Our host, Rosalia, felt we deserved the opportunity to fully appreciate two of Cartagena's jewels--Isla de Rosario and Playa Blanca.
The Island of the Rosary looks just like a rosary bead from a distance. At this stop, we all put on snorkeling gear and jumped into the ocean with our life jackets and explored the coral reef near the island. With ears under water, I could hear the pulsating life of the creatures below. A snapping sound..snap..snap..snap echoed continuously, which I later learned is the sound of the fish snapping up plankton off the corals. Though the schools of fish delighted the senses, the corals had mostly died and lost the mango and orange hues that its inhabitants had evolved.
Afterwards, we headed to Playo Blanca, a larger island with teal blue water and white sand. I body surfed until a particularly strong wave knocked me onto a large piece of coral, leaving me utterly paranoid that a shark would sense my blood--so I enjoyed relaxing underneath an umbrella with my friends.
Our boat sped back to the mainland with such ferocity that the wake waves splashed us all. At times, the watercraft flew into the air as it climbed a wave, and then would crash with a sickening plummet. I loved every minute of it!
The Island of the Rosary looks just like a rosary bead from a distance. At this stop, we all put on snorkeling gear and jumped into the ocean with our life jackets and explored the coral reef near the island. With ears under water, I could hear the pulsating life of the creatures below. A snapping sound..snap..snap..snap echoed continuously, which I later learned is the sound of the fish snapping up plankton off the corals. Though the schools of fish delighted the senses, the corals had mostly died and lost the mango and orange hues that its inhabitants had evolved.
Afterwards, we headed to Playo Blanca, a larger island with teal blue water and white sand. I body surfed until a particularly strong wave knocked me onto a large piece of coral, leaving me utterly paranoid that a shark would sense my blood--so I enjoyed relaxing underneath an umbrella with my friends.
Our boat sped back to the mainland with such ferocity that the wake waves splashed us all. At times, the watercraft flew into the air as it climbed a wave, and then would crash with a sickening plummet. I loved every minute of it!