Home » Weaverbird: Spirit of Colombia (Escorted Tour)
A private bus then takes you back past Santa Marta and then inland to the small provincial town of Aracataca (2.5 hours). The town is famous as the birth place of Gabriel García Márquez, and provides a good place to stop for lunch. Márquez is arguably Latin America’s most famous writer and his works; (including ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’) often feature in lists of the greatest novels ever written. He was born in Aracataca in 1927, and his birthplace features in some of his stories as the fictional town of Macondo. Today the family house he was raised in is a museum, and you will have time to visit the home of the Nobel Prize winning author.
A further 5 hour journey past banana and oil palm plantations leads to the small provincial town of Mompos. Situated on the eastern banks of the Magdalena River, this 16th-century town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one feels as if transported into a Gabriel García Marquez novel, wandering streets fronted by whitewashed colonial buildings and mansions which were once home to powerful Spanish merchants (for whom the town was an important stopping-off point on the trade route to Cartagena). Spend 2 days in these beautiful surroundings, relaxing in the shady plazas, lapping up the atmosphere, and enjoy the natural scenery on the river banks on an included boat trip.
The day is spent travelling back by private vehicle to the Caribbean coast and the famous city of Cartagena.
Today, while Cartagena has expanded dramatically, the walled centre has changed very little, allowing a glimpse of 16th and 17th-century Spanish architecture and town planning. Enjoy the shade provided by the buildings in these labyrinthine, cobbled streets, and explore the monasteries, palaces, churches, plazas and imposing mansions where the overhanging balconies are heavy with flowers.
City |
Comfort |
Bogota | Casa Deco |
San Agustin | Hacienda Akawanka |
Coffee Region | Finca La Cabana |
Santa Marta | Casa del Piano |
Mompos | Casa Amarilla |
Cartagena | Don Pedro de Heredia |