October was a very busy month! It's the first time we traveled home and was the beginning of visits from our friends and family.
The first Saturday of October we spent at the pool! We got a day pass to Hotel Caribe which is towards the end of Boca Grande. It was about a 20 minute walk from where we're living.
We really enjoyed it there. It was nice and big with plenty of chairs to lay out in. The water was the perfect temperature.
Our pass for the day costed about $39 USD. This included access to the pool from 9-5, a welcome drink, and lunch. The welcome drink was delicious, they called it a "Pink Summer" (but I couldn't tell you what was in it). Lunch was really good as well, it was buffet style. They had several options including salads, pasta salad, chicken, pork, rice, fruits, mushrooms, desert and more!
The following weekend we both headed home for a wedding. We were home for a little over a week. The weekend after we got back two of our friends from college came to visit, Ariel and Jason.
They arrived on a Saturday afternoon. That night we had some Bruschetta while we enjoyed some drinks catching up with one another.
Afterwards we went into the walled city for a free walking tour. The tour was great, they were very knowledgeable about the city and had great recommendations for other places to explore. Afterwards we got dinner at Cuzco Peruvian Cuisine.
We unfortunately learned that this weekend Colombia was hosting elections which meant they banned the selling and consuming of alcoholic beverages throughout the city from 6:00 pm Saturday through 6:00 am Monday. Because of this we went back to our apartment, had some more drinks, played some card games then went to bed.
The next day we went to Bomba Beach Club in Isla Tierra Bomba. We walked down to the far end of Boca Grande to catch our shuttle boat at 10:00 am. The boat took us to the island, it was about 10 minutes. Our package included the shuttle, a welcome drink and lunch all for about $35. We weren't expecting to get alcohol there due to the elections but we were pleasantly surprised to find that they were in fact serving alcohol. We enjoyed our day there, eating, drinking and hanging out on the beach. We left there around 3:00 pm and headed back to the main land.
After we got back, everyone showered and got ready. We then got dinner at Restaurante Palenqueras in Boca Grande. We were all very tired so didn't end up going out again that night.
On Monday we were all refreshed and ready for the day. Nate had to work, but Ariel, Jason and I headed into the walled city for breakfast. Ariel really wanted #Arepas which is how we found the place we ended up going to, Sierva Maria. The food was good, and so was the price!
After that we went to Juan Valdez in the main square. We sat on the upper balcony for a while people watching and enjoying our coffee.
Then we headed over to Getsemani. We found the Umbrella street (something I've been on the search for) to get some photos. Afterwards we walked through the streets to look at the architecture and graffiti that covered the walls.
We ended up at Restaurante Palenquera in Getsemani for drinks. We spent a majority of our day there, drinking and laughing. The colorful decor and fun music helped make time fly.
Around dinner time we left to meet Nate. We got dinner at The Rum Box. I highly recommend this restaurant, everything was extraordinary. Outside they offer free hugs which was a nice touch! Once we walked in they gave us a free sample of rum with a piece of Chocolate to help cut the rum. We were all so immersed in our crayon drawings on the paper table cloths, it was a fun little treat. Our waiter asked us all to write our names so he could refer to us all accordingly which felt really personal and much appreciated. After our meal the waiter brought us a coconut dessert. I'm not a huge coconut fan, but I really enjoyed this dish.
Once we were done at the restaurant we headed into the walled city to the El Mirador Rooftop. Jason and Ariel really enjoyed the music there. A lot of the songs played were traditional Colombian music. They got up and danced a few times. What really drew their attention though was the view of the clock tower.
After that we headed to a rooftop above The Clock Pub, just on the other side of the square. This seemed to be a very touristy bar, but we didn't mind. The music started with a band but later turned to a DJ playing a wide variety of music. We had a great time here and I would definitely go back! That was the last stop of our night.
The next morning we all woke up a bit slower. We grabbed breakfast at Crepes Express which was just across the street from Crepes and Waffles. They were delicious, and very reasonably priced.
Ariel and Jason left on that Tuesday afternoon. It was a short, but fun visit!
We had a lot of fun this past month, it was great to see so many friends and family! We're ready for another busy month coming up in November with more visit's.
You can watch a video of our travels the last month below!
Thanks for reading!
-Jen