16/17/18-11-2010: Playa Blanca de Barú, Bolívar, Colombia

Beautiful sunset at Playa Blanca de Barú.

The sun looked so big in real!

My breakfast everyday: Fruit salad!

Falling coconuts at the beach.

Fine white sand, clear turquoise Caribbean water, speechless!

Daddy long arms in the beautiful beach!

Another beautiful sunset over the beach.

My yummy dinner, local lobsters fresh from the sea, patacon and coconut rice.

The sea is beautiful even with the sky wasn´t so clear.

My delicious lunch, local fresh fish and coconut rice.

Somewhere over the rainbow ... God´s promise to men.

Arriving Cartagena from Playa Blanca with a beautiful view overlooking the city.

14-11-2010: Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Evening view of Cartagena.

Gorgeous curving street of old town, Cartagena.

13-11-2010: Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

An outdoor café by night. The guests were screaming their department´s names supporting their own delegates.

European style architecture by night.

Plaza de Bolívar.

Museo de la inquisición.

Another beautiful view at night.

A shining church.

The gorgeous buildings within the walls of Cartagena.

Señorita Santander 2010 who is an odd favorite.

Señorita Risaralda 2010. The sailor on the right looks more attractive than her. LOL

Señorita Norte de Santander 2010 was very warm as she danced and waved at the audience.

12-11-2010: Batalla de Flores, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Señorita Huila, my personal favorite for Señorita Colombia 2010-2011. If she wins, she will be the first winner from her department, Huila.

Another favorite, Señorita Cesar, who looked lovely in the parade. She even asked the audience to scream "Cesar"!

Señoritas Bolívar and Bogotá in their cart waving at the audience.

Natalia Navarro Galvis, Señorita Colombia 2009-2010. She looked amazing in person!

Natalia waving at the audience while dancing.

Traditional dance of Colombia.

Colorful costumes with beautiful Colombian women dancing in the parade.

Magnificent church in the historic centre.

Airy and ample street with beautiful buildings.

Cartagena by night. It´s so romantic!

It was heavily raining this morning, and I was worried because there´s a flower parade today and it´s outdoor. But fortunately it calmed down when the parade was about to start. The cartageneros are fun loving open people, and they started the rumba by dancing, and the atmosphere was terrific! Again there are spraying of foams and water, and by now I´m kinda immuned to it, and actually it´s really fun be your mind open. I felt so relaxed and free and it´s the best party atmosphere I´ve ever been in!

This parade is about the reinas colombianas, the candidates of Miss Colombia. People in Colombia pay a lot of respect to these women, and as a traveler friend commented that they actually treat these women in a very "strangely respectful way." Indeed, Señorita Colombia is a tradition here in Colombia, and it´s a long tradition that it´s held here in Cartagena. Also, friends, family, companies and even mayors of each department are here in Cartagena raving for their own candidates hoping that they would bring the coveted crown back to their own department.

11 - 12-11-2010: Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

India Catalina, a Cartagena´s hero. Her image was used as the inspiration for the national costume of Miss Colombia 2009, Natalia Navarro, in Miss Universe 2010.

The annual location of Miss Colombia, the Convention Centres of Cartagena. It´s all decorated with Concurso Nacional de Belleza´s logo and Colombian motifs.

The colorful houses and balconies in the historic centre behind the Puerto de Reloj.

The monument of the founder of Cartagena, Pedro de Heredia.

Another beautiful alley.

Mighty buildings with ampe alley near the Plaza de Bolívar.

Another gorgeous view of the old town.

The entrance of the lush Plaza de Bolívar.

Leafy balconies, a rare scene in colonial architecture that I´ve seen so far.

Another beautiful alley. In fact, there are countless in Cartagena!

A magnificent building below situated with a cafe.

Behind the wall of Cartagena.

The wall was used to protect against the pirates.

The historic centre was protected by this grand wall.

An old pirate boat displayed in the harbor of Cartagena.

During the gay parade, part of the Cartagena´s independence day celebration, people sprayed foam on each other. It was totally offensive but totally fun as well!

Around the Puerto de Reloj, hundreds of people were here to celebrate the festivity.

After all the spraying and splashing, my face turned out to be like this. LOL

Arriving in Cartagena is a great relief. Not that I didn´t enjoy Bogotá. In fact I love it so much. However, it was quite cold and rainy, and I got a little sick. But being in hot and tropical Cartagena means that I don´t have to worry about cold weather anymore!

Being the most touristy city in Colombia, Cartagena remains a good amount of genuineness to it, unlike say Cusco or Costa Rica. People are very warm, welcoming and eager to talk to you. You don´t get ripped off as heavily as in those previously mentioned locations. And they love you to integrate with them.

Today, I spent a good portion of time to rest, because I still felt quite weak and tired. But I managed to go out and took a stroll at the city. There was still a strong sense of festivity out there, with lots of people spraying foams and vendors selling them. The old town is just gorgeous! Before I came here, I thought to myself that maybe I wouldn´t be impressed with Cartagena because I have seen so many colonial architecture already and it might seem repetitive. But no. Cartagena has its own unique aura. The great wall, the colorful well-preserved building with leafy green plants, alleys that no cars are allowed in make you feel like you just went back 5 centuries. Architecture styles also vary a lot which make the whole site very interesting.