So much to say...

Well, I'm starting this after 11 pm, so I won't be able to write about everything that I want to write about, but I have to start anyway because otherwise I may never get this done :) San Andres was paradise for Joel and I: the ultimate vacation!! The island was incredible, the people were warm and friendly, the food was awesome, the people we met down there were a blast, the resort we stayed at rocked! It was all just awesome.

San Andres is a tiny island (only 3 km, by 14 km) owned by Colombia, but is actually much closer to Nicaragua than mainland Colombia. They are trying to gain independence from Colombia right now, and were thinking if that happens it will likely open to doors to far more tourists on the island which would be great for the economy there, but would definitely detract from much of the charm of the island.

So, here is a shot of my handsome hubby sitting out on our deck. One of the things we loved most about the resort were the unique "pods" we stayed in that were literally built ON the ocean. We were lucky enough to have an ocean view and so we could sit on the deck and stare at the incredible ocean with all its shades of blue, or look down from our deck to see fish swimming beneath us...pretty awesome!! The food at our resort was wonderful! Lots of variety, and really tasty! We had 4 a-la-carte restaurants to choose from at our resort and also went to the Japanese restaurant at one of the other resorts.

Here's a host of me standing on the pier: where we spent a lot of our time on the island. The pier was a part of our resort, it was very large and there were always lounge chairs to sit on. The pier bar was open 24 hours and is in the pic in the top right corner. The discotheque is on top...we spent a whole 2 minutes in that place and had to leave because of the strobe lights. We preferred to hang out on pier in the evenings with other Canadians and take in the local band in the open air...heavenly! Under the pier was amazing, which was definitely a plus for the resort! Most places you travel to, you need people to take you on tours to see great snorkeling, but we had it right at the resort. Right there we saw Moray eels, barracuda, shrimp, lobster, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, crabs, stingray, cow fish, pencil fish, and many other fish that we didn't know the name of.

Here's a shot of Joel on Johnny Cay...where we took a tour to one day. He's holding my drink of choice: the Pina Colada...YUM!!! Always fun to drink it out of a coconut.

This pic gives you an idea of the beauty of the ocean there. It's really unbelievable. I've seen the ocean before, but never this beautiful! The beaches were not soft sand, but little bits of broken coral, so they weren't super soft (see below). Since Joel and I aren't real beach lovers we really didn't care, we preferred to explore under the water.


So that's a little glimpse into our trip. There is more to tell, but I'll save it for another day.

Night,
mel