We have some summer storms rolling it so I thought I would throw some sunshine everyones way.  I would be lying if I said that I didn’t miss Colombia.  I 100 and 10% did this country wrong.  I should have dedicated MORE time!  Cartagena was just a small sliver of what this country has to offer and I need to go back asap because there is so much more to see!   But, before I get lost in a totally different subject, my time is Colombia was short and sweet.  I was kicking off my first stop in South America all by my lonesome and I’ve been itching to see the colorful streets of Cartagena for the past few years.  Needless to say, I made it happen cap’n. This didn’t give me too much time to really explore because there was one major factor for my stop in Cartagena, Casa en el Agua.

I’ve said this before but I am apart of more than 1 travel group throughout social media and I had seen a video or two of what looked like an incredible house in the middle of the ocean.  After doing some research and realizing I would need to book my room as soon as they opened the dates on their calendar, I start planning things out around staying here.  This place is kind of known as a super chill, party kind of atmosphere so I was a bit nervous as I am not a big party kind of gal anymore.  My liver is still trying to recoup from my younger days.  But I bit the bullet and made it happen and you guys, two of the best days ever.  Before I dive into my stay there, Ill give you a quick run down of my days prior to Casa en el Agua.

I arrived in the late afternoon and was dead tired, so I walked around just outside of Old City and found a good place to eat before heading back to my hostel, Life is Good, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do over the next two days.  I spent about 6 or 7 hours walking around Old City, eating delicious food and fresh, real fruit, smoothies.  Everything was delicious and fresh here.  Major plus if you ask me.  The US dollar goes rather far here so everything was very affordable.   One thing I didn’t take into account was how hot Cartagena is.  LORDY does it get HOT here!  I’m still not sure anything compares to the heat and humidity of Bali but goodness, Cartagena is a hard number 2.  I would sweat just from breathing haha!  No but seriously.  I was extra pumped to spend the next day at the beach because if Im gonna be sweatin’ my ass off, I at least need an ocean or a pool to cool off in, am I right?

Now one of the most “popular/touristy” beaches just outside of Cartagena is Playa Blanca.  When you first arrive to this beach, its….. scary haha.  I mean, there is trash everywhere and vendors every two seconds bombarding you with things they are selling and then you get to the beach and its nothing but stalls lining the beach and people.  THANKFULLY, the company I booked my tour with through Viator, we hopped in a little boat and they took us down the beach to their own private section.  IT WAS HEAVEN.  You still have the random vendors walking the beach selling things but I would just tell them no thank you and they would go about their way.  We spent all day here and were even provided lunch.  It was the perfect afternoon in some pretty, turquoise water.  When it was time to go we had to walk back up the beach to leave and I am SO glad we had our own private section because it was unbelievably crowded.   Not nearly as crowded as Maya Bay in Thailand but it was close.

The next day was a day I was super pumped for!  Time to head to Casa en el Agua.  I kind of treated myself on this part of the trip and snagged a much more expensive, private dorm.  I ended up getting a room with two beds all to myself haha.  It kind of worked out perfectly.  There was a group of 10 of us that arrived on the same ferry and were leaving two days later on the ferry.  We were all in the english speaking tour of the Casa and ended up kicking it off from the get go. We were all from the states, Brussels, Netherlands and then later in the night we added some Argentinians to the gang.  Our days were spent lounging around the water, paddle boarding, eating fish, drinking, taking shots, balancing on a slack line, jumping off the Casa and taking tours.  My liver still hates me and the thought of tequila doesn’t sound good but I had one hell of a good time.  Every night it would turn into a big party and after dinner, it was all shots from there.  Im pretty sure I spent $300+ on alcohol/food/excursions. It was worth it!  I think one of my favorite parts was swimming with bioluminescent plankton.  I’ve always wanted to do this and somehow found myself staying at a place that’ll give the experience.  We were all confused on the color we saw but I swear I saw like a white with a blue highlight.  It was AWESOME.  I highly recommend doing something like this if the opportunity arrises.  Oh, did I also mention that I got the casa tattooed on me?  Yea, I loved it there that much.  There was a guy named Sebastian who is a tattoo artist that was staying at the casa and on the last day, Sacha and I both got some commemorative ink.

The people I met at Casa en el Agua were definitely what made my two days there.  We spent every moment of the day together drinking and having a good time.  We even had a little goodbye dinner/drink my last night there.  Miss these fools and this place!  All in all.  My short stay in Colombia was incredible.  One of my favorite trips for sure and I am scheming ways to get back to Colombia!  But enjoy a little taste from my perspective.