Destination: Barranquilla
The 4th largest city in Colombia, an hour and a half from Cartagena, and the birthplace of Shakira. We set out on Sunday morning and enjoyed the leisurely drive and the opportunity to see the country side of Colombia, which is quite rare since most of our day to day adventures keep us pretty sheltered inside certain areas of Cartagena.
Upon our arrival we enjoyed a snack at a restaurant on the Magdalena River and watched some local men whittle wood for a future restaurant renovation.
We got a dose of culture at the Caribbean Museum. Unfortunately all the exhibits were in Spanish so Matt and I took in most of the culture with our eyes. While the rest of me thought about the sweet little pup I met right outside the museum...
After getting our cultural fix, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at a local restaurant. We expanded our horizons a bit more and tried a traditional Colombian drink.
A refajo is a beverage made up of an equal mix of beer and Kola Roman {think Coke, but pink... I know it's strange}. Apparently it's known for its thirst quenching abilities on a hot day {think everyday}. When I first looked at the pink concoction I expected a completely sweet, sugary, dehydrating experience. Refajo proved me wrong. It was quite good. However, I will be sticking to Coca Cola Light and aqua sin gas as my go-tos for thirst quenching.
Now we've come to my favorite part of the day. Sure, traveling to see another city in Colombia and getting in some culture is great, but to be honest, the real reason I went to Barranquilla is this....
Price Smart.
Ohmygaw...
Think Sam's Club/Costco. In the past when people spoke about it, I imagined it was too good to be true. I assumed they were exaggerating. Nope. It's Sam's Club folks. Complete with many Americano products that this ama de case can't get her manos on in Cartagena.
For example, cheese. Pretty big cheese fan. Cartagena lacks. Severely. It's a stretch to call some of the things I have been desperate enough to buy cheese. So word on the streets is that Price Smart has real cheese, as in a block of cheddar. That fact, in and of itself, had me psyched. I will admit I went out on a limb and dreamed of seeing some feta or goat cheese, but felt like I was setting myself up for disappointment. I am happy to report, Price Smart did not disappoint. As I type, I have a lot of real cheese chilling in the fridge, including feta and goat {and a wicked grin on my face}.
Matt and I wandered the aisles stopping every few minutes to point out another item that we haven't been able to lay eyes on while living on South American soil. Including this:
{'American' pie... properly known as Pumpkin Pie. Thrilled about this development for the Holidays}
Sadly I have to report I was unable to find Diet Coke in a can. I didn't dare set myself up for that kind of let down. At the end of our adventure, Matt and I went ahead and made ourselves official Price Smart members, complete with card and terrible picture. We've already discussed what we may come back with next time, but this was our first haul...
{bag of Veggie Straws}
{jar of dill pickles}
{block of sharp cheddar cheese}
{block of monterrey jack cheese}
{large bag of shredded mozzarella}
{bag of sting cheese}
{feta cheese}
{goat cheese}
I told you I was pretty serious about my cheese.
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