MGM Sports invited us to the Las Vegas Bowl with club seats that were like $275 a piece at Allegiant Stadium since I am a VIP member of MGM Rewards.
I wore red to support the Utah Utes, but the club seats were on the Northwestern side of the field. LOL.
The first half was pretty boring. Northwestern ended up showing some offense later and won the game.
These are the Utah Cheerleaders performing during a break in the action.
Allegiant Stadium's club seats were very nice with thick padded seats.
This was my first bowl game ever. It was cool seeing the bands on both sides of the field too!
After the Las Vegas Bowl, we met an old high school buddy of mine at Lawry's The Prime Rib for dinner.
Lawry's had carolers who saw for each table if requested. I asked for "Adeste Fidelis" since we had to learn that in Latin when I was in private school.
Aakash is opening his Christmas Eve gift here. It was a Fast & Furious Lego Challenger which I told him I can help build with him during the Cowboys game.
For Christmas Eve, Joy and I went to Cathedrale at Aria which opened fairly recently.
The entrance into the restaurant was very elegant and long just like Catch next door.
Cathedrale was beautiful inside!
Cathedrale warranted a nice B&W shot of us. Cheers!
The hamachi crudo and grilled octopus were both great starters!
My first drink was a Weller Reserve bourbon. The large ice cube had Cathedrale etched in it. This was only a $40 pour.
My lamb chops were so delicious!
Our desserts were huge! We got a Greek Napoleon and Pistachio Baklava ice cream. I got a Dalmore 15 for my second drink. It was only $53 pour. Our bill was like $425!
We left for Colombia the day after Christmas. We flew first class from Las Vegas to Miami for the first leg of the journey on American. I love the predeparture beverage in first class.
I went with a cranberry mimosa for my beverage of choice after take off since it was too early for bourbon. LOL.
The breakfast service was yogurt with a fruit tray and an assortment of breads.
In Miami, we had access to the Turkish Airlines Lounge since I have a Priority Pass.
The self service liquor choices were decent. We were able to order small plates also to our table in the Turkish Airlines lounge.
Brugal Rum from the DR had a tasting booth at Miami Airport. I love the Brugal Leyenda that I had when I was in the DR so I went in to taste what they had.
This is our boarding selfie for the business class portion on American to Cartagena from Miami. It is the same cabin as first class for domestic routes.
Our business class stewardess was very good. She brought me two Woodford Reserve bottles to begin my drinking in the air!
I was actually surprised at how the pasta was decent.
It was still pretty warm when we landed in Cartagena!
We had a car service arranged through our hotel to pick us up at the airport.
We had a nice view of the naval base from our high floor room at the Hyatt Regency Cartagena in Boca Grande.
We had these premium coffee pods from Juan Valdez in our room since we were in Colombia! What else!
The Hyatt Regency had a complimentary snack of hummus and bread with some veggies ready for us in the room.
We woke up to this view of the bay in Cartagena and the naval base.
This was the view of the Caribbean from the Hyatt Club which we had access to.
The complimentary breakfast in the Hyatt Club included a lot of great tropical fruits like papaya.
Of course, I had the lounge attendant make me espresso with Juan Valdez Colombian Coffee beans!
Joy and I checked out the three story pool deck which had great views of the Caribbean!
The hotel had a Coffee Experience bar too where I tried some cold brew.
We had some delicious local empenadas at the Bocagrande Mall next to the Hyatt Regency for lunch. They were so amazing!
After lunch, we got on a hop on, hop off bus tour of Cartagena! It was pretty hot!
This is some of the Christmas decorations that were still up around the old walled city. At night, they were lit up really cool!
Here is an old colonial building that I saw from the tour bus.
This was one of the older and rundown parts of Cartagena near the Castillo de San Felipe.
Here is a good picture of the old walled city of Cartagena with the beautiful colonial buildings in the background.
We went back to the Bocagrande Mall to cool off with homemade ice cream. Maracuya is a South American popular flavor that is like passion fruit.
I doubled up on Maracuya with the ice cream flavor and yogurt flavor of maracuya!
I had to get a Coke Zero in the Hyatt Club after we got back since it was so hot! Sin Azucar means no sugar!
The Hyatt Club had great afternoon snacks for us. I love being a VIP!
We went to this amazing restaurant called Alma in the walled city for dinner that night. The inside was so beautiful and looked like an old colonial building.
Our first course was a fresh ceviche served with yucca chips.
I am sporting the Panama hat that I bought from a street vendor in the walled city before dinner here with my cocktail.
I got a typical Colombian dish with sea bass prepared in a banana leaf with a red sauce and served with coconut rice and fried plantains!
Dessert was a seven layer creation of coconut! I loved it!
We posed for some great pictures at the hotel where Alma was located.
The next morning, I had the club lounge hostess make me an iced Americano with those delicious Juan Valdez coffee beans. She wrapped it up nicely too. Unfortunately, there was a paper straw.
We departed for our five islands tour after breakfast from the harbor in Cartagena Bay.
Here is a picture of the old walled city in the background as we were departing the harbor.
This is the Bocagrande area in the background as we were departing Cartagena. The Hyatt is the tall grey building.
The Rosario Islands are a chain of beautiful islands off the coast of Cartagena in the Caribbean. They are part of Colombia.
The Rosario Islands had pristine Caribbean water!
I did get to snorkel in the Rosario Islands, but it was not as good as other parts of the Caribbean. The water was very warm however!
I believe there are about twenty seven islands in the Rosario chain.
I am chilling on the boat here with our group in the Rosario Islands. The weather was very hot and humid that day!
Joy is on her phone instead of admiring the amazing scenery. LOL. We both had good cell coverage down there.
We went to an island which housed Pablo Escobar's retreat for lunch. I am enjoying a pina colada here.
The lunch spot had a small infinity pool which overlooked the small channel between two of the islands.
The typical Colombian lunch consisted of chicken, rice, plantains, and some salad. It was pretty good!
