An interesting trip

San Andres Island is biggest island that is part of the deparment of San Andres y Providencia in Colombia, San Andres is located to 775 kilometers to the Colombian coast. It’s one of the most important tourist places in Colombia and South America, and have an interesting history and culture, around the caribbean people and the influence of a lot of cultures, natives and also foreign.

In this article I will describe my experience in San Andres, enriched with the contact of the people and a lot of beautiful and amazing landscapes. I will describe their culture and their food.

My family and me traveled to San Andres Island in Jule of 2009 when my bro was 11 months old, we were excited because we didn’t get to know San Andres, and I didn’t never get to know the beach, I was so excited! Well, and my first experiences traveling in airplane!

When we arrived to San Andres, in an exhausting travel from Cali to Bogotá and from Bogotá to Cali (when I met too the Dorado international airport in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia), we saw the beautiful island from the air just before arrive to the land, the most interesting thing about the landscape was the “sea of seven colors”, the Atlantic Ocean in the Caribbean coast is called “the ocean of seven colors” because the reefs give it an appearance like it has seven colors really . When I go out from the airplaine I felt like something was drowning me, the heat passed across my skin and put small my lungs in a way that I couldn’t breathe good, obviously you can deduct that the temperature was very high.

I walked around 10 meters and I felt so exhausted, that I didn’t wanna walked more. Of course, I accustomed very fast, I’m from Cali and when I was in San Andres, there was very very hot too. The hotel was around 5 minutes from the urban zone of San Andres, but it was beautiful, the entry was something artistic, native drawings and other themes are that showed. In the reception we had a problem with the reservation but it wasn’t a big problem. The rooms had air conditioner (obviously with the high heat) and was very comfortable. We pass the eigth days and seven nights got to know all San Andrés Island, and it was very nice.

About their culture, it was very interesting because the most of the population in San Andres was Caribbean people, people (in most, black men) with Caribbean characteristics like big mouth, nose prominent and others, the peple was very very friendly and it was very comfortable contact with “San Andresanos”.

The food in San Andres Island it was especially one of the importants points of their culture, the seafood is characteristic of the San Andresanos, the prawns are prepared in a special way, something foods called “ceviche de camarones”, “sopa de camarones”, and others are characteristic. When I tasted the prawns it was very very uncomfortable because usually I don’t like the seafood, but I did the best. When that food contacted my tongue, my taste buds were activated and I can describe a special taste, it was hot spicy and taste very good, I felt very well with the seafood since that experience.

The language is another important point, they have a characteristic language describe like a mix of Spanish, French and English. It was very rare and I didn’t understand anything, but it was very interesting and special.

I went to the beach, “El Mirador” and “El Hoyo Soplador” where I had more contact with the people, meeting his cultural practices and rituals where I found a variety of beliefs and interesting things around the people.

We returned to Cali for a direct flying San Andrés-Cali (Bogotá? Not again), and it was much better for me because it wasn’t my first experience in airplane, I was more quite.

That traveling experience was very special, and I got to know the beach, I had my first experience in airplane and I met with special people, different culture that taught to me a different way of see the people.