Walking in Getsemani neighbourhood of Cartagena, Colombia.Micah Toub/The Globe and Mail
We’d been walking for half an hour up the steep road above Minca, Colombia, all our stuff on our backs, when I started to wonder whether we would have to leave the trail and scramble up a nearly vertical stretch of jungle to get to our accommodation. On Google Maps, the dot representing Mundo Nuevo ecolodge was tantalizingly close, but the app – which predicted a seven-minute walk when we set out – was useless in charting the route.
Tired and drenched in sweat beneath the midday Colombian sun, I was about to explain to my wife and 10-year-old son, Louis, that we were lost when a young woman wearing serious hiking boots and a wide-brimmed tan sun hat strode around the corner. She told us, in a friendly Dutch accent, that yes, we were on the right road, and nearly there. It felt like divine intervention. When we finally arrived 15 minutes later, the first thing we did was jump into the infinity pool overlooking the lush Sierra Nevada mountain range.
My wife and I try to take our little family on a sunny trip most winters. Before this year, the two we’d taken outside North America had been to all-inclusive resorts. It’s just easier with a little kid: You have your choice of several pools, it’s safe, the buffet makes meals a breeze and you have to try very hard to get lost. In this bubble-wrapped way we saw Costa Rica and Cuba. But beyond a stretch of beach, did we really see those countries? Now that our son is older, we wanted to go outside our comfort zone. We wanted an adventure.
Standing in front of mural in Getsemani neighbourhood of Cartagena . Family Travel story for Colombia.Micah Toub/The Globe and Mail
If our friends are any indication – two of whom have separately visited Colombia in the past couple years, one with their kids – the destination is on the rise. Although the country has historically been plagued by internal conflict, that’s decreased over the years, most recently after the government struck a peace deal with the largest of the guerrilla groups in 2016. Since that time, tourist visits have more than doubled. (Canada still warns its citizens against going to certain areas – mainly near the borders – which we heeded.) Meanwhile, owing to a favourable exchange rate, it’s still a relatively affordable way to vacation on the Caribbean coast.
Our three-stop itinerary began in what has long been a tourist haven, even during times of conflict: Cartagena de Indias. The old, walled part of the city, which was founded by Spanish settlers in 1533, is a bustling grid of narrow streets flanked by colourful colonial architecture: lots of elaborate arches and balconies.
The high-low mix of shops and restaurants is like Niagara Falls meets Beverly Hills. On our first full day there, we ate breakfast at a five-star hotel and then later for lunch scarfed down cheese-filled arepas from a street vendor a block away. The highlight was outside the walls, though, in Getsemani. This historically poor neighbourhood was revitalized in 2013, when the community invited artists from around the world to cover buildings with massive murals, the subjects of which all relate to the area’s history, culture and politics.
We realized pretty quickly in Cartagena that our lack of Spanish was going to make ordering food difficult. We used the Google translate app, along with the requisite hand gestures, but still managed to order Louis chicken instead of steak at a cafeteria on our second day. Rather than send it back, though, he asked me to please not make a fuss. And it dawned on me then that there’s a lesson in humility to not having everything go your way. By the end of the trip, my son had tried a few new dishes – with ingredients he normally would ask to be left off – because he wanted to be respectful to our Colombian hosts.
After two nights in Cartagena, we hired a car for the five-hour drive east along the coast to Tayrona National Park. We could’ve taken a bus, but we figured: baby steps. There we stayed at Senda Kokkos Beach, one of a small chain of local hotels. For four nights, our accommodation was essentially a two-storey condo a short stroll from the ocean, with a full kitchen, front yard and private pool – all for about $195 a night
This was the deep relaxation part of the trip. Still, risks were taken. It’s a hot topic in parenting that kids of my son’s generation – preoccupied with screen-based play – aren’t doing enough dangerous things out in the real world. I reminded myself of this as Louis climbed barefoot up a 20-foot beachside cliff. And later, after we dove into waves that were really too strong for him, learning our lesson when he was crushed under one and dragged along the ocean floor. Coming up gasping, he feared the ocean – but only for a day. The next morning, Alejandro, a local surfing instructor, took us in his beat-up Toyota to a safer beach a five minutes’ drive away, where we all caught a wave.
On the beach near Tayrona National Park Family Travel story for Colombia.Micah Toub/The Globe and Mail
A couple of winters ago, during our stay at the Cuba all-inclusive, we booked what was billed as a day trip to a nearby town with local craftspeople and restaurants. What it turned out to be was a fabricated strip mall set up for buses of tourists. No one lived there, and most of the storefronts were empty. Compare that with Minca, the last stop on our Colombia trip: This mountain town’s main drag bustled with tourists and locals alike; schoolchildren played in the streets and wild dogs lounged in the sun. I was almost run over by a motorcycle. Many of the buildings were broken down, but still, the vibe was vital.
The farther up the mountain you go, as we did, the more vital it gets – but in a different way. We spent one night at a glamping spot, in a sprawling geodesic dome with a stunning sunset vista. Also on view: countless insects, including cicadas about the size of hummingbirds whose buzzing wings sounded like the Toronto Indy.
Family Travel story for Colombia. Sunset near MincaMicah Toub/The Globe and Mail
“Why does everything have to be alive?” Louis asked while trying to fall asleep.
Our arrival at Mundo Nuevo, then, for our final two nights, was a relief, as it was set farther back from the trees. Here, we encountered fewer insects and more backpackers, and shared some meals with a family that included a birding-obsessed 12-year-old. We found walking sticks and took a long unguided hike in the mountains that led us to a cocoa and coffee farm. We didn’t get lost again, but by that point, I think we’d built enough resilience and resourcefulness to trust that we’d make it back okay if we did.
IF YOU GO
The Rafael Nunez International Airport (CTG) is a quick half-hour drive to the historic walled part of Cartagena, where you’ll want to stay.
You can find good deals on public buses, but it’s also affordable to hire a driver. The longest of our trips, to Tayrona National Park from Cartagena, was about $75 a person, arranged by Gran Colombia Tours.
Where to stay: Our beachside villa with private pool near Tayrona National Park, Senda Kokkos Beach, was a great deal at $195 a night. The Mundo Nuevo ecolodge in Minca has a wide variety of rooms, starting at $90 a night. From Minca, it’s a half-hour hike to Finca Candelaria, where you can take coffee and cacao tours.
