Category: Travel

Animals of Colombia

Colombia has some of the world’s most dangerous animals. Jaguars, poisonous frogs, spiders, and snakes are all endemic to this country. The fourth largest country in South America, Colombia has Atlantic and Pacific Coastlines, the Amazon, and the Andes mountains, so it’s no surprise its animals are diverse and plentiful. We’ve been to a few different parts of the country and seen a wide variety of animals of Colombia, many that were new to me, and some in strange places.

Sloths

I love sloths and was so excited to see them in a public park in Cartagena. They aren’t always easy to spot but when they are I can watch them do nothing all day. Which is pretty much what they do. In addition to the local Parque Centenario, we also spotted sloths in the beautiful Cartagena botanical gardens outside of the city.

Two sloths in a tree in the Jardin Botanico Cartagena
sloth in Colombia
Sloth in a tree at Cartagena’s Botanic Garden
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Art in The Streets of Getsemani

When you visit Cartagena, you’ll go to the neighborhood of Getsemani. Adjacent to the old city, it’s a nexus for nightlife and dining. What it’s most known for is art, and if you’re like me, you’ll love the colorful art in the streets of Getsemani.

About Getsemani

When I first came to Cartagena in 2016, Getsemani was the “edgy” neighborhood known for its hip street art tours. Now it is an established tourist attraction with great restaurants, upscale hotels, and still the best street art in the city. In fact, all you need to do is take a quick stroll off the main avenue to immerse yourself in the colors of Getsemani.

Start at Plaza de la Trinidad

It may seem confusing in Cartagena, the narrow streets turn and wind and almost seem circular, but that’s part of the fun, especially when there’s so much to see! I recommend heading for Plaza de la Trinidad to get started exploring Getsemani.

Plaza de la Trinidad Getsemani Cartagena
The church and Plaza de la Trinidad

If you’re doing a walk of the neighborhood in search of inspired photo backgrounds, start or end in this main plaza. The colorful art in the streets of Getsemani spreads out from Plaza de la Trinidad, named after the Iglesia Trinidad (Holy Trinity), which dominates it.

Trinidad Church in Getsemani
Iglesia de la Trinidad
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Return to Toronto After Living on a Boat

Our return to Toronto after living on a boat hasn’t been smooth. The Covid pandemic did not make it easy, but having our vaccinations helped get us in the country. After that? Mayhem and memories.

Why The Return

This return to Toronto is temporary. We’ve come to realize over the years that our house in Toronto is no longer our “home.” Our boat is now home. But before we moved onto the boat we didn’t know if we’d last on it, so we kept the house in case we wanted to come back for good. But now we know we love boat life and that’s our life now. With the good real estate market, we sold our house and we wanted to return to Toronto to empty and close on the house.

Flying to Toronto

As soon as the government announced that vaccinated Canadians could fly in without 2 weeks quarantine, we booked our flight. Unfortunately, we weren’t fast enough to get a ticket for Domino. At the Bogotá airport, we found out why: almost everyone in the airport had a dog! We felt like we were at a dog show, not an airport. Don’t worry, Domino has excellent cat-sitters/friends in Cartagena and lots of places to hang out on Sava.

One of the cute dogs at the airport in Bogotá
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