A Carnival in Cartagena - Nov 2011

Up, up and away.....

After a few life/professional changes, the FP travel group re-started it's latest set of travel ventures in November 2011. Always in search of not so trite and commercialized travel destinations, our friends in Panama whispered fondly a few years back about an "off-the-radar" locale our travel group might enjoy! Really? Colombia? Yes, you see this is one country that has not exactly been on the travel radar for Americans due to it's reputation and dangerous drug past of the 70s & 80s. But almost 2 decades later, Colombia and many of it's largest cities, Bogota, Cali, Medellin, and Baranquilla, have shed that negative label and pushed international business commerce and travel tourism to huge levels. Known as an affordable destination throughout Latin America already, Cartagena is considered to be the "Monte Carlo of the Caribbean". Exactly due south of Jamaica and Cuba on the northern coast of South America, Cartagena is an easy trek from Miami or NYC with all the elements of a good-valued Caribbean vacation year round. After some research and promotion, it was off to visit the Colombian lands during one of their grandest events - Carnival in Cartagena de Indias!!

CARTAGENA CARNIVAL is more than just your typical, uninhibited street parade. This one long weekend was Colombia's annual event for celebrating their heritage, culture and historic independence. Like most afro-latin countries, national pride is on display where the citizens add their own flare and touch on this celebration. This normally sleepy place, takes on a whole new personality. South American travelers and socialites from all over the world descend on this coastal town for some high level revelry and fun under the sun! Additionally, all eyes are focused to see which of this country's beautiful young women will win the most prestigious event of the year, the national beauty pageant crown of Miss Colombia. Imagine a political convention - mixed in with the anticipation of the Oscar's or Grammy's during Super Bowl weekend. "Yeah, just how does all this happen in one weekend?" We were about to find out.....

Arrival - I get in late from my connecting flight to check in at the Cartagena Plaza Hotel in Cartagena's trendiest beachfront neighborhood, Boca Grande. I had only a few minutes to change - I'm lagging behind in joining our group at the first night meet and greet location. I'd gotten word that a few other folks had flight delays, so let's hope all is going smoothly at this point. It's already after 11pm and the plaza behind the Torre del Reloj is crowded. The clock tower is a landmark fixture in Cartagena's Walled City section and is a center point of interest for incoming visitors. The Tu Candela bar is a staple here and a great meeting place for locals and first time visitors. The mood was kinda of laid back, I wave to some familiar faces and see a few new attendees at a table in the corner. I see one our trip leads and get briefed on the arrival updates and plans for the weekend. There's usually activity plan changes once we arrive at a destination and this time, the weather and carnival organizers were the culprits. I discover that the Pageant Street Parade was actually earlier that day, but there's plenty more on tap for the travel group. Ok, no worries. I'll let our local travel vendor deal with juggling all of the weekend particulars. After a few rounds, we leave to drop by one of the most popular cafes here, Arepas Pues. If you like Jamaican patty's, I recommend checking out this spot for a late night bite to eat - the prices are cheap and the service is always entertaining. Arepas, a big part of the cuisine in Venezuela and Colombia, are made of ground corn dough or cooked flour with tomatoes, salad, and cheese added in with the meat. Pretty tasty! Be sure to order the the special of the house an "Arepa filled with any choice of churizo, carne or pollo." or the very familiar "Hamburguesa de carne".

DAY 2 - Free day. This means, we've got lots of daylight to explore the festival surroundings. The weather is great, the views from my hotel room and rooftop pool are incredible. The travel group is not all in one place, but I think the Cartagena Plaza has a few great benefits this weekend. I realized during breakfast that a great many of the stage performers and television production crew are staying here, cause the lobby looked like the backstage of a NY Broadway show. There were stylists, make-up artists, and photographers everywhere. Who are all these people? I had no clue, but I got a few pics of some the dancers and delegates whenever I could, lol! The whole neighborhood was mobbed. You could randomly walk down the main street in Boca Grande and see a mass of people shouting and chanting or carrying posters of their queen. I now realized how serious Colombians take their beauty pageant business. This was something to see. All 26 states in the country have sent their own high-spirited delegation to Cartagena for only one expressed purpose - to make sure "their beauty queen" is crowned on Monday night. I cannot tell you how this makes for a wild atmosphere almost every where you went around town.

