Cartagena de Indias

The third stop of our honeymoon gained a place in our hearts. Cartagena de Indias (or simply Cartagena) is a special place in the North of Colombia, facing the Caribbean Sea. It was founded in the 16th century, under Spanish colonization, and its Old Town is probably the most colorful city in the world. There are blue, red, yellow, orange, green, pink, white, brown, purple colonial buildings all over the place, inside military walls, as well as many colorful squares and endless cobblestone streets. Oh, and the massive doors, and flowers in the balconies! There are no words to describe how beautiful Cartagena is...

We stayed in a cute boutique hotel called Bantu, in the calmer part of the historical town. It was a colonial house with a few interior squares converted into a small hotel. With just about 10 rooms, a few lounges, a library, green areas every now and then, a cute rooftop with a swimming pool, a spa, and a bar, beauuuuutiful decor and very kind and personalized service, Bantu was as romantic as we could have asked for, without being luxurious or fancy shmancy. It perfectly matched the vibe of Cartagena - the most hippie chic place we've ever been to.

Cartagena to us was all about wandering in the colorful streets, eating extremely good food, and enjoying time on our own. Talking about food, let me tell you that I will list here all the restaurants and coffee shops worth being registered for future reference! Sorry for the exaggerated details but this blog has officially become my (public) personal notebook.

We arrived in Cartagena around lunch time. After leaving our stuff at our beloved boutique hotel, we left with the mission of finding a lunch place and then starting to explore the city. Our first lunch was at La Sandwichería, just by our hotel, and it was a great surprise. We had hummus and falafel as an appetizer, and then I had a very rich salad (full of local seasonal ingredients) while gorda had some kind of fish stew. The place was quite cute and ideal for a quick bite - too bad that the waiter was a bit of a weirdo.

We decided to start exploring Cartagena by walking all around the wall of the old city, checking the views and the streets from above. We quickly understood that that was probably the worst way to enjoy Cartagena, as all its magic is within the colorful streets. By the end of the day, we enjoyed the rooftop of our hotel, and then it was dinner time!

Dinner that day was the perfect definition of an ideal honeymoon meal. We went to Moshi (same owner and same place as Carmen), and ate a delicious 7-food tasting menu. From scallops to Ceviche, from miso soup to truffles, from grilled octopus to duck, from local fish to pan-fried seafood rice, we had it all. And it was one memorable meal! We then attempted to go dancing but could not find the ideal spot.

On the second day, we went on a mission to explore every street of Cartagena that we did not have the chance to see the day before. We found out the lively Getsemani neighborhood and its street art, its street football matches and its enormous amount of hostels and bars. We went back to a good coffee shop (where we went literally everyday we spent in Cartagena) - Juan Valdez Café -, and we found out the coolest caffe+library - Abaco -, where gorda bought a Colombian book about Escobar. Gorda has always been super into the conflicts in Central America. What else did we do? We visited the Historical Museum of Cartagena (meh... a flop!), we walked and walked, and we took plenty of good pictures with our new Canon EOS 6D - wedding present from my dear INSEADers.

Lunch was a delight at La Cevicheria. Again, SO YUM! We had to wait a bit to be seated, which was already a sign of what was coming up. We had delicious platano chips, and then shared two unbelievable ceviches: a Peruvian Ceviche of seabass and shrimps, and a (warm) Mexican Ceviche of shrimps. We decided that I need to try to make some ceviches when we go back home. No words for how fresh, healthy and yummy this dish can be! Because gorda cannot really survive without a dessert, we then headed to the most famous ice cream place in town - Gelataria Paradiso -, where he had a mango and chocolate (buhhhh) ice cream. Fun fact: gorda and I are totally incompatible in what comes to desserts. This is not necessarily bad for me: this way it is easier for me to avoid sharing desserts with him.

After a few more miles wandering around the old town, we spent the late afternoon at the hotel, by the pool, where we took a nap, and gorda even received a massage at the spa.

