Laura’s sister Vicki, her husband Matt, and their two daughters, Lakkel and Meilia, joined us in Medellin. It was cool that the seed we planted months ago about joining us on their spring break came to fruition. It is always a joy when we met up with friends or family on this trip and they were a welcome sight.
The first thing we did together was an artisanal family run chocolate tour in the outskirts of Medellin. The very friendly host, Andres, picked us up at the hotel in 2 cars since there are now 9 of us. We drove about 1 1/2 hours on a Sunday to a small, family-run farm. The family moved here years ago to escape the drug cartel issues in their rural village. They now farm coffee beans, chocolate, rabbits, chickens/eggs and other vegetables and fruits. They were selling their goods in the local market when Andres met them. He pitched the idea of opening a very personal chocolate tour to show people how they process what they are growing. The family has benefited from the extra money from the tours and has increased the number of flavors of chocolate they are selling in the local markets also. They are in the process of building another home on the property for the adult daughter’s family as the extended family are currently all living under one roof. We met Sandra and her 2 children and her parents who were so welcoming and kind to all of us! We highly recommend this private personal tour! They were able to adjust and be flexible on our tour once we saw what the kids were interested in. It was a truly authentic experience.
We were greeted noisily by a Northern Screamer bird (see photos). They called it their guard bird as it patrols the property and makes very loud, raucous cries at strangers and does chase you! It also chases the family dog. We have some hilarious videos of the bird. I looked it up later and it’s considered uncommon and near threatened. It is described as a huge, ungainly bird with thick red legs, red face, and a wispy crest with a mostly gray body with black neck and whitish cheeks. They like to perch and they are very loud.
We sprayed ourselves for mosquitoes and set off on a slightly muddy, but fun hike led by their 8-year old son. We went up the steep hillside over narrow dirt trails cut into the side of the hill. As you walk through the plantation, you see cacao plants in their natural form, as well as other natural local products like mandarin trees, coffee plants, and plantain trees. As Griffin is modeling, a machete is an important tool here to cut away any overgrowth of the forest and to keep the trails clear.
The family breeds and raises rabbits. The kids were all enamored with them. We were told (I think with a wink) that they are sold as “pets” to the local community. They also have about 50 hens and they sell the eggs daily to neighbors. While we were there, some neighbors came by to pick up 2 dozen eggs. We also bought a bunch to take home for breakfast the next day.
We learned about the history of chocolate and its production worldwide including how to maintain a healthy plantation, the natural enemies of cacao fruits and how to control the pests. Then we went over the complete process for making artisanal chocolate. We picked cacao fruits and extracted the seeds. The seeds are covered in a white, sticky, fleshy, sweet pulp called mucilage that is only removed during fermentation. Just like in coffee, the pulp contains a high number of sugars. Fermentation is when sugars and starches are broken down into acids or alcohol. The pulp is placed in wooden boxes and covered with banana leaves, leaving no gaps for air to come in so that the beans can’t be oxidized. The beans are turned every day and removed after at least 6 days. While the fermentation is happening, the pulp drips off of the beans. The next process is drying the beans. This is done in wooden boxes, beds or pallets in a hot, dry, tented hut they have built next to their house. The beans are once again periodically turned so that they dry evenly over a five to seven day period to allow the acids in the cacao to evaporate and produce a low acid, high cocoa flavored product. If drying takes longer than seven days, mold contamination can occur. Then you roast them in a pan over an open fire, let them cool and crack the outside off of the seed to reveal cocoa nibs. These nibs are then ground into a paste and can be mixed with milk or other flavors and put into molds to make chocolates. The pouring into molds was the best, and messiest, part for the kids.
We finished off our stay with cup of warm, homemade hot chocolate and some local sweet bread. This was an incredible experience from start to finish. Sandra is extremely thoughtful and it was so kind of her to open up her house and farm to us. We had so much fun hanging out with her family.
Cartagena, officially known as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and major port on the northern coast of Colombia on the Caribbean sea. As a former Spanish colony, it was a key port for the export of Peruvian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It has a population of over 1 million people, making it the second-largest city in the region, after Barranquilla, and the fifth-largest city in Colombia. The city is named after Cartagena, Spain and was founded in 1533. Settlement by various indigenous people in the region, however, dates from 4000 BCE. During the Spanish colonial period Cartagena had a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire. In 1984, Cartagena’s colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These are the jewels of the city and it is recommended to stay within the city walls if possible. It is safe and full of tiny shops, restaurants, squares, and tourist sites.
We flew to Cartegena from Medellin with Vicki, Matt, Lakkel and Meilia. This was our first delayed flight of the whole trip. A few hours of waiting in the airport and off we went on the short 1 hour flight. The heat here was obvious when we climbed off the plane onto the tarmac. It feels a bit like Hawaii when you first arrive. We crammed into a tiny taxi for the 20 minute ride to the hotel. We are staying in the InterContinental which is right on the beach and has a giant pool. Griffin learned how to use a real wall phone and calls between rooms now. Trey made a grocery run so we could enjoy some cheese and salami sandwiches and apples in the room. Griffin was double-fisted most of the time!
The next morning, it was Meilia’s birthday and we were picked up early for a boat trip to Hotel Isla del Encanto. It was a 1-hour speedboat ride to the beach location. We passed through some old forts that protected the entrance to Cartegena’s Bay. We swam in the warm, blue water and in the salt water pool. Marin went with Vicki’s family to snorkel off a boat for 2 hours and learned how to dive down deep to see the reef and clear her snorkel. We had a nice buffet lunch from the hotel and played “don’t fall off the paddle board” for the rest of our time there. Griffin bought a stone frog on a lily pad…you know, because we want to add more weight to our bags.
