Caribbean cruising - Colombian style!

After the previous night's loud storm, it was the turn of the bar below to keep us awake through the small hours of the night - surprisingly, the one least able to cope with the noise was Matthew! Another early start as we needed to get to the boat dock by 0730 for an 0830 departure. Overnight rain had ceased and it was another cloudy but warm day. Plenty of action at the dock and thankfully we secured our place on the top deck of the 300 passenger capacity boat for a somewhat tortuous 2 hour + journey to the first island.

In true Colombian style, entertainment was provided on the boat - a mix of ClubMed games, cross dressing and karaoke. Continued on the return journey when the host treated us all to a pretty fair Michael Jackson impersonation - by this time Ian and even Katie begrudgingly applauded but resisted the whooping and hollering! Matthew meanwhile, was generally oblivious, sleeping more than appreciating the cultural event that was unfolding before him!

After the first stop, it was back on the boat for another hour to Playa Blanca - a beautiful beach with white sands and clear blue water. Good to see the Caribbean at it's best after the rather grey / brown sea off Cartegena, and to see the Colombians (and a few Panamanians at play)



As there was no dock at the beach, we had to bundle ourselves onto a standing room only launch - no lifejackets in sight - unlike when we left port and had to wear them for the Port Authority inspection and joined everyone else in taking them off as soon as we set sail!


Saw little of the sun at the beach but still plenty of good sights - although the constant stream of locals selling everything from massages to shrimps did become a little tedious. Water was around 29 degrees and if we had more time, it would have been good to go snorkelling - not least to escape the sellers on the beach.

The journey back was not so long - we managed again to get seats on the top deck but only after Matthew and Tina squeezed on the back of the first launch - with their feet in the water for most of the short trip back to the boat.

Last full day in Colombia tomorrow and hoping for good weather as we may make a return visit to the beach - if not it will be a quick look at the tennis and then off to a local fishing port for lunch.