I caught Joy on her phone again! LOL.
We went to Cholon next. This is known as the party island where people are in chest high water and drink!
The water felt great as we enjoyed our tropical drinks!
We are back on the boat here after enjoying Cholon!
We went to Baru next which is technically a peninusla and not an island. However, it is pretty isolated and was only accesible by boat until a bridge was built.
That was my view on Baru as I relaxed on the lounge chairs.
We stayed at Baru until nightfall so we could see the plankton that glow in the dark in the lagoon.
This was a nice sunset picture of Joy and me in Baru.
The sunset was so amazing!
The bioluminescent plankton were really cool to see! They glow in the dark when one stirs the water up!
The next day, we took a car service over to the Castillo de San Felipe, which was a huge fortress that helped guard the walled city from pirates and other invaders!
It was a trek to hike up to the top of the fortress!
These are the entrances to the many tunnels within the fortress that soldiers used to position themselves during an attack.
The tunnels were pretty narrow and dark. It was kind of scary!
Joy and I are posing on top of the fortress here with some high rise buildings in the distance.
One can see how the canons were positioned too so they could attack ships in the Caribbean Sea also.
It is amazing how this fortress is still standing! How did they build such a magnificient structure back then too!
Here is a nice view of the cathedral in the walled city from the fortress.
Bocagrande can be seen in the distance from the fortress here. The Chocolate Museum is down there by the hop on, hop off bus. We checked that out too.
This is a local bus by the fortress. Cartagena had so many vendors trying to sell water and other stuff to tourists. It got annoying.
This is a statue of Admiral Blas who was a Spanish officer who helped defeat the British during an invasion of Cartagena.
After that hike to the top of the fortress, I refueled at the Juan Valdez cafe next to our hotel with these treats!
I also relaxed on the infinity pool deck of the Hyatt Regency and went for a swim.
I love life! I travel so much for work and pleasure that I used points to cover the three nights at the Hyatt Regency!
We spent the last three nights in Cartagena at the Hilton Cartagena. I used points for these nights too. This was our view of the bay.
This is the view of the lagoon from the Hilton VIP Lounge.
The Hilton had a nice pool area with multiple levels of pools also. This is the upper pool. I loved how warm the water was!
This is the lower pool which the water slide empties into. Only kids can use the water slide however :(
The Hilton sent up a nice plate of fruit to welcome us since I am a Diamond guest. Life is great!
Joy and I are enjoying some drinks and snacks in the VIP Lounge before dinner.
We took a car service over to dinner in walled city that night again. This is a horse drawn carriage trying to enter the narrow street into the city.
Joy is standing outside the Argentine steakhouse called Quebracho here.
I love Argentine steakhouses!
This is the guacho way to prepare meat! Argentines are experts at grilling meat!
I asked for the best rum they had so the waiter brought me Dictador 20 year. I loved it! I figure since South America has a long history of dictators, I could be the next one after tasting this rum!
Joy and I are ready to indulge in some great meat!
The steak was amazing!
The restaurant had live music too!
The flan was a good way to end the dinner!
The walled city is really colorful even at night!
The next day, we went on a long tour along the eastern coast to Barranquilla and Santa Marta. I was able to buy these strawberry cookies with my limited Spanish at the tollway rest stop.
This is the Barranquilla sign once we got into town. Barranquilla is the fourth largest city in Colombia.
The "Window To The World" monument in Barranquilla represents how Barranquilla is a major port city on the Magdalena River which goes deep into the heart of Colombia.
The Magdalena River is so full of silt that it reminded me of what the Amazon looks like on TV.
The Sharika statue in Barranquilla was new when we got there. She is from Colombia and part Lebanese since there is a large Lebanese community in Colombia.
Barranquilla is known for having one of the top soccer teams in Colombia. This monument is for their soccer team.
The cactus we saw once we crossed in the department (state) of Magdalena, I saw these cactus along the coast which reminded me what I saw on Aruba. Aruba is pretty close to this part of Colombia too.
The wealth disparity in Colombia is very big. A lot of people live in these shanty villages along the highway.
This was the view as we were entering Santa Marta with the mountains in the distance where coffee is grown.
Valderrama was the captain of the Colombian national soccer team. They have a statue to him in Santa Marta.
This is the usual colorful sign that most cities have now for tourists by the sea in Santa Marta.
This is a statue of the founder of Santa Marta, a Spanish Conquistador who also conquered Panama.
This is the Caribbean Sea by Santa Marta. I think the water was clearer here than in Cartagena.
This is a statue of Simon Bolivar who was the liberator of Greater Colombia from Spain. He was born in Venezuela, but he lived in Santa Marta for a long time.
This was a historic building in Santa Marta.
The Basicila of Santa Marta is the oldest church in South America.
They were having mass inside the church when we got to look inside. It was not air conditioned.
The church had lots of nice statues inside as well as the ornate depictions of the stations of the cross.
Santa Marta is very colorful and historic. Our walking tour was fun, but it was so hot! We were in need of something to cool us off!
After our tour was over, we went to a local hotel by the beach for lunch. I got the fried fish filet served with rice and fried plantains.
Joy and I walked down to the beach after lunch. I wore my Cowboys shirt since we had a game against the Lions that night.
The beach in Santa Marta was nice, but I felt a little uncomfortable with the crowds so we did not go in the water.
We did get some fresh pineapple juice on the beach from this stand. They use purified water from bags so it was safe.
We got a snack at an air conditioned restaurant near the beach to cool off. This shrimp cocktail was loaded, and it was super cheap.
We got to use the pool at the hotel where we had lunch so I put my feet in the water to cool off.
We also explored the shops near the hotel for souvenirs. I got a bag of the local coffee that is produced in the mountains above Santa Marta.
We enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the Hilton the following morning. As a Diamond guest, it was included.
I liked the decor of the breakfast area. One can imagine being in Colombia during the colonial days.
