ONCE AGAIN IN CARTAGENA

Every September I attend a meeting somewhere in South America so that I can learn about what is new and special in South and Central America.  This year, Travel Mart Latin America is being held   in wonderful and very warm Cartagena de las Indias in Colombia.

This will be my 4th trip to Colombia and i just love this country.  Several years ago, no one would have thought of traveling to Colombia, but things are very safe and well guarded and now tourists are flocking to the country as it has so much to offer.

The slogan for the Colombian tourism bureau called Proexport, is "THE ONLY RISK IS NOT WANING TO GO HOME!"

Quite clever actually, as it is so true.  Never have I had so much fun in such a short time. I have written about Cartagena before, and other parts of his lovely green country made up of the Bogota area in the Andes, the rich "Coffee Triangle" in the foot hills of the Andes and the port city of Cartagena where cruise ships as well as cargo  carriers drop anchor every day.  

Best of all, I have learned so much this time in Cartagena.  I learned about a hotel in Chile called Huilo Huilo that is a hotel tree house.  The hotel, made of metal and wood in a conical shape, has been in the primary rain forest at the foot of the Andes for 4 years and during that time, the entire structure has been covered up with vegetation.  It looks like something out of the Lord of the Rings movie.

Then there is the hacienda boutique hotel outside of Salta, Argentina where you can stay with the family and do daily activities into the dry desert mountains in a 4 wheel drive, or go with the owner and make your own wine...label and all.

In Brazil you can fish for some huge honkers of fish whose name I can't remember or pronounce at
Cristalino Lodge in the middle of the Amazon Basin.  At night you come back to the lodge's floating dock for a glass of wine, dinner and believe it or not, a fire pit in the middle of the wooden deck.

There is also a new train in Ecuador that will go on 3 ad 4 night journey's through the Ecuadorian Andes.  Financed by the Ecuadorian government, this new train scheduled for its first journey in June of next year, will be all decked out in antique style like the historic trains that used to transport the early settlers to this continent....complete with steam engine.  Best of all, you will spend every night along the way in a historic hacienda along the route.

So along with all the hot Cartagena weather and friends I have seen, I am totally excited about the new tourism opportunities for everyone in a continent that is both safe and in the same time zone as the US.
Why go anywhere else, when you can see so many good things so close to home!