooking the sea.
So once again thank you for understanding what sort of trip we're looking for, and for delivering it so splendidly.”