Category: Travel

A Day Trip to Nueva Venecia

One of the most memorable tours we’ve done so far in Colombia is a visit to Nueva Venecia. A community built on stilts in the middle of a swamp which is a natural sanctuary, it’s like nowhere I’ve ever been. Keep reading for more about our day trip to Nueva Venecia in Colombia.

Cienaga and Nueva Venecia

You may have already guessed that Nueva Venecia is Spanish for New Venice. Named after the famous Italian city, the entire town is on the Grande Ciénega, a marsh leading from the River Magdalena to the Caribbean Sea. Residents live in houses built on stilts in the marsh, and instead of cars and bikes, they get around by boat, mostly long canoes. It was a real treat to visit and get a glimpse into the lives of its residents.

Map of Cienaga and Nueva Venecia
Day trip to Nueva Venecia map from Santa Marta

Getting to Nueva Venecia

For the day trip to Nueva Venecia, we took a tour from Santa Marta by bus to Ciénaga, where we met our boat driver. A quick drive under an hour from either Santa Marta or Baranquilla, and then a couple of hours boating around makes a great day trip!

Our bus tour guide spoke English and imparted interesting information about the region and its history. The boat captain who we met in Ciénaga spoke Spanish, and he took us for a long tour of the village and the surrounding waters, where we saw a variety of birds and the local fishermen at work.

boat day trip to Nueva Venecia
The boat waiting at the dock to take us to Nuevo Venecia
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Communicating in Curaçao

A multi-cultural island where locals speak many languages, communicating in Curaçao is relatively easy for travelers. Still, there are a few key terms you should know when you visit the Dutch Caribbean.

Papiamentu

Papiamentu, or Papiamento, is the local tongue in the Dutch islands. It is a mix of many languages, mostly Portuguese and Dutch, but also English, African, Creole. It’s an interesting language and is the most commonly spoken tongue in the Caribbean Netherlands. Which means you will hear it spoken in the ABC islands of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire, and likely the other Dutch islands.

Don’t worry if you don’t speak this language. English and Dutch are commonly spoken here as well, but it will help to know some of the key Papiamentu terms, which is why this post on communicating in Curaçao.

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Christmas in Curaçao

This is our third Christmas since we moved aboard Sava, and again we are in a new location, this time the biggest of the ABC islands, Curaçao. As an island with rich history and many cultural influences, of course it’s an interesting place to spend the holiday season! Curaçao got into the Christmas spirit early, with stores displaying holiday cheer in October, and early celebrations at the beginning of December. As we are enjoying Christmas in Curaçao and all the decorations that come with it, I thought I’d share some stories and photos of what the celebrations are like in the Leeward Antilles.

Interested in Christmas in other places? Read about spending Christmas in the Caribbean , Panama and in Florida

Christmas in Curaçao Starts Early

The decorations have been up since Halloween but that’s not even what I am talking about. One of the holidays has already happened.

St. Nicholas Day is the traditional day for presents from Santa and people get excited! Men dress in colorful costumes, paint their faces and jump into cars and drive around yelling out the windows and honking. At least that’s what we’ve seen. So many of them get into one car it’s like a clown car, more noticeable in the days of social distancing.

St Nicholas costumes
St Nicholas celebrations
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