This was a cool vintage cash register in the breakfast room too.
I had a massage at the spa at the Hilton to kick off New Year's Eve. Although my company gives me a massage allowance, I was not sure how I would expense this with the currency conversion. LOL.
I went down to the private beach area after my massage to chill on the daybeds.
These ladies went around and offered to do foot massages for like $20! She rubbed my feet forever too!
All I needed was a pina colada to cool off from the heat as my feet were getting a nice massage. LOL. Life is good!
This is not a bad way to spend New Year's Eve!
The only annoying thing was they had vendors like almost everywhere in Colombia trying to sell us stuff. We did have security however watching over us.
For lunch, we went to Restaurante Arabe which was recommended by the concierge at the Hyatt earlier.
Since there is a large Middle Eastern population in South America, there is great Lebanese and Arabic food in Colombia!
I got a Hatsu which is a local iced tea brand. They sweeten it with Stevia so it is zero calories! I liked this a lot!
We started with an appetizer platter with hummus and egg plant too.
The beef was amazing!
The chef makes the ice cream too! The pistachio and cherry ice cream were both amazing!
We walked over to the Juan Valdez Cafe so I could get a frozen coffee drink too after lunch.
That night, we started off in the VIP lounge. I liked the Colombian soda, Postobon, a lot!
These were our tickets for the New Year's Eve party at the Hilton. Each ticket was roughly $250 US.
We got our party favors and are ready to ring in 2024 with a bang at the Latin influenced party!
Welcome 2024! 2023 was a great year for us both. My company did really well, and I made a lot on my stock options and RSU! We also returned to global travel after the Covid bull shit!
The backdrop for the party was so amazing! It was on the beach with the high rise buildings in the background.
Each party had their own table with fresh flower arrangements.
There was a lot of great food at the international buffet including ceviche.
Also, there were so many great desserts!
We liked the food a lot. The aluminum bags had grapes in them. Colombians like to eat grapes on New Year's Eve for good luck!
The party was pretty packed with guests. Many looked like they were Colombian so there is an element of very wealthy people in Colombia too.
The guests were dressed pretty well despite not being a black tie event.
We are on the dance floor here.
They had a Cuban style band perform for us as we were all ready to ring in the New Year!
Happy New Year!
The fireworks were pretty cool too after midnight!
The party and dancing continued into the early morning hours!
Our flight back on January 1 was later in the afternoon. The Priority check in line for American was pretty busy for that flight to MIA.
We were able to use the Sala VIP (lounge) in CTG before departure. The food offerings were decent.
We boarded our 737 using stairs since CTG has no jetbridges.
It was hot inside the plane, but the flight attendant got us cold towels in business class to cool off while the peasants in coach boarded.
After being nice and refreshed from the cold towel, I was ready to depart for Miami!
We were delayed a little leaving CTG. I saw some military personnel come into the airport on that truck so I was wondering if a coup was underway. LOL.
After take off, the business class stewardess brought us cold water and warm nuts. I would hate to be one of the people who fly coach! LOL.
I got my usual Woodford Reserve in the air with Coke Zero.
After a quick connection in Miami, we boarded another American Airlines flight to DFW. We were served the same meal in first class that we had going to CTG.
We had to spend the night at the Hyatt Regency DFW since our flight back home was on January 2nd due to the time difference issues. We were able to relax in the Club @ DFW before our flight.
I saw my company stock was up a lot to kick off the first day of trading on 1-2-24 so I exercised some stock options in the air!
I got a cranberry mimosa to celebrate all the money I made that morning when I exercised my stock options! Yay!
The breakfast service from Dallas/Fort Worth was decent in first class!
As usual, my company
gave us the week between Christmas and New Year's off as a part of our
holiday schedule. So, Joy and I planned a long trip to South
America after we spent time in Vegas for Christmas with family.
Our holiday break began the Friday before Christmas weekend
when
we flew down to Vegas. I used my MGM Rewards Gold perks to
reserve a room in the tower of Luxor. After getting the
rental
car, we checked into the Luxor via the VIP check in line which let us
bypass the huge line of people checking in even at 1:00 AM.
Vegas
had lots of flight delays that night so we got in really late!
As
usual, I got free valet parking and no resort fee as a MGM Rewards VIP
guest.
The next day, we went over to my brother's place early so we could spend a lot of time with my nephew and let him open his first gift. My parents flew in a few days before us so they were already there too. We enjoyed hanging out with Aakash and bonding. In the afternoon, we were invited by MGM Sports to the Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium. We got two club seats which were like $250 a piece for free since I am such a "high roller" with MGM. LOL. We were able to walk over from Luxor since they closed the bridge over I-15 during game days. This ws the first time I went to a college bowl game. Northwestern played Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl that year. Our club seats were really comfortable too! The first half had little offense, and it was pretty boring aside from looking at the cheerleaders from Utah. LOL. In the second half, we saw a little more offense, and Northwestern ended up winning the game. After the game, we met my high school buddy, Patrick, for dinner at Lawry's The Prime Rib. As usual, Lawry's was decorated pretty nicely for the holidays. They even had a group of four carolers go around from table to table to sing holiday requests. I asked for "Adeste Fidelis" in Latin since I had to learn that when I was in private school growing up.
On Christmas Eve, we spent the morning with family at my brother's place. Aakash got to open his second gift which was a Fast & Furious Lego model of the Dodge Challenger. I figured Aakash and I could build it during the Cowboys game that day. He was getting into watching the Cowboys with Uncle Anirban now. That evening, Joy and I enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner at Cathedrale at the Aria. This fine dining establishment has their original restaurant in New York City. The decor was really cool! I started off the evening with Weller Reserve over a big cube which had Cathedrale etched in it. We had some delicious hamachi crudo and octopus for our appetizers. My lamb was delicious! I got Dalmore 15 scotch to pair with the two amazing desserts we ordered. Life is good! We dropped $425 that evening on dinner. Just another night out for the rich and famous :)
On Christmas, we spent the whole day with family, and Aakash got to open his main gift from us which was a WIFI action camera that he wanted. I got him a really nice one with the underwater cover too. He loved it! That evening, we stayed at a Courtyard Inn near the airport since they had a shuttle to take us to the airport for our early flight out.
