Visualizzazione post con etichetta Caribbean. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta Caribbean. Mostra tutti i post

7 dic 2014

Bocas del Toro: young, wild, and free in the Panamanian Caribbean!

[**Click here for the Italian version on Bigodino.it!**]

I just came back from a trip to Bocas del Toro with 2 of my dearest friends, Claire & Ben, who came visit me in Panama from far away.
...Needless to say that it was LEGEN - wait for it- DARY !!! Besides the beauty of the place, I had so much fun with the guys, enjoying both Bocas and Panama City and surroundings, Pacific and Altantic oceans.

Bocas del Toro is a beautiful archipelago located in the north-western side of the country, towards the border with Costa Rica, and which -thank God- is still not as touristic as many popular destinations and still gives you the pleasure to find youself alone in virgin beaches.


After the friday night out in Panama City and 0 hours of sleep, we ran directly to Panama City Albrook airport for our morning flight to Bocas! ...And after 40 minutes, paradise found!!
Partners in crime: ready to meet Ben in Bocas!
Not to miss:
  • Red Frog Beach - Ten minutes boat from Isla Colón (the main island where the plane lands and where we had the hotel), this emerald-water & white-sand beach is lovely. You can surf, body surf, chase coconuts, and simply have beautiful walks along the sand. And it is not crowded at all!
Arriving to the island of Red Frog Beach
Heading to Red Frog Beach
Ben =)

Coconut hunters!!


  • Fishing day - You can´t miss the adrenaline of fishing a tuna, spotting a shark, and (if you want) to snorkel in those beautiful waters! At the end of the day, you can cook the fish caught or in your hotel/hostel or in a restaurant. A Catalan chef cooked our big tuna and macarela for us and prepared DELICIOUS tataki, tuna tartare, tuna sashimi etc. Just the best thanksgiving dinner ever =)
Our second caught of the day! Tuna!

  • Isla Zapatilla - 30-40 minutes away form Isla Colón by boat, Isla Zapatilla is composed of two little islands which are incredible. They are covered of wild palmtrees, with pure white sand and cristalline water. Super wild and it´s inhabitated! You can combine it with the fishing day (as we did), or just go there for the day and make a pic-nic on the border of the blue water.
Isla Zapatilla
Claire and I arriving to Isla Zapatilla
Paradise found in Isla Zapatilla
Love them




  • Rent a bike and discover Isla Colón - Isla Colón is lovely and it really deserves a tour around, to discover all those places/beaches which are not so popular but yet amazing. You can rent a bike for some dollars for the whole day or some hours and just go around. For example, i LOVED Bluff beach (our footprint were the only ones on the sand of the whole beach - spectacular!), and the bike tour on rocky/sandy roads along the sea is very nice. (My bike was, of course, fucsia!)
Playa Bluff - just the three of us!

Lunch break
Arrived in Playa Bluff with our bikes!

  • Relax on a hammock after the beach day - If you stay in a hotel which is right on the water border, there´s nothing like relaxing on a hammock on the water after a long beach day!!!! Especially if you share the hammock with someone like Claire or Ben... (I have been to Hotel Olas, and for the position and price I can recommend it!)
 
  • See the dolphins - We didn't have the time to do it but there is a harbour where spotting a dolphin is almost 100% guaranteed!

What else to say...Visit Bocas! And see the amazing video that Ben made of the trip ;)
Gracias chicos!!!! I miss you

15 ott 2014

Cartagena de Indias: the Jewel of the Caribbean

** For the Italian article, click here **

"El peligro es que no te quieras ir..." The words of Professor Roberto Albisetti about Cartagena were so true. The only danger is that you don't want to leave!
La ciudad amurallada: the historic town
I wanted to celebrate my 25th anniversary in an unforgettable way, and I literally couldn't have made a better choice!!

Rich of history, pirate legends, when you walk in the historic center ("ciudad amurallada"), it looks to be in a city that has remained back in time, untouched in its elegant and colorful Spanish colonial style. What makes Cartagena such a unique place is that fusion of cultures deriving from its centuries of history when Spanish, African and aborigenal people have crossed eachother, making flavours, sounds, colors, music and architecture authentically and diversely unique and beautiful.

Cartagena, the 5th biggest city of Colombia, is located in the Colombian Caribbean coast and has a tropical temperature of 30°C on average. It is a very active cultural/artistic, logistic, portual and industrial pole, and if on the one side we have the historical center, in the other side we have a row of skyscrapers in mini-Miami style. All this, in addition to the sea, palmtrees and fresh breeze.

From going to the beach in Playa Blanca (45 minutes from the city) by boat or motorbike, to taking an Aperitivo in the old town walls watching sunset with a view, from dancing salsa at Club Havana to having a ride in a horse-drawn carriage through the Ciudad Amurallada, from having drinks in Getsemanì to reading a Gabriel Garcia Marquez' novel, there's really everything you want to do!!! I miss it so much, I had such a lot of FUN with my friend Orin, and we met awesome people!

I let the photos speak. If anyone of you had questions or wanted to know more in detail what to do in Cartagena by day and by night, please contact me and I'll reply as soon as possible!! [Or, if you speak Italian, click here]

Playa Blanca
Plaza Trinidad in Getsemanì
 
Horse carriage ride in the ciudad amurallada!
Argentina + Italia + USA on the carriage!

Chilling in the swimming pool in the BEST hostel in town - Hostal Media Luna !!

The freshest Ceviche in Playa Blanca

Direction Playa Blanca by motorbike

By bus, from Cartagena to Pasacaballos, before the motorbike ride
Last day was a rainy day!!! We didn't care =)

La ciudad amurallada
La Catedral

After party, sitting on the old town walls looking at the sea!!!
Las Chivas: the Cartagena's party bus
Birthday (Colombian) girl
Our last night, @ El Laboratorio, in Getsemanì


Birthday Party !!! + 25...Celebrating @ La Movida

On the old town walls talking and talking