Cartagena, Day 3

Today I took a boat with a bunch of other tourists (most of whom were from different parts of Colombia, though a few were from other countries and spoke Enlgish) to the Islas del Rosario and the Playa Blanca. The islands are beautiful, and while half the group paid $7 to go see an aquarium, the other half (I among them) paid $7 to go snorkelling and see all the wonderful fish and coral in their natural environment. I`ve seen a coral reef and all its rich and diverse wildlife before they go extinct! Yay! It was such a great thing to do. Later on in the day we went to the Playa Blanca where we were hoarded with vendors selling drinks and massages and jewellery. To get away from the pushy tourist area I walked further down the beach and had a nice bowl of fruit at a quiet spot. When we returned I had a couple beers with two brothers I`d been chatting to during the day. One of them, Chris, works for the UN and though he is from the Boston area, currently lives in Cali, Colombia, for work. He was very interesting. His brother Bern was just down for a two week visit/vacation. I didn`t ask what he did, but he seemed to know a lot about books. What a good day!

I haven`t decided at this point whether or not I will move on Barranquilla tomorrow or the next day. I have one or two things I`d like to check out here first, but the road to Barranquilla is only 2 hours so I could leave any time. I`ll see how I feel in the morning!