COLOMBIA!

Greetings from Santa Marta, Colombia!

Meg and I are having a wonderful trip so far - perfect day after perfect day. We began in Cartagena, a beautiful town with a colonial center. We did many fun things in Cartagena - went to the local beach, Boca Grande; went on a boat tour to two nearby islands, including the stunning Playa Blanca; and enjoyed the sea breeze in the evening at Cafe del Mar. By far the best part of Cartagena, however, was meeting some truly great people. On our first night in town, we met two locals, Luis and Ivan, who we quickly dubbed "the nicest men in Colombia." We also had the pleasure of getting to know two others staying at our hostel - Andrea, from Virginia, and a Brazilian named Gustavo.

Our favorite part of our time in Cartagena was the six of us cooking a communal dinner in our hostel kitchen. We shared good food, great conversation, and some good jams (including Bob Marley, who we have decided is the one person that EVERYONE in the world likes).

We are now in Santa Marta, which we were shocked and amazed to find is even more beautiful than Cartagena! We have only be here for a few hours, but we are in love with it already. We encourage you all to visit Santa Marta; with its quaint colonial streets, beautiful beach, pleasant plazas, and friendly people, how could you not love it?

Tomorrow we will explore the nearby Parque Tayrona. Having read extensively about the beauty of this national park, we are eager to finally see it!

Thanks for checking in. We hope you are all doing well!

Cuidense,

Magui y Betania