Travel Monkeys

Italy with Adventures by Disney: Trip Report for ABD Day 1

July 4, 2023 (Author: J)

Trip Report: ABD Day 1

After two days of exploring Rome on our own, it was time for the start of our tour. Our morning began with another 8 am wakeup and buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then, we stopped at the hotel bar to meet our Adventure guides, Massi and Gabby. We knew where and when to find them because a welcome letter was delivered to our room the night before our tour started.

We introduced ourselves and Massi and Gabby offered some suggestions for how to spend the morning. (Our first activity was a 3 pm visit to the Colosseum. Theoretically, this timing allows guests to arrive the day that the tour starts, something I definitely do not recommend). I made a mental note of some of the possibilities but knew that sightseeing would need to wait until after we had accomplished our primary objective for the day: P wanted to buy himself a football (soccer) jersey. Massi, who is a football fan, was very excited to hear this. His top suggestion was to wait until we got to Florence where P could purchase “the most beautiful purple jersey.” I bet you can guess which team Massi roots for. P did not need a hard sell; he quickly decided to buy jerseys in both Rome and Florence. Massi marked the official fan shops for both of Rome’s football teams on a map for us and we headed out for some shopping.

In front of the hotel, I opened my trusty Taxi Now app and requested a ride. After a short wait, the app informed me that there were no drivers available – again. A long walk in the heat sounded like torture to us. I opened Uber instead. In Italy, Uber has an option to call a taxi. We used it and — after a short wait – we had an assigned driver! We were soon on our way across the river and into the most touristy part of Rome. On our way to the fan shop, we passed ruins, churches, obelisks … and more ruins, more churches, more obelisks. I tried to figure out what we were looking at so that we could return to see some of it on foot, but the city was so densely packed with historic things that I was never quite sure if I had correctly identified them. Before too long, our driver dropped us around the corner from the fan shop, pointed us in the right direction, and bid us “Ciao.”

Rome has two football teams: Lazio and Roma. In consultation with Massi, P had decided that he preferred a Lazio jersey. But the Lazio shop only had adorable baby jerseys and XL men’s jerseys. P is nearly as tall as I am, but he is a long way from a men’s XL. We convinced P that spending a large sum on a shirt that he might never grow into was a bad idea. Fortunately for him, the Roma shop was a ten-minute walk away. We stretched the walk out a bit by stopping frequently to admire old buildings and monuments. I had some success identifying sights by Googling their key features. That our destination on this journey was a fan shop kept P from complaining about walking in the heat. He did, however, question whether it was necessary to cross the street so frequently. (Only if you want good photos of all the columns with little Roman military dudes on them).

(Photo: Column of Marcus Aurelius, if my Googling was accurate).

P had better luck shopping in the Roma fan shop. It was enormous with every size and style of jersey imaginable. P found a jersey that he liked and, even after we explained the unfavorable exchange rate, he was willing to spend his savings on it. Then, we continued our walk. Without the carrot of a souvenir, P soon announced that he was tired, hot, AND hungry.

We had been headed in the direction of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, a sight that Massi and Gabby recommended for its views of the city. I quickly confirmed that the monument had a café and restrooms and then proposed it as a lunch destination. To my delight, P and D signed off on this plan.

(Photo: The Victor Emmanuel II Monument)

The Victor Emmanuel II Monument – also known as the Alter of the Fatherland, the Vittoriano, and the Wedding Cake building – is an enormous white neoclassical building in the middle of the historic part of Rome. If Rick Steves is to be believed, many people find it unsightly. I am not those many people. Standing at the base of the building with an endless white staircase in front of me and multiple winged victories above me filled me with awe. I assume that’s what the architect intended. Or maybe he just wanted to sell slushies to hot tourists. Either way, his vision was fulfilled. Because after climbing all those stairs in the hot sun, we were ready for some slushies.

(Photo: winged lion statute in front of the monument)

We enjoyed our slushies and a mediocre pizza in the monument’s terrace café. The views are ridiculous. Everywhere you look is some important monument: the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the forum. So many interesting things are crammed together that it is surreal. I had to remind myself several times that I was looking out over the actual city of Rome and not some theme park recreation of it.

(Photo Gallery: View from the terrace of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument)

After lunch, we called an Uber and headed back to the hotel to rest. P vetoed the pool in favor of reading in our air-conditioned hotel room. So, when we arrived back at the Gran Melia, we made a beeline for the room. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we discovered the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door of our room.

“Why did you put out a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign?” I asked D.

“That’s the ‘Please Make Up Room’ sign,” D said hopefully.

“It says ‘Do Not Disturb.’ In English,” I responded, pointing at the words for emphasis. “The other side is Please Make Up Room.”

“What kind of hotel puts ‘Please Make Up’ room and ‘Do Not Disturb’ on one sign!?”

“All of them.”

And that is how we wound up taking an afternoon swim, after all. Before we left, D called the front desk to apologize for his sign mistake. When we returned to the room to change back into our regular clothing, the room was spotless.

My biggest concern about taking a group tour was that we might be forced to spend a lot of time waiting for stragglers. Not wanting to bring my own fear to life, we arrived at the lobby bar 10 minutes before our meeting time for the Colosseum tour. I needn’t have worried. For this tour, at least, everyone was chronically early. When our official meeting time arrived, we were on our way to the bus with whisper headsets in our ears. (ABD uses small headsets to allow you to better hear the guide in crowded locations. On this trip, we each received a set on the first day with instructions to return it at the end of the trip or face a hefty fine).

In addition to our two Adventure Guides, we had one or more local guides in each city who provided the narration about what we were seeing. One of our local guides joined us on the bus and told us a bit about the city as we travelled to the Colosseum. Once at the Colosseum, we parked in an area designated for tour buses and walked a short distance to the arena. It was packed with tourists, but we were able to use an entrance that required only a minimal wait in a security line.

Once inside, there was a quick bathroom break. Pro tip: If you leave your earbud in while using the restroom, you can learn about the bathroom habits of the ancient Romans while using the bathroom. When I came out of the ladies’ room, P was still giggling about poo sticks.

(Photo: me, P, and D in the Colosseum. One great thing about ABD is that the guides take a bunch of family photos for you).

Once everyone was reassembled, we walked out into the arena itself. The feeling that you have while standing in the Colosseum and looking up at the stands is indescribable. I think that even someone who knows nothing about the structure would understand that it is a place that has seen epic things. You need only squint to imagine the stands full of toga-clad spectators. As you have probably guessed, being on the stage was the highlight of the Colosseum for me. But going into the stands to see the stage from the audience’s perspective rounded out the experience.

(Photo: The Colosseum from the stands with portions of the underground visible).

After our tour, we returned to the Gran Melia for the welcome dinner. The dinner was held in the same restaurant where we had our breakfasts. It featured an open bar with beer, wine, and soda; some munchies placed on each table; and a buffet of salads, pastas, and meats. At the end of the meal, there was a long delay and then the dinner buffet was switched out for a selection of desserts. We were glad that we asked Gabby before turning in for the night; P would have been heartbroken if we had caused him to miss tiramisu. My only complaint about the evening was that the table set up discouraged mingling. Both appetizers and the main meal were in the same room at assigned tables. I would have appreciated a stand-up aperitivo time so that I could have met more guests early in the trip and – maybe – learned more names.

After the welcome dinner, we headed straight for bed. We were in for a 5 am wakeup the next morning and didn’t want to lose a wink of sleep.