It was Meilia’s 8th birthday so we went out to dinner on a festive, very windy roof deck in the old town. We almost ordered 16 mini hamburguesas (by mistake), but fortunately the kitchen ran out of meat so we ended up with 8 not very mini burgers. A strange man dressed in costume made the rounds of the roof deck while live music played downstairs and paper napkins blew off the deck left and right. We finished the evening with ice cream and a quick taxi ride back to the hotel.
We got our PCR covid tests pretty easily at a private clinic just a few blocks away from the hotel. It was not inexpensive, but mandatory for our National Geographic Galapagos adventure that starts on Friday. The tests came back quickly and we now have 5 negatives! Phew. Afterwards we taxied up to the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas where we met Vicki’s family with unbelievably perfect timing. We stepped out of the taxi as they crossed the street right in front of us! This is a fortress built in 1536, located on a hill that dominates approaches to the city by land or sea. It was built by the Spanish during the colonial era and was involved in several battles between the late 17th to early 19th centuries involving European powers. We stood in a long line in the blazing sun for too long while all kinds of vendors tried to sell us helpful things like ice cream, water, hats and umbrellas. We were thankful that Vicki bought an umbrella to provide a bit of shade. We had an 80-year old, very energetic tour guide. He was quite engaging for the kids and led us up stairs, through dark tunnels, across drawbridges and around cannons. He told us that slaves often manned the castle and that during the Battle of Cartegena the British were defeated after they lost over 10,000 men, some units suffering death rates of 80 to 90 percent. The majority of their losses were from yellow fever and diarrhea from drinking the water. Our guides description of explosive diarrhea was quite entertaining; as were his impressions of cannon fire.
The kids were excited to hold real and fake cannon balls. We took the post tour “we are so HOT” photo as promised for a friend’s family who took a similar photo after their tour here! There is a statue in front of the castle of Admiral Blas de Lezo, also known as the ‘Half-Man’. Throughout his naval career, Lezo sustained many severe wounds; he lost his left eye, left hand, complete mobility of the right arm, and had his left leg amputated after being hit by the projectile of a cannon. He perceived his wounds and physical limitations as medals, even refusing to wear an eye patch to hide his blind eye. Lezo’s defense of Cartagena against a vastly larger British fleet consolidated his legacy as one of the most heroic figures in the history of Spain. He is often recognized as one of the greatest strategists in naval history.
We went back to Vicki and Matt’s airbnb for a quick swim in the courtyard pool and a pizza lunch. We walked around the cute streets of the old town filled with colorful houses, bougainvillea climbing up buildings and archways, horse drawn carriages for tourists, street vendors with crafts and local fruits and ice cream. We made our way to the Palace of Inquisition, the former seat of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, It was finished around 1770 and currently serves as a museum showcasing historical artifacts. Among the exhibits, the museum displays torture equipment used on victims during the Inquisition. About 800 non-Catholics believed guilty of crimes such as black magic were publicly executed here. It was an interesting place for the kids to learn a bit about the intolerance and fear that led to the Inquisition. We saw torture devices, gallows, a guillotine and stocks where they kept prisoners. Marin was outraged to hear that witches were thrown into deep water and if they drowned they were determined NOT to be a witch, but if they did not drown, they were a witch and were killed. Where is the logic here?!
The photo below shows the Denunciation Window. It had a mailbox in which the Court received accusations of practices considered against the catholic faith. While many of the accusations were anonymous, the Court only qualified those that were sent by relatives or informers accredited by the Court. HA! There was an interesting cartoon short film that depicted a typical journey through the Court system. It was eye-opening and as ridiculous as you can imagine.
Tip: Most of the displays were in Spanish. There were no English speaking tour guides to hire (at least the afternoon we went). You will learn more if you are a confident Spanish speaker. We used google translate a bit, but it wasn’t a smooth translation.
After the museum we walked around the old town some more, exploring the buildings and squares. It is a very walkable town, highlighted by the stone walls that run 11km around the entire town. The walls took almost two centuries to build and were completed in 1796 to defend the city from the continuous pirate attacks it suffered. Their construction began on Sept. 8, 1614 by order of King Philip III after an attack by Sir Francis Drake.
We spent our last day doing schoolwork, swimming some laps in the giant pool and packing up. We went to the mall nearby to get some socks and swimsuits for the boys. Things here are quite inexpensive…Columbian pesos are about 3700 to $1 USD and the Tommy Hilfiger (knock off) socks were $2 USD. A swim suit was $6 USD. We watched some guys playing aggressive dominos…the gist of it seemed to be someone won, someone else accused him of cheating, and a lot of talk about it. One last dinner complete with popcorn and a Sprite happy hour, before we packed up.
In the evening we hit the beach in Cartagena. Apparently, the police close the beach at 6pm despite sunset occurring nearly an hour later. Trey and the kids would run out of the water when the police walked by blowing their whistles and then go back in when they got far enough away. Stupid rules are meant to be broken. The waves were great and a fun time was had by all. Laura stayed with our stuff on the beach and contemplated getting ceviche from the bicycle-propelled, portable Cevicheria, but her recent bout with near-death after eating something bad, smartened her up. The kids got a kick out of this bronze statue by Idan Zareski, appropriately called Bigfoot.
Next stop is Guayquil, Ecuador to meet up with Nat Geo for the Galapagos trip!
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