The beach across the street was crowded today. The peddlers were making rounds and you were guaranteed to be asked to buy a drink or something to eat or a t-shirt to wear or a nice massage or..... well, you get the idea. (Just ignore them and keep walkin'). We managed a few dips in the ocean water while soaking in some rays though. I still think, however, Playa Blanca Beach is a much nicer urban beach than Boca Grande. Strolling down any of the streets in Boca Grande and you'll see numerous boutiques. Shopping is also a good way to spend some time here. Lots of jewelry, clothing and local art design bargains can be found. A favorable US dollar exchange rate surely helps. On Friday afternoons, there's no better place to kick the weekend into high-hear than at Cafe del Mar. This outdoor restaurant/bar is located atop the colonial wall of the Old City and is packed with a mix of people from all over. Drop in around 4 or 5pm, there's a live DJ, good food to sample on the Mediterranean menu, and you can sit at the bar, a table or on one of the party benches. Most importantly, you have the best view in town of the setting sun. Sample any of of the house cocktails or just try an Aguila or Club Colombia (the national beer favorites) and people watch.

Tonite's meet up was at venue nearby the city center. The main entrance line was long, but our VIP status got us past the crowd with ease and right to our table at Mister Babilla's. Filled with mostly South Americans in town for the weekend, the international DJs and the servers keep this place going. There's no real dance floor area, so after the conga line makes a few laps, dancing on the tables and chairs becomes the norm. Literally!! I know we were definitely having a blast when our group size at the corner table doubled in size. It never fails, the social energy of Funky People usually draws curiosity of the male and female locals, when we're on vacation. No doubt who the out of town Americanos were. I can remember lots of dancing, singing and shots of rum, then.........

DAY 3 - Holy moly, was it Saturday morning already? This is crazy, now I'd have to avoid sleeping for fear of missing today group activity. It's a 9am pickup at the hotel. Colombian coffee is a must at breakfast!! After a bit of confusion the entire travel group arrives at the correct marina to board our vessel for the day. The Saturday event was the Boat Parade for the National Pageant. It's the last time for each beauty queen to make a statement and sway the judges and voters before the actual competition began on Sunday nite. Really different, but pageants are a big deal here. People were scrambling to get on boats all over the two adjacent marinas. I thought half the city must be renting any boat they could, to witness this. The regatta consisted of multi-million dollar yachts, smaller speed boats, tour boats and even a passenger cruise ship off in the distance. The party antics on the spectator boats were as close to the Bourbon Street Mardi Gras, as you can get. The Colombian Marines escorted the queens in row boats past our floating procession. People toasted and cheered as the women posed during their drive-bys. (Talk about swaying public opinion.) It was an fun day on the water in Cartagena Bay. I'm pleased to report no one got seasick and the whole group was accounted for upon our return to the dock. Kudos to our hosts, captain and crew!!

For the Saturday nite finale we visited two of the best places to dance in Cartagena. Club Havana for live Salsa music and Babar, a exclusive discotech in the old city. Both places got pretty packed! Good thing we had our salsa moves ready for Club Havana regulars. We also got a pic with some Latin athletes mingling at Babar. Finally, I get in early. Must sleep now.

DAY 4 - Cartagena's Carnival has been great but there's still two days left!!! A few tours head out with the attendees to the Totumo Mud Volcano, and to the La Pompa monastery. The best beach in the region is on the Rosario Islands. This was a peaceful way to relax in a beautiful ocean setting away for the carnival madness. Back from the tours, we explore the adjacent residential neighborhood of Laquito. Our driver directs us to a unique beach side restaurant hidden behind the Dunn Hotel called the Sunset Beach Club. The bartender and servers here offer warm greetings and suggest a few specialty appetizers on the light menu. The owner/DJ, Juan Diego, mixes up a good blend of soulful deep house music. This is my kinda of international vibe. You can lay out out on the beds or just sit at the bar the whole time as the sun descends on the nearby horizon. Enjoy the atmosphere and share some eats while you reflect on the day. Shout out to our new found friends from Canada, Europe, and Australia. The hospitality here was great!

