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ENJOYING THE VIEW OVER JIUFEN
©MARIA-THERESA ANDREACCHI
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND OUR CURRENT PROMOTIONS,
PLEASE CONTACT OUR TRAVEL AGENCY.
†Featured price is per person, in Canadian dollars, land only, based on double occupancy in base hotels, departure dates as indicated, include all taxes but does
not include the following intra-vacation flights: Bogota/Pereira; Pereira/Cartagena. These flights are available for purchase from Monograms. International flights
and travel insurance are additional. 3280 Bloor St. W, Centre Tower, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M8X 2X3, TICO#1893755/50015835
8 days | Bogotá to Cartagena |
$1,909
| Based on January to December 2019
Bogotá • Pereira (Coffee Triangle of Colombia)—excursion to Cocora Valley,
Salento & Filandia • Cartagena (a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
On this well-balanced vacation package, we’ve arranged your hotel accommodations
(including porterage), daily breakfast and a couple of lunches, private airport transfers
to/from your intra-vacation flights, and sightseeing. Plus, we want you to feel
comfortable and know you have a friend in each city to help you. That’s why we’ve
arranged the one-of-a-kind feature of a Monograms Local Host
®
in Bogotá, Pereira,
and Cartagena. This local expert will greet you with a warm welcome, present you with
materials to familiarize you with each city, and help ensure your vacation runs smoothly
by answering questions, arranging optional excursions, and offering suggestions for
restaurants, shops, and more.
Colombia equals happiness and we’ve got a vacation sure to make you happy—just
like the Colombians!
A better way to travel
MAGICAL COLOMBIA
Pereira
Pacific
Ocean
Bogotá
Coffee
Triangle Area
Cartagena
2
COLOMBIA
3 2
Cartagena
Cocora Valley
26 • Vacations
®
•
Fall 2018
CARTEGENA SKYLINE
OUR HOST, CHRISTIAN AT THE CAFE LA MORELIA
COFFEE PLANTATION ©JENNIFER ASHTON
ROOFTOPS OF CARTEGENA
Next stop: Pereira in the heart of coffee
country, about an hour’s flight away. Coffee
is big business in Colombia, where growing
– and drinking it – is taken seriously. During
our bumpy drive in a comfy new SUV to the
Cafe La Morelia coffee plantation, our chatty
Local Host, Christian, explained that in these
lush, pristine mountains, cool temperatures
and just-right soil combine to make some
of the finest beans in the world. At the
plantation, we learned how coffee is grown,
harvested, roasted, brewed, and enjoyed.
Best of all was our home for two nights:
Hacienda San José. With its broad wooden
verandahs, nooks brimming with antiques
(a rusty trumpet here, an old steamer trunk
there) and an all-around Zorro vibe, you feel
as though you have time-travelled back to
1800s Colombia. The rain teemed outside,
and I stretched out on the bed to immerse
myself in
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by
Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. It
was perfect.
In many ways, we saved the best for last:
Colombia’s legendary oceanfront resort city
Cartagena (“carta-
hay
-na”). With the contrast
of Miami-beach style skyscrapers just a
half-kilometre away, Cartagena’s charm
rests in its walled city which dates back to
the 1500s. This is no bit of history fossilized
for the tourist: it’s a working town and for
every selfie-taking tourist you’ll likely see a
briefcase-toting businessman or a gaggle of
uniformed schoolkids. Adding a traditional
touch are horse-drawn carriages ferrying
visitors along cobblestone streets.
A great way to get your bearings is to take
a walk along the city wall, accessible by
several staircases and so wide they could
host a street party. Time it for a sunset stroll
and you’ll be rewarded by stunning views
over the sea. The end, no doubt, to another
memorable day in Colombia.
Monograms
Part of the Globus travel group,
Monograms specializes in holidays for
independent travellers. Its week-long
Colourful Colombia packages include
transportation between airports and
your hotels, accommodation, sightseeing,
and services of local hosts. Each of our
three hosts was welcoming, reliable,
knowledgeable, and a huge help in
a country where not a lot of English
is spoken.