We can see this massive fortress from our balcony in el Cabrero. We walked by it once to make sure we knew how to get there. We’ve watched people walk up and down and all around in direct sun. But we had a plan. We waited for Brianna to arrive, loaded an App audio guide on our phones and went at 8:30 am in hopes of missing bigger tour groups and the pounding heat of mid-day. We got there before the booth with the map to match our app was open so our first 30 minutes was a bit confusing because we took a wrong turn, but once we got on track, it was smooth sailing.
(The App is by Tierra Magna. It was $6.99 CAD and worth every penny.)
But I will share my favorite thing: the photos!!
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| Our initial walk-by to make sure we knew where we were going. It's very fast and simple to get there from our building. |
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| Ready for the tour! |
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| One of the highest lookout points. What a view! |
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| From this view, you can see our building. Second big white one from the left. |
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| They had all angles covered. |
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| One of my favourite photos from the day. |
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| These stairs were added on for tourists. |
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| Once completed, the fort had a capacity for 62 cannons, as well as cisterns, sentry boxes, ramps and a complex system of tunnels designed to install explosives that could be detonated beneath the feet of the enemy. |
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| Listening to our audio guide in any shade we could find. At 9:30 in the morning, it was already 30 degrees. |
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| Learning about the tunnels. We had just been through one tunnel and decided to stay out of this one. Mike wasn't a fan. |
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| Just our luck, we chose a day to tour when there wasn't much wind. Any other day this flag is flying straight out. |
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One of three opportunities to purchase a hat on the ramp up to the fort. There were so many hats, I couldn't get them all in the frame!
We spent 2 hours here and could have easily spent another hour because the audio guide had more to tell us at each stop than we chose to listen to. That's another bonus of going at your own pace. We were hot and ready for breakfast.
THE BEACH! Brianna and I went to the Playa Castillo Grande one morning. This beach has nice soft brown sand all the way into the water. No rocks or tiny shells to pick your feet. Just pure hot sand. You can't come this far and not have a beach day. We chose to go in the morning because we didn't want to be there when it got too crowded and I wanted to be guaranteed that we were going to get a cabana to sit under. Our cab trip was quick, cheap and easy. We got exactly what we wanted. We took some photos, read our books, watched families play in the water and yes, we did both get in for a swim. We are so used to swimming in fresh water that we both completely forgot that the Caribbean is salt water! That was a surprise. But it actually feels great on your skin and the temperature was warm enough to walk right in.
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Let the photo shoot begin! Brianna did a pretty good job here.
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The row of cabanas goes all along the beach. At 10:30 in the morning on a weekday, there are still plenty available.
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| We paid 20,000 COP or aprox. $9 CAN for use of this tent and two chairs for the entire day. |
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| Beach Selfie with my girl! |
I still owe you photos of the park!! But once again, this post is getting too long - Mike wonders why I take so many photos but I can't help myself, it's just so beautiful here. Week 3 Part 3 coming soon. Hasta Luego
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| Proof that I did go in the water. I enjoyed it. I'll go again. |
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