After arriving at LAS, we went to the Priority Check In Counter for American Airlines since we were first class to Miami followed by business class to Cartagena. However, the agent told us we had to do this weird immigration form for Colombian Immigration and show them verification. So, Joy and I were pressed to do that on our phone. However, it was pretty easy overall. After checking in, we went to the Club@LAS to get breakfast for our flight. After boarding our 737, we were served a predeparture drink while the coach folks boarded. I love being able to fly first class! Once we were airborne, I got a cranberry mimosa before the breakfast service. The fruit plate with yogurt was not bad since I like light breakfasts. Our first class flight attendant was pretty attentive to us for the whole flight and even refilled my Diet Dr. Pepper without asking. We had a decent layover in Miami so we went to the Turkish Airlines lounge which I had access to as a Priority Pass member. They had some nice little plates we were able to order on an app as well as some liquor too. After leaving the lounge, we saw that Brugal, a Dominican rum company, had a tasting room set up in the terminal. One of my favorite rums of all time is the Brugal Leyenda which is only available in the DR. So, I went in and tried what they were sampling.
We boarded another 737 operated by American Airlines for our flight to Cartagena. American sells the premium cabin as business class for the Caribbean flights. However, the seat is the same as domestic first class. Our first class stewardess was very good. She took good care of us as we enjoyed our dinner too. Mixed warm nuts were served with the beverages. I asked for Woodford Reserve, and she brought me two bottles to start. The flight time to Cartagena was just under three hours. As we were landing, I could see how dimly lit the streets were. It was typical of many parts of Latin America. After clearning immigration pretty fast, the car service we booked through the Hyatt Regency was waiting for us outside. We boarded the little French SUV and were on our way to the Hyatt Regency! Once we arrived at the high rise luxury hotel, the front desk staff welcomed me as a Hyatt VIP guest. We were upgraded to a high floor king room with a view of the Bay. Also, they left a small snack for us in the room too.
The first day in Cartagena, we went up to the Hyatt Club after we woke up for a great breakfast that included coffee with Juan Valdez brand Colombian beans. The lounge attendants were very attentive, and the concierge team on site in the lounge were very helpful! The views of the Caribbean from the Club were amazing too. Afterwards, I checked out the three story pool deck which had multiple infinity pools overlooking the sea. I got a pina colada and just chilled in one of the lounge chairs that were partially in the warm water. Afterwards, Joy and I checked out the Boca Grande mall next door to the Hyatt where we got a quick lunch of empenadas before going on a hop on, hop off bus tour of Cartagena. The tour started out in Boca Grande and went by the old walled city and Castillo de San Felipe, which is a large fortress the Spanish built to protect the walled city from pirates and other invaders. The tour guides referred to the Spanish as the "slavers." Colombia has a large population of blacks since lots of slaves were brought to Colombia.
That evening, the hotel made reservations for us to have dinner at Alma in the walled city. We had a car service booked through the Hyatt to take us to dinner as well as to a salsa dance tour we booked and back to the hotel. Getting around Cartagena was pretty easy, but the safest option was the car service since we did not want to be kidnapped. LOL. The yellow taxis are relatively safe, but there is no meter so one should work out the price ahead of time. Uber is also very safe in Cartagena since it is tracked. Alma was a great restaurant inside a historic hotel that reminded me of the old Spanish colonial architecture I have seen throughout Latin America. We got ceviche to start, but I got a traditional fish dish from Medellin that had a red sauce on it. It was served with fried plantains like many typical plates in this part of the world. Our dessert was amazing!
I would say that the language barrier in Colombia is pretty bad. The drivers do not really speak English so we made a mistake by asking our first driver to take us to the salsa tour since the car service arranged another guy to pick us up at Alma and take us to the salsa tour. So, this guy brought us back to the hotel. WTF! We barely made our salsa class after fighting the traffic to get back to the salsa dance studio. We got about an hour of salsa lessons before we headed back to the Hyatt. Cartagena is known for salsa dancing. I was somewhat able to pick it up, but I am not the best dancer. LOL.
We went on a five islands tour the next day. The Rosario Islands off the coast of Cartagena are like typical tropical paradises one finds in the Caribbean with warm and teal blue waters. Our tour picked us up at the hotel, and we departed from the main marina in the bay for the Rosario Islands. On our way out of Cartagena, we were close by the naval base that we could see from our room. They even had an old naval ship that was probably there for show from maybe the 1800s or before. Once we got to the Rosario Islands, our guide showed us the old private island of Pablo Escobar. We got off the boat there and did a little snorkeling to look at an airplane of Pablo Escobar's that is below the water. The government now owns that compound, but they have not done anything to it. Afterwards, we went to another location to go snorkling some more. The water was super warm, but the snorkeling was not that good. I saw a few of the typical sargeant major fishes that one sees in tropical waters. After snorkeling, we went to a little resort next to Pablo's private island to have lunch. The resort had two small infinity pools that were almost the size of a large hot tub. I ordered a few drinks from the wait staff and chilled in the smaller pool. For lunch, I chose the typical Colombian plate that had chicken. We also got coconut rice with our food as well as a popular sweet drink. For dessert, we got these sweet plantains or bananas in a sauce. After lunch, we went to Cholon, which is the party island. They have all these tables and umbrellas in shallow water where people enjoy drinks and snacks and party! I ordered a drink inside a coconut. Our guide told us to beware of the vendors since they are known to rip off tourists. We had a good group with our tour, and we had some good conversation with couples from Texas and a family from Miami who are of Colombian descent. After Cholon, we went to Baru. Baru is technically a peninsula, but it was only accessible by boat until a bridge was built recently. Baru has a small pristine stretch of sandy beach where there are shanty hotels where people just relax in the lounge chairs and drink. We had access to one of these shanty hotels. The water was really warm and clear so I got my feet in and just relaxed. It was a really hot day however until the sun finally went down. After the sun went down, we went to a lagoon where we saw the glow in the dark plankton. We were allowed to swim, but I did not feel safe so I just moved my hand in the water to see the cool blue light the plankton emit when the water is disturbed. It was so cool!