Italy with Adventures by Disney: Trip Report for Pre-Day 2

July 3, 2023 (Author: J)

When I was planning our trip, I posted in a Facebook travel group seeking recommendations for “uncrowded, low-key things to do in Rome” before our Adventures by Disney tour started. Most of the responses that I got were variations on “book an all-day tour to Pompei/the Amalfi Coast/the Cinque Terre, etc.” We took none of those suggestions. So, with apologies to that Facebook group and others who enjoy fast travel, I present our second pre-day in Rome.

I woke up with a start at 8 am to the sight of my son looming over me. He was ready for breakfast. We poked D awake and got dressed. Then, we headed down to the Gran Melia’s breakfast, which was included in our room rate. The Gran Melia’s breakfast is served buffet style. The buffet has a small selection of American/British style hot items – runny eggs, baked beans, sausage, mushrooms – that does not change from day to day. There is a larger selection of cold items, including an entire conference table full of baked goods that do change. The food was fine. I would not pay the 30 euros per person the hotel charges for it, but I wouldn’t skip breakfast if it were included in my rate.

After breakfast, we headed back to the room. Our plan for the morning was to rest, and P wanted to start by resting indoors. While he and D read, I visited the hotel gym. Though small, the gym has a good selection of free weights and new cardio equipment with pre-programmed workouts. I did a surprisingly challenging 30-minute program on the elliptical followed by some strength exercises. Then I grabbed a chilled towel and headed back to the room quite pleased with myself.

We spent the rest of the morning reading. As lunchtime approached, we decided it was time to venture out. I used Google Maps to locate a nearby sandwich shop. With that as our ultimate destination, we set out on a leisurely walk. This time, we were headed to the main tourist area of Rome.

(photo: Basilica San Giovanni Battista)

We walked downhill from our hotel, crossed the river, and took our first look at the historic center of the city. The Basilica San Giovanni Battista caught D’s eye and he decided to go in. As churches go, this one isn’t particularly special. But they do claim to have Mary Magdalene’s foot on display. We took a few pictures and continued our walk. Because we kept our distance from major attractions, crowds were thinner than they otherwise might have been. That is to say, there were plenty of people, but not so many that we could not move freely.

(photo: a statute in Basilica San Giovanni Battista)

When we got hungry, we doubled back to our destination: La Salumeria. La Salumeria is a sandwich shop that specializes in pork. It may seem like an odd choice for a vegetarian lunch, but keep in mind that almost every restaurant in Rome specializes in pork. Being a pig in the Eternal City is dangerous. (The name La Salumeria means deli in Italian, so you might reasonably wonder if I have the name of the restaurant correct. I assure you that La Salumeria – capital L, capital S – is correct).

I chose La Salumeria for two reasons: it was close to our hotel and it had a selection of vegetarian sandwiches beyond the Caprese available almost everywhere. After reviewing the list of a dozen vegetarian sandwiches, D selected . . . the Caprese. I went with a cheese, pear, and greens sandwich. P had a cheeseboard. As it was now after 12 pm, D also ordered a carafe of the house white wine. (This began a trend that was almost certainly ill-advised given the heat). I am sure that randomly selecting a restaurant using Google Maps has its risks, but we were very pleased with this gamble. Our meal was tasty and inexpensive.

After lunch, we decided it was time for the first gelato of the trip. I once again called upon Google Maps, which informed me that Gelateria Frigidarium wasn’t too far away. We found the shop and each ordered a small cone. A small at most gelaterias in Italy includes two flavors. Frigidarium also adds your choice of chocolate sauce or whipped cream. I had a very boozy Zabaglione and some pistachio topped with cream. As we were standing in the road eating, a British family stopped to chat with us. They had noticed P’s soccer jersey, which had the name of the local club team that P plays on. It turned out that the British family knew the man who had founded the kid’s soccer league in our town. We chatted long enough to establish that we did not have a friend in common, wished the family well, and finished up our treat.

By that time, P was ready for the pool. We made the sweaty 10-minute walk back to the hotel to find our room had not been made up. We surmised that it was because we had not put out the “please makeup room” sign and called down to the front desk to report our mistake. It was a mistake that we did not learn from on this trip, no matter how often we repeated it. Perhaps someone reading this will learn from it instead. In Italy, put out the “please makeup room” sign if you wish to have housekeeping service.

Down at the pool, there were a number of open chairs in the shade – just what we were looking for. We were promptly informed that those chairs were reserved and directed to sit in the blazing sun. (The pool situation at the Gran Melia is strange. Each day, there were a block of chairs reserved. No matter how long we stayed at the pool, we never saw anyone sit in the reserved chairs. Nonetheless, the pool attendants would sooner turn guests away than allow them to sit in those special reserved chairs).

The early afternoon was spent swimming and working on our sunburns. At around 3, we headed back to the now spotless room to get cleaned up for our evening plans. When we were ready, I again used the Taxi Now app to call for a ride. This evening, however, we did not have luck with the app. After several minutes of effort, the app informed us that no drivers were available. Fortunately, we had allowed for this possibility. We had time to make our way to Trastevere on foot.

(Photo: Alina outside our first restaurant)

Although it was nearly 90 degrees, the walk was bearable because it was mostly shaded. We arrived in Piazza Trilussa with a solid 10 minutes to spare before the start of our evening with The Roman Food Tour. D and P took advantage of the extra time to souvenir shop while I waited at the designated meeting place. Within minutes, our guide, Alina, found me and we chatted until D and P returned and the rest of the tour group assembled. In a continuation of the “small world” theme from earlier in the day, most of the other families on the tour were from New England. One family even ran a dental practice less than 2 miles from our house. The group was a lot of fun and my usual social awkwardness quickly evaporated as the tour began.

(photo: a vegetarian appetizer spread at Essenza)

The Roman Food Tour runs a variety of walking food tours in different neighborhoods in Rome. We chose Trastevere at Twilight, a 4-hour tour that progresses from appetizers to desserts over the course of the evening. Alina, who was born in Romania, but is a long-time resident of Rome, was a friendly and knowledgeable guide. She did a wonderful job of making sure that everyone was well-taken care of, including ensuring vegetarian options for us (and several others) and non-alcoholic beverages for P.

(photo: a door in Trastevere)

The restaurant choices for the evening differed somewhat from the ones listed on the tour company website and I did not keep good notes. (Given the amount of wine we were served on this tour, taking any kind of notes at all would have been a challenge). However, I do know that we started at the wine bar Essenza where we sampled some cheeses and bruschetta. Vegetarians received pumpkin and ricotta spreads in place of the hams usually offered. We then moved on to our second happy hour where we enjoyed fried zucchini blossom; fried sage, a surprise hit that tasted like a savory donut; and eggplant. Then we visited Peppo al Cosimato for our main course, our choice of pasta and a selection of pizzas. The pasta and pizza here were some of the best of the trip. Finally, we wrapped up with our second gelato of the day.

(photo: mosaic detail on a church in Trastevere)

This was a fantastic tour. The food was delicious, and the neighborhood was fun to walk around. We ended the evening happy and overfull. Then we made the 20-minute walk back to the Gran Melia for some much-needed sleep before the start of our Adventures by Disney tour the next day.

Italy with Adventures by Disney Trip Report: Travel Day and Pre-Day 1

July 1 & 2, 2023 (Author: J)

Our Adventures by Disney tour started on July 4. We chose to fly to Rome on July 1. That gave us two days in Rome before the tour started. If everything went well with our flight, then we would have those two days to recover from jetlag. And if something went wrong, odds were we would still arrive in Rome before the tour started.

We chose to fly Delta for two reasons. First, Delta’s customer service is wonderful. Second, and more importantly, we had some credits on Delta that were set to expire. Happily, Delta had a direct flight from Boston to Rome. Unhappily, it cost $1400 per ticket – for economy – expensive enough that we considered postponing our trip. Our decision to shell out for our tickets was vindicated when Disney raised the price of the Italy tour by $1000 per person for 2024, ensuring that we came out ahead on the price for the trip – even with the ridiculous airfare.

