In celebration of David's birthday we went to the Rosario Islands for the day, about an hour away by boat. The boat was an interesting mix of people from the US, France, the Netherlands, Austria, and of course Colombia and other Hispanic countries. I opted to hang out on this beach while David went snorkeling. Probably a good thing since he stayed in only 20 minutes because of the waves.
We had a great lunch of grilled red snapper, rice, salad, and patacones with a mango drink. You always wonder about the source of the water in these fruit drinks. But neither of us has gotten sick yet and we are not being particularly careful.
I got a very relaxing massage before it was time to be back on the boat. The table was on a roof with a covering to keep out the sun but let in the breeze. Reminded me of a similar experience in Kaua'i.
The trip back was the most interesting part of our day. It was not the glassy sea above that we had experienced on the way out, but instead there were real waves that sloshed into the boat thoroughly soaking everyone. It felt good to be wet, but the salt water made it hard to keep your eyes open. After an hour of bumping through the waves, the Cartagena skyline was a welcome sight.
We are once again clean and hungry. The big decision is where to go for David's birthday dinner. It will be hard to top last night's dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant, Agua de Mar.
Tomorrow we pack up and fly to Medellin, reputed to have a wonderful climate year round.
Meanwhile I just cut up one of the little mangos that came from the huge tree in the center of our building. (The doorman had given me a bag of 5 mangos after I admired the tree.) This is the best mango I have eaten so far in Colombia!