Once we got back to the Hyatt, we walked over to a local restaurant that served sushi, pizza, and great desserts. It was a casual place, but the food was good. The Boca Grande area is very safe to walk around even at night. The waitress did not speak much English, but these group of four young ladies who looked like college students helped translate for us. We could tell they were part of the elite class in Colombia by the way they dressed and conducted themselves. Also, one of the girls had a brand new large SUV too. All four of them were really pretty, and the girl with the SUV could be a model! The wealth disparity in Colombia is very obvious! These girls had plenty of money, but the waitress looked like she was struggling. Joy and I ordered sushi , and I got introduced to the Colombian soda brand called Postobon. I got a grape flavor one. Colombia is very health conscious about sugar intake since diabetes is very prevalent among hispanics. The soda had some cane sugar, but they used artificial sweeteners too to keep the overall sugar content down without sacraficing the sweetness!
The next day, we went to the Castillo de San Felipe. Although we had the hop on, hop off bus ticket still, we took a car service from the Hyatt after breakfast to get there faster. The hike to the top of the fortress was pretty hard! Inside the fortress, there are lots of tunnels where soldiers could easily position themselves with guns and canons to fight off invaders. After touring the castle, we went to Chocolate Museum. Colombia is known for chocolate too in addition to coffee. Then, we went to a jewlery shop to get Joy an emerald. Colombian emeralds are very high quality! We took the hop on, hop off bus back to the hotel, but we decided to go to the Juan Valdez Cafe inside the Boca Grande Mall first to get some drinks and a snack. I also got the Juan Valdez pods for the original line Nespresso machine to bring home. I got some good pool time too since we had a 2:00 check out since I am a Hyatt VIP guest. After checking out, we took a car service to the Hilton Cartagena which was pretty close to the Hyatt where we stayed for the last three nights of our trip.
The Hilton welcomed me as a Diamond guest. I had VIP Lounge access as well. While Joy took a nap, I explored the pool areas. There were three pools and a waterslide for kids. The resort also had a private beach area. Joy and I went to VIP Lounge for their happy hour before we departed for our dinner reservations at Quebracho, an Argentine steakhouse in the walled city by car service. As we entered the beautiful walled city, one can see horse drawn carriages too. Quebracho was an amazing dining experience. I asked for a top shelf rum so the waiter brought me Dictador 20 Year. That is a Colombian rum also. We started dinner with empenandas. Then, I got a delicious steak. The restaurant had live music as well. The Dictador 20 was so good that I got a second one. The waiter even gave me a little extra after looking around to make sure his boss was not around. We were really impressed with the service!
We had a long tour on Saturday! I booked a trip to Barranquilla and Santa Marta, which are on the eastern coast of Colombia. Our tour bus arrived around 4:30 AM to get us. The hotel was nice enough to pack us a hearty breakfast since I get free breakfast as a Diamond guest. Most of the people in our tour were Spanish speaking, but we had a dedicated guide who spoke English for us and a few other tourists. The drive to Barranquilla took almost two hours so we were able to nap until we got to a rest stop along the tollway to use the restrooms. I was able to buy these strawberry cookies with my limited Spanish. Queiro los galletas de fresca por favor! LOL. Our first stop in Barranquilla, which is the fourth largest city in Colombia, was the large letters that spelled out the name of the city. We took pictures there before going to their "Window To The World" monument. Barranquilla is on the Magdalena River which goes deep into Colombia so a lot of trade goes through this city. Afterwards, we went to the large monument to the city's soccer team which was a national champion. Soccer is very popular in Colombia. Then, we saw the new Shakira statue that was erected by the Magdalena River. The river reminded me of the Amazon since it was so wide and mirky with silt! Shakira is Colombian. Our tour continued into Santa Marta which was about another two hours away. We crossed through three departments or states on this tour. Along the way, I saw abject poverty along the side of the roadway where people lived in absolute misery. The garbage was overflowing right by the shacks. It was pretty sick. Once we got into Santa Marta, we went to a famous statue of Valderrama who was the captain of the Colombian national soccer team. He is the dude with the funny hair. Once in the old town of Santa Marta, we went on a walking tour that took us to the statue of Simon de Bolivar who was the liberator of greater Colombia from the Spanish. Greater Colombian included Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, and even parts of Peru and Ecuador. It was super hot and humid as we walked through the old part of town. They also showed us the oldest church in South America. However, we were looking forward to getting back on the A/C bus! Afterwards, they took us a local hotel near the beach for lunch. I made the mistake of ordering fried fish filet instead of chicken. The fish had a weird taste! Colombians love their fried fish. Joy and I explored the beach a little, and we also checked out some of the shops and restaurants. The hotel had a pool that we were able to use if we wanted. Afterwards, we headed back to Cartagena. We went through the downtown area of Barranquilla and got to really see how the locals live from the bus. Once we got back to the hotel, we had dinner in the lobby bar of the Hilton so I could watch the Cowboys and Lions game. The game was on the Spanish ESPN.