Our flight left Boston Logan at 4:30 pm. Because it was a holiday weekend and I did not know if there would be traffic, I arranged for an Uber to pick us up at 12:15. This was my second time using Uber Reserve, which allows you to request a ride up to 30 days in advance. A driver who accepts the ride is paid a premium, which both makes it more likely that someone will accept the ride and also compensates the driver for their wait time. I was nervous that we might not find any takers for our pickup because we live in the burbs (the near burbs, but the burbs nonetheless). When a driver accepted our ride around 8 am on the 1^st, my worries dissipated.

There was no airport traffic, which meant that we arrived at the airport before 1 pm. Despite the empty roads, our driver spent the entire trip complaining that we had chosen to book a flight that left in the afternoon when traffic was “guaranteed to be terrible.” To stress his point, he spent every redlight gradually lurching through the intersection – I assume to make up for the imaginary traffic to which we had subjected him. I spent my time en route trying to figure out if the driver would know if I gave him a less than 5-star review. But I ultimately chickened out and gave him both 5 stars and a generous tip. He repaid me by giving me my first less than 5-star review on Uber. Despite all of this, Uber will be our new go-to for getting to the airport because the reserve feature has worked well for us on our last two trips.

When we arrived at Logan, our terminal was empty. We made it through security in 5 minutes and headed to one of the restaurants for some overpriced veggie burgers. (On our last vacation, our airport meal was the most expensive of the trip. On this trip, it came in at number two – but only because we treated ourselves to a fancy meal in Rome to celebrate our anniversary). We ate as slowly as possible, but we still wound up with more than 2 hours to kill in the airport. P and I powerwalked two laps around the entire terminal and looked at all of the stuffed lobsters in all of the gift shops. While we browsed, we noticed the terminal was beginning to fill up. If we had left a bit later, we would have stood in quite a long security line, it seemed. This somewhat vindicated my overly cautious airport arrival time.

Shortly before boarding, the gate crew checked everyone’s passports. Then we boarded our flight and found our seats. “This is not a very nice plane,” P remarked. He was not wrong. If Delta was trying to design an economy class that was uncomfortable for everyone, they succeeded. No leg room for tall people. Narrow seats to confine larger people. Headrests that hit short people right in the back of the head. And no seat padding so that everyone gets a good jab in the back throughout the flight. On the plus side, Delta’s customer service was as friendly as ever, our meals were tasty, the wine was free, and the entertainment system was loaded with enough content to get us to Rome and back several times over. D and I toasted to our trip and then I relaxed by watching Silence of the Lambs while my ten-year-old sat next to me. I am pretty sure he kept his eyes on his own screen. Maybe.

The timing of the flight, coupled with the uncomfortable seats, made sleeping difficult. None of us got more than a 30-minute nap in. We arrived in Rome on July 2 exhausted and, if I am being honest, more than a little bit stinky. We dragged ourselves to immigration, which took about an hour to clear. In defense of the Italian immigration folks, our plane arrived about an hour early, at a time when only one person was on duty. Additional windows began to open about 30 minutes into our wait. So, I assume that if we had arrived on time, we would not have waited so long for our arrival stamp.

Once we cleared immigration, we proceeded past customs and baggage claim to the arrivals area of the airport. An ABD representative was waiting for us. Even though I did not introduce myself, she knew exactly who we were and introduced us to our driver. Within minutes, we were on the road.

(Photo: The Gran Melia)

From the airport, it is about a 40-minute drive to the Gran Melia. We passed through the suburbs of Rome, which reminded P and I of the outskirts of cities we have visited in Central and South America. Before we knew it, our driver was leaving us at the Gran Melia. The staff there took our bags and checked us in. As expected, our room was not ready. Seeing how exhausted we were, the front desk staff suggested that we visit the hotel restaurant for a complimentary welcome coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee did not have the desired effect of perking us up; I nodded off several times while drinking it. So, we returned to the front desk to ask where we could freshen up.

Although the Gran Melia has a gym and pool, it does not have locker rooms. That meant that we could not shower. Because I was exhausted and fixated on the idea of a shower, it took me several walks back and forth between the front desk and the bathrooms to realize that the accessible restroom would work as a locker room in a pinch. We were all able to freshen up and change into our swimming gear. We then headed to the pool for a nap on the pool chairs. (The pool does not open until 9:30). When the pool opened, we also had a quick swim. At around 11, the front desk called to let me know that our room was ready. I was amazed that they had a room ready for us so early given how crowded the hotel was. I expressed this to the front desk staff in rambling and incoherent English. I think they understood that I was happy.

We headed to our room where we were finally able to shower (yay!) and eat a room service lunch. After lunch, we took another nap. I suspect that this will be controversial because it is almost universally insisted that the best way to recover from jetlag is to force yourself to stay up the day of your arrival. I have tried that multiple times and it has always been miserable. In contrast, when I travelled to Europe in college without the benefit of the stay awake advice, I took a long nap on arrival and adjusted to the new time zone immediately. So, on this trip, we decided to try naps. I did set an alarm to ensure that we didn’t sleep the day away.

(Photo: Castel Sant’Angelo)

When the alarm went off at 2:30, we dragged ourselves out of bed and out the door for a walk. Castel Sant’Angelo, which was built as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, is only about 10 minutes from the Gran Melia, so we picked it as our destination. According to my pre-trip research, there is never a long line at the Castel. And sure enough, when we arrived, the line was not long. It was very, very long. I decided to try and buy tickets online in the hopes of skipping the line. No tickets were available. Further research revealed that was because no tickets are necessary on the first Sunday of each month. We gave up on skipping the line and queued up. Because no one had to pay for tickets, the line moved quickly.

(Gallery: photos of views and sights during our visit to the Castel)

We were soon inside the building, which is an interesting mix of old and new. The building has had many uses over the years, from mausoleum, to Pope’s palace, to defensive structure. These are all explained on signs. In its current incarnation as tourist attraction, the building also hosts some modern art displays, a shirtless man in pantaloons prancing around a fountain, and a café with wonderful views of the city. After wandering around for a bit, we had some lemon sodas at the café while we looked out over the rooftops of Rome.

After our snack break, it was time for dinner. I used the Taxi Now app to call a cab to take us to Pizzarium Bonci, a restaurant known for Roman style pizza. Roman style pizza is rectangular in shape with a thick, crispy crust. It is sold by weight. Bonci is so popular that you need to take a number upon arrival and wait for your turn to order at the counter. When our number was called, we went in and ordered the first pizza that looked vegetarian. In hindsight, we should have taken a deep breath and looked at all of the options before ordering. But, fortunately, our eggplant and tomato/cheese selections were tasty. We enjoyed them standing outside the restaurant, where there were a few counters for leaning.

After dinner, which was devoured quickly, I summoned another taxi for our return to the Gran Melia. By this point, it was nearly 8 pm, so we felt okay about putting on our jammies and reading. I passed out with my book around 9 pm and slept through until 5 am. Instead of getting up, I stayed in bed and reminded myself that resting with my eyes closed was almost as good as sleeping. Before too long, I fell back to sleep and did not wake up until P poked me at 8 am. (Thanks for the technique, YouTube video on insomnia). Overall, it had been a successful first day of sightseeing, eating, and vanquishing jetlag.

Trip Report: Italy with Adventures by Disney

July 2023 (Author: J)

(Photo: Venice as seen from the pirate ship farewell dinner)

About the Trip

In July 2023, we took a trip to Italy with Adventures by Disney (ABD), a high-end family group tour company. The itinerary included Rome, Tuscany, and Venice. We added 2 nights in Rome before the tour, bringing the trip to a total of 9 nights: 4 nights in Rome, 3 in Tuscany, and 2 in Venice.