One of my best recommendations for dinner is La Olla Cartagenera. This is a cozy indoor/outdoor restaurant to sample some Colombian dishes with Caribbean options. The service is excellent and you should try a seafood favorite, the Langostos con Arroz de Cocoa. You won't be disappointed! Now over to the Hilton Hotel Resort. Security is tight and for good reason. This was the big event of the pageant, the 3-hour Miss Colombia Swimsuit competition! It's now fully clear just how big and prestigious the business of beauty pageantry is in this country. There's more than the actual title at stake. Sponsored social service community activities, educational scholarships and public social program funding for the state are in the coffers for the woman that wins. A great deal of the income generated by this event are used to fund the winnings. What a novel idea! No wonder the hotel property had a stadium-like atmosphere. Our seats were amongst a "who's-who" of A-list guests, political leaders and relatives of the contestants. We just stood, watched and took it all in as each state contingent cheered for "their girl". The show was more like a nationally televised fashion show with a half-time performance, but who's complaining? Honestly, after two costume (*clears throat*), I mean bikini changes, I deem this contest a tie. All the beauty queens were winners in my book. I'm told only Venezuela does such a production on a bigger scale. I can believe it. The Miss USA/America pageants are very different.

Day 5 - Monday held a variety of day tour options for the group members. There's lots of historic places see in Cartagena, the Gold Museum, the San Felipe de Barajas Fortress, or the Old Walled city are all favorites of mine. Cartagena's afro-latin colonial history are on the UNESCO World Heritage site list, in fact. The people of Colombia are warmest you'll meet! They don't get to interact with many Americans, so they tend to be just as curious about you as you are about them. Hmmm.....is that why we're having such a good time? I did notice that many of the locals here didn't even realize I was American, I guess my limited Spanish skills didn't give me away. We get lots of great photos and compare our souvenir finds before the day ends.

Our last nite brought us to an Argentinian restaurant called, Quebracho. Between our conservations, the restaurant staff would turn up the large screen monitor volume for the status of the pageant. Tonite's final two events, Evening gown, and Question & Answer, would determine the winner. The food is delicious and the wine complimented our churrascos flawlessly, but attention kept coming back to the television. The winner of last nights swimsuit category is one of the four finalists. The results are tallied. There's a pause, and the 2011 winner is announced..........Daniella Margarita Alvarez Vásquez!

Just like that, it was over. It seemed like only a few hours ago, we'd just landed here. The new queen was crowned, the casual bets were settled and the restaurant begins to close. We consider a few last after-parties to attend, but the massive crowds have left and the city is a lot calmer. No thanks, we've seen the best of this event has to offer already. The travel mates in our group begin to exchange contacts and pose for a few last pictures. It's a plus when the personalities in the group get along so well. It was great to be a part of another fun group of people I had not known before this weekend. "See you all again, soon! Thanks for the great times! Maybe I'll see you in Cuba next year...?". Yup, the travel bug is back, people are still funky - what a weekend!!!

The country of Colombia as a whole will appeal to most tourist interests. If you are looking for a nice getaway, do add Cartagena to your list. Not every weekend in Cartagena has the energy or the crowds of Carnival week, but the colonial history, architecture, afro-latin culture, food, dining, shopping and even eco-tourism activities are all a part of the basic appeal. Other recommendations include Santa Marta, or the isle of San Andres, if you wish to avoid the big interior cities. Special thanks to our usual lists of members, friends and colleagues for assisting with all the groups stateside US promotion! Our on-the-ground activities were handled by the Tours Gone Wild Travel group and boy did they show us an absolutely fantastic time!!! Thanks Arturo and Santiago - we shall connect again for new adventures. Our Funky People Online Network is now on Facebook and Twitter - follow us around the globe using your smartphone or computer. Stay tuned - upcoming trips through 2014 are already in the pipeline....hope to see you with us!