The next morning, we had the buffet breakfast at the Hilton which was free for us since I am Diamond. Afterwards, I had a fifty minute massage scheduled at the spa at the hotel. Then, I went down to the beach to chill on the daybeds, but vendors still kept coming by to try to sell goods or services. The day beds and chairs were only for guests, and they had a security guard too. However, vendors were still allowed on the beach. A lady came by and offered me a long foot massage for $20 USD so I took her up on the offer. It felt good to relax on the daybed as she rubbed my feet and legs while I had a pina colada! Life is good! Afterwards, Joy and I went to an Arabic restaurant for lunch. There is a large Lebanese population in Colombia. We loved the food at this restaurant which the Hyatt concierge recommended to us. Aftertwards, I got some Cuban cigars and a frozen coffee drink at the Juan Valdez Cafe before going back to the Hilton. That evening, we had the New Year's Eve party at the Hilton that we bought tickets for. Each ticket was $250 USD! Joy and I enjoyed the Latin influenced party which featured a Cuban music band. The international buffet was great! I loved the setting on the beach with the backdrop of the high rise buildings. They also had a private fireworks show for us too.
We had a half day to chill on January 1st before we had to leave for the airport. After the breakfast buffet which included made to order fruit smoothies, we departed for the airport via the car service I booked through the Hyatt. Once we got to the airport, we used the priority check in line to get our boarding passes and check in the luggage. We had access to the Sala VIP lounge too so we got some snacks before we boarded for our flight to Miami. The plane was super hot since everyone enters using stairs instead of a jetbridge. Our business class flight attendant brought us cold towels to cool off however, but I was shocked she did not get us a predeparture drink. We were delayed leaving CTG, and I saw some military personnel come in on a truck so I was wondering if a coup was underway. LOL. One never knows when one is in South America! That reminded me of an episode of Knight Ridder where a fictious country to the south of the US had a coup, and Michael Knight and KITT had to go in and rescue some Americans. I was relived there was no coup, and we were in the air shortly after. Our flight attendant did bring us cold water and warm nuts after take off before the lunch service. In Miami, we had a short layover before we boarded for DFW. We were in first class to DFW. They served us the same meal for dinner that we had when we went down to CTG. Since we left CTG so late, we spent the night at the Hyatt Regency on site at DFW since our connection to California was not until the morning. I used points to book the room so we got to sleep well. We were in first class again, and I decided to exercise some stock options since our stock was doing well on the first day of trading for 2024. After I cleared a lot of money on those options, I celebrated with a cranberry mimosa in the air. I love life!
The next day, we went over to my brother's place early so we could spend a lot of time with my nephew and let him open his first gift. My parents flew in a few days before us so they were already there too. We enjoyed hanging out with Aakash and bonding. In the afternoon, we were invited by MGM Sports to the Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium. We got two club seats which were like $250 a piece for free since I am such a "high roller" with MGM. LOL. We were able to walk over from Luxor since they closed the bridge over I-15 during game days. This ws the first time I went to a college bowl game. Northwestern played Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl that year. Our club seats were really comfortable too! The first half had little offense, and it was pretty boring aside from looking at the cheerleaders from Utah. LOL. In the second half, we saw a little more offense, and Northwestern ended up winning the game. After the game, we met my high school buddy, Patrick, for dinner at Lawry's The Prime Rib. As usual, Lawry's was decorated pretty nicely for the holidays. They even had a group of four carolers go around from table to table to sing holiday requests. I asked for "Adeste Fidelis" in Latin since I had to learn that when I was in private school growing up.
On Christmas Eve, we spent the morning with family at my brother's place. Aakash got to open his second gift which was a Fast & Furious Lego model of the Dodge Challenger. I figured Aakash and I could build it during the Cowboys game that day. He was getting into watching the Cowboys with Uncle Anirban now. That evening, Joy and I enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner at Cathedrale at the Aria. This fine dining establishment has their original restaurant in New York City. The decor was really cool! I started off the evening with Weller Reserve over a big cube which had Cathedrale etched in it. We had some delicious hamachi crudo and octopus for our appetizers. My lamb was delicious! I got Dalmore 15 scotch to pair with the two amazing desserts we ordered. Life is good! We dropped $425 that evening on dinner. Just another night out for the rich and famous :)
On Christmas, we spent the whole day with family, and Aakash got to open his main gift from us which was a WIFI action camera that he wanted. I got him a really nice one with the underwater cover too. He loved it! That evening, we stayed at a Courtyard Inn near the airport since they had a shuttle to take us to the airport for our early flight out.
After arriving at LAS, we went to the Priority Check In Counter for American Airlines since we were first class to Miami followed by business class to Cartagena. However, the agent told us we had to do this weird immigration form for Colombian Immigration and show them verification. So, Joy and I were pressed to do that on our phone. However, it was pretty easy overall. After checking in, we went to the Club@LAS to get breakfast for our flight. After boarding our 737, we were served a predeparture drink while the coach folks boarded. I love being able to fly first class! Once we were airborne, I got a cranberry mimosa before the breakfast service. The fruit plate with yogurt was not bad since I like light breakfasts. Our first class flight attendant was pretty attentive to us for the whole flight and even refilled my Diet Dr. Pepper without asking. We had a decent layover in Miami so we went to the Turkish Airlines lounge which I had access to as a Priority Pass member. They had some nice little plates we were able to order on an app as well as some liquor too. After leaving the lounge, we saw that Brugal, a Dominican rum company, had a tasting room set up in the terminal. One of my favorite rums of all time is the Brugal Leyenda which is only available in the DR. So, I went in and tried what they were sampling.
We boarded another 737 operated by American Airlines for our flight to Cartagena. American sells the premium cabin as business class for the Caribbean flights. However, the seat is the same as domestic first class. Our first class stewardess was very good. She took good care of us as we enjoyed our dinner too. Mixed warm nuts were served with the beverages. I asked for Woodford Reserve, and she brought me two bottles to start. The flight time to Cartagena was just under three hours. As we were landing, I could see how dimly lit the streets were. It was typical of many parts of Latin America. After clearning immigration pretty fast, the car service we booked through the Hyatt Regency was waiting for us outside. We boarded the little French SUV and were on our way to the Hyatt Regency! Once we arrived at the high rise luxury hotel, the front desk staff welcomed me as a Hyatt VIP guest. We were upgraded to a high floor king room with a view of the Bay. Also, they left a small snack for us in the room too.