Why did we choose a group tour? Two words. Heat and crowds. Because Italy is hot and crowded in the summer, I knew that pre-booking major sights would be essential. The tourist who decides they are going to just drop-in on the Vatican when the whim strikes finds themselves in a long line – or worse – turned away. Given that reality, I knew that our trip would be fairly structured regardless of whether we went on our own or with a group. So, I decided to let someone else handle all the planning and logistics for our trip.

Prior Experience with ABD – Scotland 2018

This was our second trip with ABD. We visited Scotland with ABD in 2018 when P was almost 6. In my trip report for that trip (which I hope to add to this blog at some point), my big picture review of ABD was that it was an option that we would consider for future travel but only for the right trip. I liked having someone else be the “mom” for our family, handling the logistics and carrying the items (snacks, water, first aid kit) that I would usually carry. The trip included activities that we would not have tried and locations we would not have visited on our own that became trip highlights. And the guides (two adventure guides who travel with you, along with local guides at each destination) were wonderful with children. However, I was really surprised that – despite billing itself as a family travel company – ABD attracts very few families with young children. Most of the “kids” on our trip were older teens or young adults. P was the youngest traveler on the trip by several years and there were only 2 other children under the age of 13 (a pair of 10-year-olds).

The biggest negative for us was the pace of the trip. We generally like to take our time and enjoy sights at a leisurely pace. ABD often packed multiple big-ticket sights into a single day, which meant that our time at each place was very limited. For that reason, I decided that we would only use ABD again where we felt the benefits of using a tour company outweighed this negative. Using ABD to visit Italy in July passed that test. There wasn’t going to be any lingering in a packed Coliseum or Vatican Museum, so we weren’t given anything up by travelling with ABD – only gaining benefits.

(Photo: The Tiber River in Rome)

Impressions of ABD Italy Trip

Italy in July is brutally hot – hot enough that it brought more than one person in our group to tears. (Yes, I was one of them). If you can travel in the shoulder season, you absolutely should. But, if you must travel to Italy in the summer, ABD is a great way to do it. At most of the attractions we visited in Rome, Florence, and Venice, we walked past long lines of tourists waiting in the hot sun and were immediately admitted via a separate entrance for pre-booked groups. The exception was the Vatican and that’s because we visited the Vatican museums 2 hours before they opened, so no line had formed when we entered the museums. Between the heat and crowds, I would have been overwhelmed coordinating tickets and finding the correct entrances for sights; I really appreciated having someone else in charge.

(Photo: Our Adventure Guides, Massi & Gabby)

Adventure Guides: Our adventure guides, Gabby and Massi, were a great team. They were wonderful with P, ensuring that he had fun despite his total lack of interest in Italian history or culture. And they made everything run smoothly in a friendly and unobtrusive way. (For example, when I got heat exhaustion in Venice, Gabby could tell something was wrong and checked in with me. But when I told her that I didn’t need help and just wanted to sit the activity out with my head down, she didn’t push or argue).
Itinerary: I thought the itinerary for this trip was well-balanced with a good mix of seeing marquee attractions in major cities, relaxing in the countryside, and doing hands-on activities like mask making. Just like with Scotland, several of the trip highlights – pasta making on the farm, the pirate cruise in Venice, etc. – were not things that I would have booked on my own.
Fellow Adventurers: We had 42 people in our group. I did not find the group size to be a problem on this trip. At many of the attractions, we were broken into two or three smaller groups – each with its own local guide. And when we were in a larger group for walking tours, we were in such a sea of people that the size of our tour group was irrelevant. Most families on the trip were parents traveling with their teen or college-age children. There were 3 kids under 13 in our group, P (10) and two brothers (12 and 9ish) and two adult only groups (a couple and an adult daughter with her mom). Everyone in the group was friendly and respectful of their fellow travelers. For example, no one was ever late for our meetups. My son and I are shy with new people – something that has gotten worse since the pandemic. That meant that we were probably the least friendly and outgoing people on the trip. But we still enjoyed chatting with other travelers from time to time and always felt welcome in the group.
Food: I was a little worried about food because the vegetarian options on our Scotland ABD were very repetitive. The options in Italy were more varied and much tastier. Massi, who is from Tuscany, said that it has become very easy to find vegetarian and even vegan options in Italy. He felt that gluten free is still a challenge (but ABD did accommodate the person in our group with a gluten allergy).
Accommodations: The Gran Melia in Rome and the Hotel Borgo di Cortefreda in Tuscany were both exceptional. The Gran Melia is located near the Vatican on expansive grounds that used to be the villa of Emperor Nero’s mother. It is close enough to the main tourist attractions in Rome that you can walk, but far enough away that you can get away from the hordes of other tourists. Service here was exceptional. Hotel Borgo di Cortefreda is more rustic but so charming. We had beautiful views of the countryside from our loft-style room. We did not love the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice. It is on Guideca Island, just across from St. Mark’s Square. Views from the hotel are lovely and the rooms are updated while maintaining the historical character of the old mill from which the hotel was converted. However, the shuttle boat to the hotel has a sporadic schedule that can mean waiting as much as an hour to get to or from the main sights in Venice, something that made on-our-own sightseeing difficult in the heat. And the hotel’s beautiful pool can only be used by those with a reservation, which must be made by waiting in line at 8 am each morning. P also did not love that the hotel staff took squirt guns to the pigeons repeatedly during our stay – but maybe the pigeons appreciated the cool shower?
Value: ABD is very expensive. However, for this itinerary, I felt that it was an acceptable value. When you add the cost of hotels (particularly the Gran Melia, which was upwards of $1200 per night this summer) and tours ($300-$500 per person for an early morning tour of the Vatican Museums, for example), there were days where it would have cost us more to book everything in the itinerary on our own. That made the overall markup for the trip pretty reasonable, in my opinion. ABD did raise the opening price for this trip by about $1000 per person, so my math might not check out in future years, though. (I reference opening prices because ABD does not have flat pricing for their trips. The per person price increases as the trip fills, meaning that booking on opening day is the cheapest option).
Packing Tips: Believe it or not, Italy does not have a standard plug type. They have C, F, and L outlets. We brought our Ceptics universal adaptor with the type C and F outlet plug pieces. We needed both types. The hotels in Rome and Venice used one plug type and the hotel in Tuscany used the other. (An L outlet can take a C or F plug, so we didn’t bring the third type of adapter). In Italy, you need to cover your knees and shoulders to visit most churches. I packed lightweight linen pants and t-shirts to wear on the 3 days when there was a dress code. If you forget to bring correct attire, you can sometimes borrow it. Otherwise, there are vendors selling cheap shawls in front of major tourist attractions.

(Photo: View from our room at Hotel Borgo di Cortefreda)

Junior Photographer: Top 17 Photos Singapore and Malaysia

May 2022 (Author: P)

These are the best photos I took for each species of primate (with bonus elephants and bear).

(Editor’s Note: P was a 9 when he took these photos. He uses a point and shoot camera with limited zoom capabilities. – J).

Bornean orangutans feasting on a variety of fruits.

The moment before the pig-tailed macaques invaded the orangutan breakfast.

The moment after the macaques invaded the orangutan breakfast.

The first time we saw a long-tailed macaque.

Pygmy elephant along the Kinabatangan river.

Long-tailed macaque eating along the Kinabatangan.

Herd of elephants on the edge of the river.

One of the best macaque photos I got on this trip: a pig-tailed macaque.

monkeys on a sign

Proboscis monkey hanging out in a tree.

The monkey is above the branch in the center.

