Recommend June 2014 - (Page 41)

Cartagena de Indias. Unique Experience Visit the walls that embrace 500 years of history, with its colonial architecture and traditional houses that have been converted to boutique hotels. Here, visitors can dine, shop and go gallery-hopping. CARTAGENA de indias Sun-drenched, hospitable, visually stunning and perfectly charming, Cartagena de Indias is the star in the Colombian visitor galaxy. Her wellpreserved Old City and the remnants of Spanish Main days of glory give the seaside resort great historical richness, while the Caribbean Sea provides a front yard of clear waters, beaches and dozens of balmy islands to explore offshore. Cartagena's 16th century fortifications- seven miles of encircling battlements-are the best example of Spanish conquest architecture in the Americas. You can walk the ramparts and wander through a labyrinth of tunnels that lace the San Felipe de Barajas Fortress, which once thwarted the likes of Sir Francis Drake and pirate Henry Morgan. The Old City is the seaside town's principal attraction, a special place to explore on foot or tour by horse-drawn carriage along its mazelike cobbled lanes bordered by historic houses painted in a rainbow of colors and adorned with balconies draped in bougainvillea. One must stop to see the Church of San Pedro Claver and the Gold Museum; drop in at stylish shops filled with artisan crafts and emerald jewelry; hang out in an outdoor cafe on Plaza Santo Domingo-one place to tune into the live rhythms of cumbia; reserve a table at La Vitrola restaurant, serving up a cosmopolitan blend of fresh seafood and international cuisines. And, of course, get acquainted with Cartagena's appealing inventory of luxury resort hotels, strung mostly along the Boca Grande peninsula of beaches, as well as those romantic boutique inns occupying historic mansions. Everyone's favorite day trip, just 50 minutes away by boat, is to the Islas del Rosario archipelago. A national park since 1977 this , delicate chain of 43 islands lures visitors with amazingly clear waters; during the dry season divers enjoy visibility for more than 100 ft. The park's coral reefs, mangrove habitats and lagoons support more than 1,300 species, including dolphins, sea turtles and sea horses. colombia icons SALSA With its origins in Puerto Rico and Cuba, the music-and-dance mainstay of salsa was embraced in the 1960s with particular gusto in Cali and Barranquilla. Today, Cali is dubbed the country's undisputed Capital de la salsa with hundreds of clubs, festivals, dance schools, concerts and, of course, its annual week-long Summer Salsa Festival. your clients will love colombia because: ● Culture-buff clients are in for a feast with museumhopping, treasuries of Colonial art and architecture, ancient civilizations revealed in dazzling gold artifacts, and modern art on view in galleries and urban plazas. ● Fun-loving clients will be dazzled as they dine well in stylish restaurants or informal cafes; shop 'till they drop in Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena; relax on a beach or at a spa; or join the Colombians to dance salsa. ● Nature-loving clients will find that Colombia is most definitely for the birds-it's home to the world's greatest number of bird species (more than 1,880). There are also some 3,500 varieties of orchids. And guaranteed annually is the greatest spectacle of all: migrating humpback whales that come close into the Pacific coast. ● Your clients will feel quite at home in world-class hotels and beachside resorts; boutique inns occupying former colonial mansions and coffee estate haciendas; jungle lodges and eco-villages in Amazonia; and luxury "Ecohabs" in Tayrona National Park. ● Action-seekers can go scuba diving off Caribbean beaches, white-water river rafting on the Rio Suarez, mountain biking and hiking in the Colombian Andes, golfing on PGAcompetition courses, and kayaking on the Amazon. ● Your clients, like all travelers, are going to love discovering Colombia because unique experiences abound around every corner. june 2014 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend June 2014

Editor’s Notes
Hotel Desk: Seattle’s The Edgewater Rocks
Tour Talk: Apple Leisure Group
Caribbean Weddings: Choices, Romance & More Choices
Honeymoon Havens for all Sorts of Lovebirds
Nuptials at Sea
Wild Honeymoons!
Latin America for Lovers
Colombia Travel Guide
A Fairy Tale Honeymoon
All-Inclusive Powerhouses
Iberostar Playa Mita
Let’s Get Hitched!
Romantic Retreats
Unforgettable Honeymoons a World Away

Recommend June 2014