The first day in Cartagena, we went up to the Hyatt Club after we woke up for a great breakfast that included coffee with Juan Valdez brand Colombian beans. The lounge attendants were very attentive, and the concierge team on site in the lounge were very helpful! The views of the Caribbean from the Club were amazing too. Afterwards, I checked out the three story pool deck which had multiple infinity pools overlooking the sea. I got a pina colada and just chilled in one of the lounge chairs that were partially in the warm water. Afterwards, Joy and I checked out the Boca Grande mall next door to the Hyatt where we got a quick lunch of empenadas before going on a hop on, hop off bus tour of Cartagena. The tour started out in Boca Grande and went by the old walled city and Castillo de San Felipe, which is a large fortress the Spanish built to protect the walled city from pirates and other invaders. The tour guides referred to the Spanish as the "slavers." Colombia has a large population of blacks since lots of slaves were brought to Colombia.
That evening, the hotel made reservations for us to have dinner at Alma in the walled city. We had a car service booked through the Hyatt to take us to dinner as well as to a salsa dance tour we booked and back to the hotel. Getting around Cartagena was pretty easy, but the safest option was the car service since we did not want to be kidnapped. LOL. The yellow taxis are relatively safe, but there is no meter so one should work out the price ahead of time. Uber is also very safe in Cartagena since it is tracked. Alma was a great restaurant inside a historic hotel that reminded me of the old Spanish colonial architecture I have seen throughout Latin America. We got ceviche to start, but I got a traditional fish dish from Medellin that had a red sauce on it. It was served with fried plantains like many typical plates in this part of the world. Our dessert was amazing!
I would say that the language barrier in Colombia is pretty bad. The drivers do not really speak English so we made a mistake by asking our first driver to take us to the salsa tour since the car service arranged another guy to pick us up at Alma and take us to the salsa tour. So, this guy brought us back to the hotel. WTF! We barely made our salsa class after fighting the traffic to get back to the salsa dance studio. We got about an hour of salsa lessons before we headed back to the Hyatt. Cartagena is known for salsa dancing. I was somewhat able to pick it up, but I am not the best dancer. LOL.
We went on a five islands tour the next day. The Rosario Islands off the coast of Cartagena are like typical tropical paradises one finds in the Caribbean with warm and teal blue waters. Our tour picked us up at the hotel, and we departed from the main marina in the bay for the Rosario Islands. On our way out of Cartagena, we were close by the naval base that we could see from our room. They even had an old naval ship that was probably there for show from maybe the 1800s or before. Once we got to the Rosario Islands, our guide showed us the old private island of Pablo Escobar. We got off the boat there and did a little snorkeling to look at an airplane of Pablo Escobar's that is below the water. The government now owns that compound, but they have not done anything to it. Afterwards, we went to another location to go snorkling some more. The water was super warm, but the snorkeling was not that good. I saw a few of the typical sargeant major fishes that one sees in tropical waters. After snorkeling, we went to a little resort next to Pablo's private island to have lunch. The resort had two small infinity pools that were almost the size of a large hot tub. I ordered a few drinks from the wait staff and chilled in the smaller pool. For lunch, I chose the typical Colombian plate that had chicken. We also got coconut rice with our food as well as a popular sweet drink. For dessert, we got these sweet plantains or bananas in a sauce. After lunch, we went to Cholon, which is the party island. They have all these tables and umbrellas in shallow water where people enjoy drinks and snacks and party! I ordered a drink inside a coconut. Our guide told us to beware of the vendors since they are known to rip off tourists. We had a good group with our tour, and we had some good conversation with couples from Texas and a family from Miami who are of Colombian descent. After Cholon, we went to Baru. Baru is technically a peninsula, but it was only accessible by boat until a bridge was built recently. Baru has a small pristine stretch of sandy beach where there are shanty hotels where people just relax in the lounge chairs and drink. We had access to one of these shanty hotels. The water was really warm and clear so I got my feet in and just relaxed. It was a really hot day however until the sun finally went down. After the sun went down, we went to a lagoon where we saw the glow in the dark plankton. We were allowed to swim, but I did not feel safe so I just moved my hand in the water to see the cool blue light the plankton emit when the water is disturbed. It was so cool!
Once we got back to the Hyatt, we walked over to a local restaurant that served sushi, pizza, and great desserts. It was a casual place, but the food was good. The Boca Grande area is very safe to walk around even at night. The waitress did not speak much English, but these group of four young ladies who looked like college students helped translate for us. We could tell they were part of the elite class in Colombia by the way they dressed and conducted themselves. Also, one of the girls had a brand new large SUV too. All four of them were really pretty, and the girl with the SUV could be a model! The wealth disparity in Colombia is very obvious! These girls had plenty of money, but the waitress looked like she was struggling. Joy and I ordered sushi , and I got introduced to the Colombian soda brand called Postobon. I got a grape flavor one. Colombia is very health conscious about sugar intake since diabetes is very prevalent among hispanics. The soda had some cane sugar, but they used artificial sweeteners too to keep the overall sugar content down without sacraficing the sweetness!
The next day, we went to the Castillo de San Felipe. Although we had the hop on, hop off bus ticket still, we took a car service from the Hyatt after breakfast to get there faster. The hike to the top of the fortress was pretty hard! Inside the fortress, there are lots of tunnels where soldiers could easily position themselves with guns and canons to fight off invaders. After touring the castle, we went to Chocolate Museum. Colombia is known for chocolate too in addition to coffee. Then, we went to a jewlery shop to get Joy an emerald. Colombian emeralds are very high quality! We took the hop on, hop off bus back to the hotel, but we decided to go to the Juan Valdez Cafe inside the Boca Grande Mall first to get some drinks and a snack. I also got the Juan Valdez pods for the original line Nespresso machine to bring home. I got some good pool time too since we had a 2:00 check out since I am a Hyatt VIP guest. After checking out, we took a car service to the Hilton Cartagena which was pretty close to the Hyatt where we stayed for the last three nights of our trip.