This was the best photo of a leaf monkey that I got.

Baby orangutan at Rainforest Discovery Center.

A moment before disaster.

The smaller monkey wanted the other monkey’s fruit and the larger monkey protected its fruit by trying to bite the smaller monkey.

Long tailed macaque climbing up a pole with a coconut in its mouth.

This monkey is eating a coconut while another monkey in the background eats another fruit.

Colombia Trip Report – Days 9 & 10

Saturday & Sunday, March 18 & 19, 2023 – Back to Cartagena & Home Again (Author: J)

(photo: sunrise at El Dorado)

Some things we learned on our final morning at El Dorado. Don’t feel guilty about sleeping in; the sunset from the cabins is just as nice as the sunset from the San Lorenzo Ridge. There is a discount if you settle your account with cash. You can make it back to Santa Marta pretty quickly if you don’t slow down for curves in the road. Just honk as you round the bend. Folks will know to get out of your way. (That last bit is what I told myself to keep my mind off the risk of plummeting off the side of the mountain as we sped towards town).

After making the trip to Santa Marta in record time, we switched cars and drivers in a grocery store parking lot in Santa Marta. The new ride was a fancy looking SUV designed for tourist transport; it had TV screens on the backs of the seats and everything. Before hitting the road, we popped into the grocery store to buy some snacks for the drive. Then we headed back to Cartagena on the same road that had taken us to Tayrona several days earlier. Along the way, our driver pumped his favorite American pop hits from the early 2000s. We initially thought he was humoring the American tourists, but our assessment changed when he started belting the classic Backstreet Boys jam, I Want It That Way. Clearly American pop of the early 2000s was his jam.

Our destination in Cartagena was the Hilton in Bocagrande. Since we had already spent time in the Historic Centre, I opted to finish our stay in the more affordable tourist area along the beach. I selected the Hilton because it had an elaborate-looking pool area.

We arrived in Bocagrande around 1 pm – perfect timing because I was getting hungry. It soon became apparent that our driver was lost though. We made several circles around the block, getting tripped up after each lap by the GPS, which was rather forcefully suggesting that we drive into the ocean. As we circled the block trying to find a road that led to the Hilton, we were surrounded by a group of men selling the usual tourist trinkets. Unwilling to squish anyone, our driver stopped. Then he rolled down the window and asked directions. The trinket vendors obliged and then parted to allow us to proceed on our way. 5 minutes later, we were at the Hilton.

The friendly folks at the front desk were able to check us in early, so we headed to our room to change. (Although we were happy to be able to check in early, it seems like housekeeping was rushed as a result. Our room wasn’t as clean as I would have liked and some of the items in the room – such as coffee for the coffeemaker – had not been replenished). After changing, we spent our afternoon at the pool area where we had a light lunch and some fruity drinks at the pool bar. Although the sky was cloudy, the threat of rain never turned into actual rain and we were able to enjoy a long swim. That evening, we had dinner at the on-site restaurant (convenient, but not very tasty) and then relaxed in our room before our final night’s sleep in Colombia. Bocagrande was a relaxing place to end our trip, though it cannot hold a candle to the Historic Centre when it comes to charm.

Because our flight home was not until 3 pm, our final morning was a leisurely one. We slept in and then headed to the Hilton’s breakfast buffet – a choice we made because it allowed us to use up a good chunk of our remaining pesos. The Hilton’s breakfast buffet is elaborate, with a wide variety of options including breakfast pastries, eggs, French toast, and Colombian specialties. The arepas con huevos here were crispy and flavorful; they put the ones at Hotel Bantu to shame. We enjoyed our meal amidst tables full of tan and happy-looking people wearing clothing adorned with sea turtles. This was apparently the uniform of the sea turtle scientist. It turned out that the sea turtle convention was in town. I don’t think I have ever seen a happier looking group of professionals – and I work in a field where we get the whole summer off.

After breakfast, we packed and then puttered around the room until it was time to check out. While we were waiting, I made a last dish effort to fix our flight itinerary. Several weeks prior, JetBlue had kicked us off our connecting flight because – in their view – changes to the flight schedule had made the connection too tight. We now had a 12-hour overnight layover at JFK, a change for which we had not received any compensation. My plan was to ask customer service if we could be moved back to our original connecting flight if we agreed not to complain or ask for a new flight if we missed the connection. This plan was summarily rejected; the customer service representative told me that the connection was simply too tight and that it was not a permitted booking. This stuck in my mind because we met several people in the Cartagena airport who were booked on this “unpermitted” connection; those folks had not been bumped to a later flight.

(Photos: the pool area at the Hilton)

We arrived at the airport 3 hours before our flight as suggested by JetBlue. Our first decision was whether to grab lunch before security or after. Choices are limited in both places and there are really no great options. We ultimately decided to take our chances at the gate. The next hurdle was to clear passport control. At the entrance to the passport control line, a staff member is stationed to confirm that everyone has completed their Check MIG form. This form is required to both enter and exit the country. It appeared that the form check was on the honor system. If you say yes, the staff member will take your word for it and let you leave the country. We hadn’t completed our form and had plenty of time, so we stepped out of line to do our paperwork. Fortunately, the airport offers 15-minutes of free wi-fi for all visitors – a service that we took advantage of to get the Check MIG done.

With our paperwork out of the way, we got back in line and waited for passport control. It moved much more quickly than passport control on arrival. After about 20 minutes, we had our exit stamp and found a seat to wait for our flight. The international departures area in Cartagena has limited seating and few shopping and dining options. There is a convenience store, a deli-type restaurant, a duty-free store, and a Colombian souvenir shop. We used our last remaining pesos to buy cheese sandwiches for lunch and then bought some small items at the souvenir shop. The prices there were obscene, so I recommend doing your shopping before coming to the airport.

It turned out that our flight was delayed, so a 2-hour wait stretched into 3. Finally, our flight began boarding. We found our seats and settled in. As I sat down, the cushion on my seat slipped forward; apparently it wasn’t attached. I shoved it back in to place and buckled up. Then we booted up the entertainment system. It quickly became apparent that something was wrong with that too. The only child-friendly selections were a few short videos of preschool songs – and even those would not play. As it turned out, the entertainment system on the plane was not working. As an added bonus, I discovered that I had left my book at the Hilton. I was in for a lot of hours of admiring my own fingernails.

After an unpleasant flight, during which I had to repeatedly assure P that there was no connection between malfunctioning entertainment systems and plane crashes, we arrived in New York. I really enjoyed waiting in the passport control line surrounded by wisecracking New Yorkers complaining about our flight. (It turns out that I wasn’t the only one whose seat fell off). I’m originally from New Jersey, so both the accent and the humor sounded like home to me. After a 20 to 30 minute wait, the passport control agent welcomed us home and told that our son’s hair was too long. We did not comment on the passport control agent’s bald head.

At this point, I checked my watch and confirmed that it was about 30 minutes until our original connecting flight would have departed. Could we have made it? I don’t know. But since JetBlue had given us the boot, we instead took the airport train to the car rental counters and picked up a rental car. Then we drove the 3.5 hours to Boston. I am proud to say that we managed to stay awake the whole time and we thus lived long enough for me to complete this trip report.

On the way, I called JetBlue to let them know that we wouldn’t be on our connecting flight the next morning. They agreed to issue a credit of several hundred dollars, which made me feel a little better about the situation. However, I do think that the way JetBlue handled the situation was unethical at best. (As you may recall, I had previously asked for a refund for the New York/Boston leg of our flight and I was told that was not possible because the fare was not apportioned by leg. Accepting the 12-hour layover was presented as a take it or leave it proposition. That other travelers were not bumped from the same connection only added to the perceived unfairness of the situation).

