Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [151]
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Eating & Drinking
Terraza La 15 ( 288 6226; cnr Carrera 1 & Calle 15; mains COP$7000-25,000; breakfast, lunch & dinner) This simple waterfront spot serves up bubbling, hot seafood cazuela, cheaper chicken dishes and several breakfast choices. It has also thrown down a few tables on the water for an atmospheric tipple.
La Red ( 286 0782; Carrera 1 No 19-100; mains COP$7000-25,000; breakfast, lunch & dinner) It doesn’t look like much, but this waterfront option knows its way around seafood – the pargo rojo (red snapper), lightly fried in butter and topped with a creamy seafood sauce, is one of the tastiest small-town dishes on the coast.
There are a series of food stalls known as the Casino de Comida at Calle 20 and Carrera 1 on the waterfront, where set meals of fish or meat are served up by eager cocineras for around COP$6000.
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Getting There & Away
Expreso Brasilia/Unitransco ( 288 5223), Rapido Ochoa ( 288 5226) and Caribe Express ( 288 5223) share a small bus station on the south west side of Plaza Pedro de Heredia. Buses depart for Cartagena (COP$20,000, three hours) and Montería (COP$15,000, two hours) hourly. Other sample destinations include Bogotá (COP$100,000, 19 hours) at 8am and 5:30pm; Medellín (COP$70,000, 10 hours, four departures daily); and Santa Marta (COP$45,000, six hours) at 7:30am and 5:30pm.
If you are continuing on to Turbo and the Panamanian border beyond, you must take a bus to Montería and switch there for Turbo. All of the Medellín-bound buses stop in Montería, as does Transportes Luz ( 288 6069; Calle 16 No 10-79), a good door-to-door option for groups or those that need to make it to Montería beyond standard bus hours. Call ahead for reservations.
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ISLAS DE SAN BERNARDO
The 10 archipelagoes that make up the Islas de San Bernardo, set off the coast of Tolú, are a far more spectacular and interesting addition to the Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo than their neighbors to the north Click here.
Carib indígenas once called the islands home, but they are more trampled on today by vacationing Colombians, who have done well to keep the islands a secret from foreign tourists. Known for their crystalline waters, mangrove lagoons and white-sand beaches – some of Colombia’s best – these picturesque islands stand out on the Caribbean coast as a little oasis of rest and relaxation.
Day tours (COP$35,000) to the archipelago depart daily from the Muelle Turístico in Tolú at around 8:30am. The full day includes fly-bys of one of the world’s most densely populated islands, Santa Cruz del Islote, where between 850 and 1000 people, mostly fisherman, live on top of each other in what can only be described as a tropical shantytown huddled on 1200 sq meters of cramped space; and Isla Tintípan, the largest of the archipelago’s islands. Most of the tourism infrastructure is on Isla Múcura, where tours stop for three hours of free time. Here you can rent snorkeling equipment for COP$5000, kick back and have lunch and a beer (not included in the tour), or simply wander the mangrove-heavy landscape. The best beach and snorkeling is on Isla Palma, where the tour concludes at the aquarium (admission COP$12,000), which is curiously more of a rustic zoo than a waterworld (though there is a foggy window aquarium here). You’ll also find monkeys, pink flamingos, loads of birds (including many loose macaws) and even a buffalo! It’s strange, but sort of interesting.
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Sleeping & Eating
Everything from camping to high-end hideaways are available in San Bernardo, mostly on Isla Múcura and Isla Palma. In high season, you will definitely need to make reservations, and expect considerable price hikes from those listed here.
Estrella de David ( 312 893 8220; Isla Múcura; hammocks COP$10,000, campsite per person incl meals COP$40,000) This is the budget option, located at La Punta (where the boats dock)