The Hilton welcomed me as a Diamond guest. I had VIP Lounge access as well. While Joy took a nap, I explored the pool areas. There were three pools and a waterslide for kids. The resort also had a private beach area. Joy and I went to VIP Lounge for their happy hour before we departed for our dinner reservations at Quebracho, an Argentine steakhouse in the walled city by car service. As we entered the beautiful walled city, one can see horse drawn carriages too. Quebracho was an amazing dining experience. I asked for a top shelf rum so the waiter brought me Dictador 20 Year. That is a Colombian rum also. We started dinner with empenandas. Then, I got a delicious steak. The restaurant had live music as well. The Dictador 20 was so good that I got a second one. The waiter even gave me a little extra after looking around to make sure his boss was not around. We were really impressed with the service!
We had a long tour on Saturday! I booked a trip to Barranquilla and Santa Marta, which are on the eastern coast of Colombia. Our tour bus arrived around 4:30 AM to get us. The hotel was nice enough to pack us a hearty breakfast since I get free breakfast as a Diamond guest. Most of the people in our tour were Spanish speaking, but we had a dedicated guide who spoke English for us and a few other tourists. The drive to Barranquilla took almost two hours so we were able to nap until we got to a rest stop along the tollway to use the restrooms. I was able to buy these strawberry cookies with my limited Spanish. Queiro los galletas de fresca por favor! LOL. Our first stop in Barranquilla, which is the fourth largest city in Colombia, was the large letters that spelled out the name of the city. We took pictures there before going to their "Window To The World" monument. Barranquilla is on the Magdalena River which goes deep into Colombia so a lot of trade goes through this city. Afterwards, we went to the large monument to the city's soccer team which was a national champion. Soccer is very popular in Colombia. Then, we saw the new Shakira statue that was erected by the Magdalena River. The river reminded me of the Amazon since it was so wide and mirky with silt! Shakira is Colombian. Our tour continued into Santa Marta which was about another two hours away. We crossed through three departments or states on this tour. Along the way, I saw abject poverty along the side of the roadway where people lived in absolute misery. The garbage was overflowing right by the shacks. It was pretty sick. Once we got into Santa Marta, we went to a famous statue of Valderrama who was the captain of the Colombian national soccer team. He is the dude with the funny hair. Once in the old town of Santa Marta, we went on a walking tour that took us to the statue of Simon de Bolivar who was the liberator of greater Colombia from the Spanish. Greater Colombian included Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, and even parts of Peru and Ecuador. It was super hot and humid as we walked through the old part of town. They also showed us the oldest church in South America. However, we were looking forward to getting back on the A/C bus! Afterwards, they took us a local hotel near the beach for lunch. I made the mistake of ordering fried fish filet instead of chicken. The fish had a weird taste! Colombians love their fried fish. Joy and I explored the beach a little, and we also checked out some of the shops and restaurants. The hotel had a pool that we were able to use if we wanted. Afterwards, we headed back to Cartagena. We went through the downtown area of Barranquilla and got to really see how the locals live from the bus. Once we got back to the hotel, we had dinner in the lobby bar of the Hilton so I could watch the Cowboys and Lions game. The game was on the Spanish ESPN.
The next morning, we had the buffet breakfast at the Hilton which was free for us since I am Diamond. Afterwards, I had a fifty minute massage scheduled at the spa at the hotel. Then, I went down to the beach to chill on the daybeds, but vendors still kept coming by to try to sell goods or services. The day beds and chairs were only for guests, and they had a security guard too. However, vendors were still allowed on the beach. A lady came by and offered me a long foot massage for $20 USD so I took her up on the offer. It felt good to relax on the daybed as she rubbed my feet and legs while I had a pina colada! Life is good! Afterwards, Joy and I went to an Arabic restaurant for lunch. There is a large Lebanese population in Colombia. We loved the food at this restaurant which the Hyatt concierge recommended to us. Aftertwards, I got some Cuban cigars and a frozen coffee drink at the Juan Valdez Cafe before going back to the Hilton. That evening, we had the New Year's Eve party at the Hilton that we bought tickets for. Each ticket was $250 USD! Joy and I enjoyed the Latin influenced party which featured a Cuban music band. The international buffet was great! I loved the setting on the beach with the backdrop of the high rise buildings. They also had a private fireworks show for us too.
We had a half day to chill on January 1st before we had to leave for the airport. After the breakfast buffet which included made to order fruit smoothies, we departed for the airport via the car service I booked through the Hyatt. Once we got to the airport, we used the priority check in line to get our boarding passes and check in the luggage. We had access to the Sala VIP lounge too so we got some snacks before we boarded for our flight to Miami. The plane was super hot since everyone enters using stairs instead of a jetbridge. Our business class flight attendant brought us cold towels to cool off however, but I was shocked she did not get us a predeparture drink. We were delayed leaving CTG, and I saw some military personnel come in on a truck so I was wondering if a coup was underway. LOL. One never knows when one is in South America! That reminded me of an episode of Knight Ridder where a fictious country to the south of the US had a coup, and Michael Knight and KITT had to go in and rescue some Americans. I was relived there was no coup, and we were in the air shortly after. Our flight attendant did bring us cold water and warm nuts after take off before the lunch service. In Miami, we had a short layover before we boarded for DFW. We were in first class to DFW. They served us the same meal for dinner that we had when we went down to CTG. Since we left CTG so late, we spent the night at the Hyatt Regency on site at DFW since our connection to California was not until the morning. I used points to book the room so we got to sleep well. We were in first class again, and I decided to exercise some stock options since our stock was doing well on the first day of trading for 2024. After I cleared a lot of money on those options, I celebrated with a cranberry mimosa in the air. I love life!