Despite the stress of the trip home, it had been another excellent family vacation.

Colombia Trip Report: Day 8

Friday, March 17, 2023 – El Dorado Reserve (Author: J)

(photo: the last remnants of the sunrise over San Lorenzo ridge)

Our plans for our full day at El Dorado Reserve were to do some hiking and birding along the San Lorenzo Ridge. This mountain ridge, even higher in the mountains than El Dorado, is a birdwatching mecca because of the number of endemic (i.e., found nowhere else) species. As I told Wild About Colombia when we booked the trip, we didn’t need anyone to work hard to find us rare birds. Any pretty bird was going to impress us.

(photo: a slightly out of focus parrot, possibly endemic, or possibly not; what do I know?)

Cristián suggested that we get up early enough to see the sunrise from the ridge. To my surprise, D agreed to this. (His agreement did not stop him from complaining about this aspect of the trip once we returned home). That meant that we had a 4 a.m. wakeup, a scramble to get dressed, and then a hike in the dark down to the parking area just above the reception building. We made it without falling off the side of the mountain, so our day was off to a good start.

The unfortunate thing about the San Lorenzo Ridge is that it is even further up the unpaved road we had used to get to El Dorado. After the prior day’s rough ride, D was very reluctant to get back into a vehicle. I gave everyone some children’s Benadryl, which I have found works for motion sickness without the drowsiness of Dramamine or Bonine. It helped somewhat.

The drive up to the Ridge was much the same as the prior day’s drive with the added complication of driving in the dark. P, who had been seated in the middle the day before, was now seated by the window. With a clear view of the road, he revised his assessment of driving in El Dorado from “fun” to “terrifying.”

To my surprise, there were hostels and lodges in the mountains that were even higher up than El Dorado. We passed some of these on our way.

(photo: views from San Lorenzo Ridge)

I don’t know if our timing was off or if it was intentional, but we did not reach the Ridge by sunrise. We instead stopped along the way to see the sun rising through a clearing in the trees. After that anticlimactic experience, we continued up the road until we reached our destination. We were the first group there. But we were soon joined by multiple groups of birders, including a birding group from Ontario that we recognized as fellow El Dorado guests.

On the Ridge, we had a picnic breakfast of cheese sandwiches, fruit, coffee, and cocoa. Then we hiked around a bit, looking for interesting birds and taking in the views. From our vantage point on the mountain, we could see the city below and even catch glimpses of the ocean. In that way, it reminded me of hiking in the Santa Monica mountains near Los Angeles. And much like the mountains in California, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta provides habitat for large predators like jaguar despite its proximity to a densely inhabited area.

(Photo: hiking on San Lorenzo Ridge)

After an easy hike on the Ridge, we started the drive back to El Dorado. We stopped several times along the way to watch hummingbirds (and also so that Cristián, who drinks enough coffee each day to stop the heart of an average elephant, could refill his thermos). We arrived back at the lodge just in time for lunch.

We spent the early part of our afternoon relaxing in the cabins. Around 3 pm, P and I met Cristián for another hike. P was anxious for one final opportunity to view howler monkeys, so our plan was to hike down the hill towards a place where the monkeys are often spotted. We had no luck on this hike. Although we ran into other hiking groups who had seen monkeys, we did not find the monkeys themselves. Cristián did his best to save the hike for P by finding him some small frogs in the streams along the road.

(Photos: spotting frogs in the streams)

In our zeal to spot primates, we hiked a bit further than we had planned. It didn’t seem like a problem while we were headed downhill, but that changed when we had to turn around and head back up the hill. Before too long, P began complaining that he was exhausted and threatening to quit. Compounding our woes was the fact that we had left our water bottle behind at a restaurant the day before, so we were hiking without water.

To encourage P, I reminded him that he had done a much more challenging hike in Tayrona.

“Yes,” he replied. “But I was mad at Daddy then, so I was hiking fast to get away from him.”

“Is there anything you are angry about today?” I asked hopefully.

But P had forgiven D and had not developed any resentments against me that might power him up the hill, so our hike continued with many stops and starts and lots of whining. Finally, we made it back to the reception building where we poured ourselves some water and played cards until it was time for the night monkey feeding.

After enjoying our final monkey watching opportunity of the trip, we had dinner. Because it was St. Patrick’s Day, we treated ourselves to a bottle of wine so that we could celebrate the holiday in the usual way: drinking Argentinian wine in the Colombian mountains. Then, we made our final slog up the hill to our cabins to pack for our return to Cartagena the following day.

Colombia Trip Report – Day 7

Thursday, March 16, 2023 – Los Naranjos to El Dorado Reserve via Minca (Author: J)

Photo: Sunset at El Dorado

It’s pretty common for travelers to Colombia’s Caribbean Coast to add a stop in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The ecotourism hotspot of Minca seems to be the standard stop, but we chose to head further into the mountains and stay at El Dorado Reserve. El Dorado protects the habitat of 40+ species of birds, but we chose the location for a different reason: night monkeys. The reserve puts fruit on a platform each evening, a practice that all but guarantees sightings of the tiny nocturnal primates.

This was the one day of our trip where I felt like the itinerary needed work. We started our journey to the mountains quite early. Cristián arranged to pick us up at 6 am. The driving distance between Los Naranjos and El Dorado is only about 2 hours, so the early wakeup didn’t seem to make sense.

We had bid farewell to Goyo the night before because he did not have the 4 wheel drive vehicle needed to make the journey to El Dorado. Cristián and our new driver (whose name I no longer remember) arrived promptly at 6. We checked out of Casa Tayrona, paid for our meals, and started out towards Minca. Because we had departed Casa Tayrona so early, we were not able to eat breakfast. That meant that our first stop was for breakfast at a different hotel in Minca. The views of the mountains and hummingbird feeders at Hotel Minca made the simple meal of eggs, fruit, bread, and coffee something special.

Photo: Breakfast in Minca

After breakfast we continued our journey up the winding mountain road to El Dorado. Along the way, we passed small restaurants and shops, isolated homes, and a coffee plantation. We turned down the opportunity to visit the plantation because I had already made P suffer through a coffee plantation tour in Costa Rica. (The plantation stop was not something that included in our tour and Cristián didn’t discuss it with us before making the suggestion, so I don’t believe that our vetoing the idea explains the “off” timing on this day).

Not long after leaving Minca, the paved road ends. While we were prepared for an unpaved road, we were not prepared for an unpaved road like the one we encountered. The grooves in the road made by the many cars that had gone up and down the mountain gave the appearance of the tracks on an amusement park ride. That appearance was heightened by the fact that the road was so close to the edge of the mountain in many places that our driver had to hang his head out the window to make sure he was keeping the truck’s tires on solid ground. Adding to the excitement was the fact that the road was strewn with large boulders and broken bits of rock, ensuring that we were jostled and shaken thoroughly as we made our way up the mountain. All of this added an element of adventure to the journey, but it also added a risk of concussion as I smashed my head repeatedly into the window.

Photo: an interesting green bird

The drive was mercifully broken up by a stop to see more hummingbirds at another restaurant along the road. Much like Hotel Minca, the restaurant had a back patio lined with hummingbird feeders. After about 30 minutes of watching the hummers, we told Cristián we were ready to go. At that point, he told us that he had decided to stop there for lunch and had already put our order in. I was mildly annoyed and that annoyance grew as we waited another hour for the restaurant to cook us lentil soup from scratch. When our meal was finally ready, we ate and then headed back to the truck to continue our drive. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of leaving our water bottle at the restaurant, something that would come back to haunt us later in the trip.