Check out the photos & videos from this trip at this link: Cartagena Carnival 2011 !

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Panama Tour - May 2009

This entry was originally published on funkypeopleonline.com on June 6, 2009. It has been edited to fit this format.

Welcome back,

Another Memorial Day Weekend has gone by and the Funky People Panama Tour is history! Each year our getaway destinations bring a different mix of personalities and this year was no exception. (I'm sure this was a warm-up for a bigger time on our upcoming return trip to Brazil)

Now before I get into the trip details, I have to first thank Val Slayton of Tra-Val Services, who worked closely with us on many details of this trip. Special thanks to Nyasha Warren for making my introduction to Panama much smoother. We also had the usual help from many friends of the Funky People family who promoted this trip via their own internet circles. Once again, I appreciate your continued support!

What was so hot about Panama? In a nutshell, I can say that the activities and antics were just as varied as the travelers that joined us in Central America. Not to be directly compared with our previous excursions, Panama has its own flair of culture, history and entertainment. The weekend moved at such a pace that we're still a bit exhausted at this point. If you yearn for the energy of Las Vegas mixed with South Beach Miami, then you will enjoy Panama! Pack a comfortable set of casual shoes or sneakers, it seems we were rarely sitting down...

The Decapolis and Veneto hotels were superb locations to introduce our travelers to the energy and mystique of Panama City. Why stay in the hotel? This area of the city was sort of like being in Times Square and the Wall Street sections of NYC. Everything was at your disposal, local shops, malls, boutiques, casinos, discotheques Panamanian eateries, restaurants, and outdoor cafes - just get out and walk around. Most places offered comfortable atmosphere for tourists and very good pricing. Our first few days took us to see the famous locks of the Panama Canal, an amazingly complex engineering marvel, the historical center of Panama, Casco Viejo, and the Calzada de Amador (or Amador Causeway), which is the very scenic entrance way to the city that connects South America and North America. Panama has the largest duty free shopping zone outside of China, which means you can find almost anything (and I mean anything) to buy for cheap in it's numerous shopping centers and malls. Serious shoppers, beware!

Walking around Panama City gives you a real sense of the vibrant skyline - it is a blend of old and new architecture. Known mostly for the Panama Canal, which drives nearly 1/3 of the entire economy, Panama is also home to many exotic birds, insects and plant life. For eco-tour nature lovers, it's a dream location. The Soberania National Park, just minutes from our city hotel, is the only rainforest to exist in a metropolitan city. Here are a few more things Panama, you probably didn't know.....

#1: The oldest operating railroad in the world exists in Panama. It travels only from Colon (on the Atlantic coast) south to Panama City and was originally built to transport settlers moving west during the California Gold Rush of the late 1800's.

#2: In 1903, the United States, assisted in Panama's declaration of independence from Colombia with Naval protection. The U.S was then awarded rights to what later became the Panama Canal Zone. The U.S. was responsible for completing construction and managing Panama Canal operations until December 1999.

#3: Panama in the original Indian language means "abundance of fish". Other versions refer to the name as meaning "many butterflies".

#4: Panama is the only place in the world where you can swim in two oceans on the same day. The Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean are only 80km apart. You will also see that the Sun also rises over the Pacific Ocean and sets over the Atlantic Ocean.

#5: Almost half of the 3 million residents of Panama live in Panama City. The cultural and racial landscape is made up of many Latin ethnicities, Amerindian tribes, and African, Caribbean and European descendents.

#6: Panama's major export products are bananas, rice, corn, sugar cane, coffee and shrimps bought mostly by Costa Rica, Germany and other European countries!

#7: Panama City is home to over 180 international banks. It is a haven for international investment, but the huge banking industry is due in large part to the commerce driven by the cargo ships that transit the Panama Canal. Each ship must wire transfer a toll fee payment of $100,000 to 250,000, at least 24 hours before entering the Canal waterway. (Sorry Visa is not accepted.) The Canal toll is really considered a discount, when the alternative is to travel around the southern tip of South America at a cost of $1 million dollars and an extra 3 weeks at sea, thus higher prices for consumers at the store.