Photo: one hummer a humming

We arrived at El Dorado well before the usual check-in time of 3 pm. Fortunately, we were able to check in early and head to our cabins for a nap. Yes, the plural is correct here. El Dorado only has double occupancy cabins. Our choice was to rent two cabins or one room in the older lodge building. (Pro Aves was unmoved by the fact that our third person was a child). We chose the cabins because of their huge windows overlooking the mountains and because we were promised that they were closer to the restaurant.

From reception, it was a 20-minute walk uphill to our cabins. During the walk, I apologized repeatedly to D, whom I correctly suspected was none too pleased with the walk. Finally, we arrived – some of us huffing and puffing – at cabins 9 and 10. We selected 9 as our sleeping cabin and 10 as our luggage storage cabin. The views from the cabins almost made up for the arduous journey to reach them.

Photo: relaxing in the cabin

We were happy to see that our cabins had hot water, something that always seems a treat when you are somewhere remote. However, the cabins did not have potable water or any toiletries other than hand soap. I hiked back down the hill to request both. The gentleman working at reception gave me a carafe of water and some cups but told me that the property does not supply toiletries. I was frustrated by this given the price we paid for our rooms (which was more than twice the cost of our cabin at Casa Tayrona). I think that El Dorado needs to give some thought to what type of property they want to be. The new cabins are marketed as a higher end eco-tourism project; travelers looking for that type of accommodation don’t expect to have to pack in their own shampoo.

Back at the cabins, we spent our afternoon relaxing and enjoying the view. It was as beautiful as promised and, from the chairs outside our cabin, we could enjoy the bonus of a periodic howler monkey serenade. At 5 pm, we made the journey down the hill for the highlight of P’s day, the night monkey feeding. As the sun sets, the staff at El Dorado place bananas on a platform in the trees near the lobby. Guests have an excellent view of the platform from the back deck of the building. Not long after the bananas were put out, the monkeys reported for eating duty. We stayed until the monkeys had eaten every last bite and then headed inside for dinner. (If you are keeping track, P had now seen 5 species of monkeys – not bad for a trip to one small section of Colombia).

Photo: grey-handed night monkey eating banana

El Dorado does not have any guides on staff, so most of the parties staying at the property had hired their own guides. (There was also a group traveling without a guide, so a guide is certainly not required). There is lodging for the guides near the temporary lobby building. That meant that Cristián joined us for both the night monkey feeding and dinner. During dinner, Cristián told us that El Dorado was temporarily using the building we were in as the restaurant and lobby. The brand new lobby and restaurant building – a mere 5 minutes from our cabins – had been hit by lightning. Although repairs were almost complete, the steady stream of bookings during the high season meant that there was no convenient time to move operations back to the new building. The gentleman who was working reception during our trip had been in the new building when it was hit. Fortunately, he was able to escape unharmed, but one of the rangers at the reserve was injured while fighting the fire.

After dinner, we made the 20-minute hike back to our cabins in the dark. We were very thankful that we remembered our flashlights; although the path is fairly wide, there are places where there are sheer drop offs that are not visible in the dark. Before turning in for the night, we spent some time looking at the lights of Santa Marta below us and the light of the stars above us.

Colombia Trip Report: Day 6

Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Don Diego River/Los Naranjos (Author: J)

(Photo: Our final sunset at Casa Tayrona)

Our plan for our final day in Los Naranjos was to take a tubing trip down the Don Diego River. This is not an activity I would have selected if I had planned the trip without help. But P and I agreed that Wild About Colombia’s description (“Enjoy a morning’s tubing excursion, where you’ll float gently down a crystal-clear stream through lush forests with views of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta”) sounded appealing.

In the months leading up to the trip, D displayed his usual level of interest in trip planning. I made a few attempts to show him the itinerary, but it was always “too early to think about vacation.” That meant that our tubing plans were a surprise for D. And not necessarily the fun kind. You see, D has a fear of just about anything that floats on water from cruise ships to inner tubes. I don’t know what went on at Ohio’s Boy Scout camps in the 80s, but it has left D with a firm conviction that boating is humanity’s leading cause of death. So, on Tuesday afternoon, when Cristián mentioned the pickup time for our tubing excursion, D’s face momentarily betrayed his discomfort. Fortunately, the only thing that D’s midwestern upbringing has instilled in him more strongly than a fear of boats is a distaste for making any kind of scene. So, D smiled, nodded, and wished Cristián a goodnight. Tubing was a go and it ended up being one of our favorite activities.

Our pickup time for the tubing trip was a very humane 8:30. That meant that we had time for breakfast at Casa Tayrona before heading out. We enjoyed some crepes, waffles, and fruit. This was apparently a meager breakfast by the hotel’s standards. We were offered and declined eggs, pastries, and juices.

We ate and then hit the road for the 30-minute drive to the river. Along the way, Cristián talked to us about the local indigenous groups. He has been working to develop tourism projects with several of the indigenous communities on Colombia’s Caribbean coast and was clearly excited about that work.

Eventually, we pulled into a dirt parking area along the banks of the Don Diego. (Pro tip: If you need to use a restroom, this is the place to do it. There are no restrooms as the river’s mouth, although I did find a bush ominously adorned with toilet tissue). In the parking area, we were met by a local who would serve as our tubing guide. Cristián would head out in front of us in a motorboat so that we would have a way to get back up the river at the end of our float.

We applied sunscreen and bug spray and headed down to the river. (Pro tip 2: If you prefer not to fry little strips of your skin in oil, avoid applying bug spray after applying sunscreen. It’s been almost 2 months since our trip and the stripes of sunburn on my legs have only just healed). I was touched by the fact that Cristián had noticed that P was looking a bit pink and had brought along a floppy hat for him to wear. As an aside, P was not sunburnt; he is sensitive to sunscreen – including so-called hypoallergenic sunscreen – and so turns pink within the first day or two of all of our vacations. Finally, we took the unnecessary step of donning lifejackets and started our float down the river.

Tubing the Don Diego is exactly as Wild About Colombia described. It is a lazy float down a fairly shallow river. Once you get out of the town where the tubing trips launch, there is beautiful scenery on both sides of the river and the opportunity to view birds and howler monkeys in the trees. The river does have small caiman, but the shallowness of the water quickly assuaged my fear of becoming a caiman snack. It would be nearly impossible for a small turtle to swim under your tube, never mind a caiman.

We had an enjoyable float almost all the way out to the ocean. Just before the Don Diego joins the sea, it makes a sharp left. A small sandbar separates the river and the sea at the bend, creating a convenient place for tubers to disembark. We hopped out of our tubes at just about the most picturesque place imaginable. We had the river to our left, a small beach with a few hammocks to our right, and the ocean in front of us. And because we tubed in the morning, we had the place practically to ourselves; there was only one other family on the river with us.

After spending some more time enjoying the scenery, we hopped into a speedboat and headed back up the river to our car. Goyo then whisked us back to Casa Tayrona for our final afternoon. On the way back, we stopped at a produce stand to enjoy some more of Colombia’s excellent tropical fruits.

After lunch at Casa Tayrona, P and I headed to the pool while D went to get a massage. (At approximately $25, it was a bargain we could not pass up). P and I hopped in the pool and started to swim, but we were soon joined by a blond-haired woman with her similarly blond and very naked toddler. Perhaps there’s a judgmental American parenting book I’m not aware of that describes how Scandinavian toddlers never poop in pools. However, my own life experience did not instill confidence in the wisdom of swimming with a naked toddler. P and I quickly got out of the pool and retreated to the seaside hammock cabana. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing. In case you were wondering, the naked toddler did not poop in the pool.

That evening, we had an early dinner and headed to bed early in anticipation of another early wakeup the next day.

Colombia Trip Report: Day 5

Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Tayrona National Natural Park (Author: J)

(photo: beach in Tayrona National Natural Park)

Day 5 of our trip started early. We had a 5:45 am meeting time so that we could get to Tayrona early for wildlife watching. P has reached an age where early wakeups are hard for him – and waking up any time before 6 a.m. is really pushing it even for the morning person in our family (me). We decided to prioritize sleep over prep time. I set an alarm for 5:30. Because I tend to sleep poorly when I know I have to be up early, I was awake before the alarm. That turned out to be a good thing because I saw the text from our guide stating that he was running a little late and I was able to push the wakeup time for the rest of the family back 15 minutes.

When our alarm went off at 5:45, D and I got ready quickly and then shook P awake. Once P was ready, we grabbed our prepacked day bag and headed to the lobby to wait for our guide. Although the hotel restaurant’s breakfast does not start until 6:30, the hotel staff was nice enough to offer us coffee while we waited. We declined. Just after 6 a.m., a man dressed in the typical wildlife guide uniform of hiking pants and a button-down safari shirt entered the lobby. We correctly identified him as Cristián Sierra, our guide for the rest of the trip. Cristián spoke briefly with the hotel staff, who scrounged up some bananas and oranges to add to our snack stash for the day.

Then, we headed for the car. I was surprised to see Goyo again. On previous wildlife watching tours, one person has been both our guide and driver. The benefit of a separate driver and guide became apparent to me later in the day when Goyo appeared with the car at the precise location where we emerged from a hiking trail.

I had watched quite a few YouTube videos about Tayrona before out trip, so I knew that the usual process for entering the park is to stand in line until the park opens. Cristián was able to arrange early access to the park that allowed us to skip that line. When we arrived at the park, he spoke to the security guard who moved a barrier for us and let us in. Because the park was not open yet, we were the only tourists on the main road into the park. This made for excellent wildlife spotting. Just a few feet into the park, we saw a tamandua cross the road and climb a tree. He was out of sight before we could get out of the car and take his photo, but we were still excited to see a new variety of animal in the wild.

We drove a little further up the road and stopped when Cristián spotted our first monkey of the day: a cotton-top tamarin. The monkeys were high in the trees, making them hard to photograph. We did get some excellent views of them using binoculars. At this point, I felt like we could call our day a success even if we didn’t see any more monkeys. But another short drive produced howler monkeys. They were also high in the trees, but they are generally less prone to move around than tamarins and so easier to watch for long stretches. While we were watching the howlers, Cristián offered us an impressive selection of snacks including cocoa, coffee, various granola bars and cookies, and a bunch of interesting fruit. (He did tell us what the fruits were, but my memory fails me at this point). After our breakfast, we walked along the road until we came to a camping area.

In the camping area, we found a few interesting birds and a dog who seemed to be in search of new friends. We left the camping area with the dog trotting at our heels. She kept pace with us as we walked up the road, occasionally running into the underbrush to scare off any wildlife that might be inclined to make an appearance. As we neared the parking area before the trails to the beach, we still had not shaken our new friend. Cristián suggested that we get back in the car and drive the last stretch in an effort to lose the dog so that we would have some chance to see other animals. P was relieved. He is a dog lover. But if the choice is seeing dogs or seeing monkeys, then he will choose monkeys 100% of the time.

(Photo: cotton-top tamarin)

We pulled into the parking lot feeling quite proud of ourselves. Then, the dog trotted into the lot behind us. Additional evasive maneuvers ensued. The parking area was large enough and full of enough people – mainly vendors and overnight park guests – that we were able to make a wide circle around the dog and start up the walking trail to the beach. When last we saw our canine friend, she had joined a new family of tourists.

(Photo: making new friends in Tayrona)

If you have seen YouTube videos or Instagram photos of Tayrona, then you have seen the jungle that one must hike through to get to the beach. What social media does not show you is the horse poop. Horses are available to rent in the park. And horses are not particular about where they do number 2. The main path to the beaches is rich in the sight, scent, and unfortunate squishing sensation of horse patties. We clambered over rocks and jumped across streams, all while avoiding the poop. It adds an extra challenge to what is already a somewhat challenging hike. (It’s also a fun hike; I think that anyone who is moderately fit with good knees would enjoy it).

Our destination was La Piscina, one of the swimming beaches in the park. It was about a 90-minute hike from the trail entrance. Another 30 minutes or so would have taken us to the famous Cabo San Juan. Cristián wisely intuited that the longer hike might not be appealing to P (or D, for that matter). By the time we arrived at La Piscina, we were ready for a swim break. That meant we had to find a place to change into our swimsuits. Our only option was the bathroom facilities such as they were. And they were not much – just wooden stalls with curtains containing a seatless toilet and a bucket. P came out of one of the wooden stalls visibly upset; he had apparently slipped and fallen into the mystery liquid on the floor. (If you are going to change in Tayrona, the facilities at Arrecifes are a better choice; they are modern and fairly clean).

(photo: La Piscina beach)

We spent some time swimming at the beach and then enjoyed lunch at one of the food stands near the beach. The vegetarian plate was the standard rice, beans, plantains, and veggies. This is one of my favorite meals even when done mediocrely, and the version served at La Piscina was much better than mediocre. P and D also ordered some type of chocolate pastry, but P rejected his when it attracted the local insect life.

After lunch, we decided to get changed and start our hike back to the park entrance. This meant another chance to experience the horrors of the La Piscina bathrooms. By this time, someone was set up outside the bathroom charging $2,000 pesos per person for the privilege of using the toilet shacks. I briefly considered changing in the bushes, but decided I wasn’t willing to risk arrest just to make a point. I paid the fee, changed, and we hit the trail.

The trail to the beaches from the El Zaino entrance to the park has a looped portion, which means that you have a choice of trails to take to and from the beach. We went back via the trail closest to the beach. Among its many benefits were that it was new to us, free of horses, and full of monkeys. It did not take us long to come across a troop of capuchin monkeys, which were easy to spot thanks to the entourage of humans they had attracted. D, P, and I spent some time observing the monkeys while Cristián took the opportunity to talk to some of the other humans about why feeding cookies to monkeys is a bad idea.

(photo: capuchin mad about cookies)

Our hike took us past several beaches that were beautiful to look at, but too dangerous for swimming, as well as the Ecohab accommodations inside the park. Finally, we popped out into a parking area where Goyo was waiting for us. It was a short drive back to Casa Tayrona.

(photo: the trail along the beach)

Nothing refreshes you after a day spent relaxing on the beach like more relaxing on the beach. This time, we decided to enjoy the deck behind our cabin, which overlooks the beach. We grabbed our books and headed outside where we were greeted with the sounds of a flute-like instrument. A man was standing on the cat-shaped rock on the beach playing. Even more puzzling, he was surrounded by women with green skin and mermaid tails.

“What is going on here?” I asked. Wanting to be helpful, I’m sure, D pulled out his binoculars to get a better look. I not-so-politely opined on the optics of a middle-aged man using binoculars to look at women on a beach and he reluctantly put the binoculars away. His research did confirm that we were looking at green women with mermaid tails.

“This place has a great vibe,” said P.

We passed the rest of the afternoon reading and enjoying the company of our mer-friends. We were even able to take more hot showers, which seemed a treat after our issues in Cartagena. (Casa Tayrona has a clever system for saving energy that shuts the hot water off after a certain amount of non-use, but it can easily be turned back on the next time someone wants to shower).

For dinner, we headed back to the hotel restaurant. Our server that evening had a particular fondness for P, which made her very popular with P’s parents. P was less delighted by the fuss. Since we had a more humane wakeup time the next morning, we enjoyed some more reading and TV time after dinner. Then it was off to sleep with the thunderous sounds of the ocean as the backdrop to our slumber.