While the city energy lured many in our group daily, our couples who opted for a more serene environment at the Decameron Beach & Golf Resort in Playa Blanca, got just that. Just over 90 mins outside of Panama City, there were lazy days, moonlit nights and ocean breezes. The Decameron has one of the best beach front locations on the Pacific coast of Panama. There is a local town of Farrallon nearby where you can shop for hand-crafted Indian art and pottery, enjoy dining and bar nightlife. Or you can just kick back, mill about the expansive property, soak up the sun rays, and enjoy the stage show lineups, all while sipping a Balboa or Atlas (Panamanian beers) or a mixture of fruit daiquiris with local rum liquors. For those that dare to swing with the locals, try any one of their high-octane "whiskey on the rocks" concoctions (usually a dark bourbon or scotch). I call this the Panama party-starter, but it ended the night early for others, lol.

Now, with all the daytime touring, cultural exploring, and late night socializing at hot spots like The Loft, La Bogedita, Guru and Club Seis, we did take time to eat the much talked about Panamanian food. No need to spend more than $5 on a good meal, just follow the locals. Shout-out to the friendly staff at El Trapiche restaurant! There are now many of us that are hooked on several Panama dishes like, Platano Maduro, Ceviche, Yucca (a tropical version of the potato), Sancocho (a hearty chicken soup spiced with culandro), and Corvina (filet grilled or fried sea bass) with Arroz con guandu (rice cooked with an African bean). All this after you've had your typical egg breakfast, and a few, Hojaldras (Panamanian doughnuts) with some potent Panama coffee!

Panama is very affordable, safe and picturesque for families, friends and couples. Pass this page to someone who is interested in a Central American vacation treasure. Check out the shots of our weekend travels!! The web link below will direct you to the vacation photo albums. Hello again, to our new found travel mates from New York, Boston, Miami and North Carolina! For those of you who missed joining us - new destinations await our visit!

Remember, being "Funky" is simply a mindset. What's yours? Encourage others to get connected to our member sites, activities, and soul music sounds. On Facebook use our group page or listen to our "workplace friendly" internet radio station anytime at www.FunkyPeopleradio.net. Hasta luego mis amigos!

Click Here to view the Panama Vacation Tour 2009 photo albums !

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About the Funky People.....

The first Funky People® newsletter was published on April 5, 2006. The original newsletter was designed to encourage member interaction and communication between our seasonal group activities. Published bi-weekly, the newsletter showcased current events, editorials, spotlight features, interactive web tools plus resources for enterprising small business owners. On Memorial Day Weekend of that year, the first international travel group vacation was held in the Dominican Republic. Overwhelming early interest and the goal to reach a even larger global audience, led to the launch of our public website on August 1, 2006.

Both the main FP site and web radio station are owned and managed by Funky People ®, LLC, which operates as a multi-media, small business information, and entertainment company. Our organization specializes in collaborative resources for entrepreneurs, independent artists, as well as entertainment travel.

Headed by Founder & CEO, Terry Alford, the present day company is an expansion of the original entity, Funky People ® Records, which enjoyed popular success in the mid to late 1990s as a dance music label, recording studio and global music distributor.

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Our mission today is to connect professional, creative and forward-thinking individuals across the globe using engaging social media, community activities, artist concerts, group events and cultural international vacation tours. Funky People ® members and supporters come from all backgrounds and are positive, out-going and progressive. Our community is known for it's work-hard, play-hard attitude! Help us to promote all that inspires us to learn, encourage , succeed and lead!
 

Forthcoming social networking & travel events will be posted on our Events page, listed on the wall of our Facebook group and our Twitter feed. Refer a friend or contact to read about our past endeavors and meet some of the dynamic personalities in our growing network. Funky People are Online everywhere - you may see someone you know having a great time!


View photos from the first official destination of the "Funky People® Travel Group" . CLICK HERE for the Dominican Republic Siesta '06 albums! Or browse the links along the right border to hear about our most recent travels!


Thanks for your interest and support,

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The Funky People® event brands, logos and images are registered US trademarks.
All rights are reserved.