Dinner was a bit disappointing. We went to one of the most famous restaurants in Town - 1621 - in the most famous hotel in town - Santa Clara Hotel -, but instead of staying in the absolutely lovely courtyard, we were seated inside. The tartare we shared as an appetizer was probably the best we've ever had, but we were so sad for being inside that the whole meal did not taste especially good. The restaurant lacked the Cartagena vibe, and was way too formal for our style. Because we could not go to bed after such disappointment, we decided to go salsa dancing. What better spot than Havana Club for that? We had a few (too many margaritas), we danced "salsa", and we had lots of fun, until a very fat woman stepped on my foot and made me drop some tears in the middle of the bar. Hehe

The next day we were woken up at 7:30 am. The local travel agency made a mistake with the planning, and thought we were supposed to leave to Islas del Rosario that day. They had actually changed our reservations both at Bantu Hotel and Isla del Encanto hotel without letting us know. Their reservations did not match our vouchers. It was a true mess!

Thankfully enough, the manager of Bantu Hotel was a real machine and solved everything for us. We managed to stay one more night in Cartagena, as initially planned. The only thing we could not get back was the hours of sleep that we had lost.

We decided to take it easy that day. After a long breakfast, we had a killing late morning workout and then chilled by the pool. We left for lunch and found an empty Cartagena on a Sunday early afternoon. After walking for a while, Gorda made me have lunch in a meh-Spanish restaurant as he did not want to keep walking on an empty stomach. We had meet for the first time in a looong time. He tried another ice cream in another good ice cream spot, another coffee at Juan Valdez, and that was it for the day. We just chilled in the sun and then in the shade for a few hours.

Dinner was glorious at Cuzco Cartagena. What a venue, what a vibe, what a food! And, actually, what a waiter - José! A dinner in Cuzco was a great way of putting an end to our days in Cartagena.

We woke up to a lot of rain on Monday, the 31st. So much rain that our boat to Isla del Encanto, our next destination, got cancelled. We were already inside a boat full of people when the guide announced that no boat could leave the port due to weather conditions. At first, we got confused about what would happen to us, as we were supposed to spend 3 days in the islands and, therefore, did not have any hotel booked in Cartagena. Thankfully, the guys from the travel agency solved the issue for us. They drove us through some weird roads and even more weird villages until a place closer to the island we were supposed to go to, and we took a small boat, just for the two of us there. In the end, we had a much nicer and intimate boat trip, and another story to tell you on the blog.

When we arrived in Isla del Encanto, we got a bit disappointed. Actually, we got a lot disappointed. The place where we were staying didn't have much more than a dozen bungalows, one or two structures where they served meals, another structure where two ladies offered (very expensive massages), two swimming pools, and the sea. This would sound awesome if it was not raining or if the structures weren't so old.

What we didn't know is that the weather would become better and better, and that we were in a huge need of not doing much for a few days. We ended up staying 3 lovely days in Isla del Encanto, where we repeated this routine:

• Wake up around 8 am, after 10+ hours of sleep
• Have a generous breakfast of tropical fruit, scrambled eggs, arepas (and waffles with dulce de leche for gorda)
• Do a 1-hour workout
• Shower
• Read
• Swim in the sea
• Read
• Have lunch (yummy food btw)
• Read
• Kayak for about one hour
• Nap (just gorda)
• Read
• Massage
• Shower
• Dinner (yummy food)
• Sleep before 10 pm

We took some good pictures, we talked a lot, we read a lot, we were super happy in Islas del Encanto.

Some pictures from Cartagena:

 

And some more from Isla del Encanto:

 

Kicking off this honeymoon

The first stop of our 3-week honeymoon was in Bogotá, Colombia. Bogotá, the capital of the country once known for drugs and mafias, is now a very big city where two worlds live side by side. It hosts almost as many people as the entire Portuguese population.

Bogotá is at the same time charming and decadent, organized and chaotic, colonial and modern, chic and slummy. As any big city in Central/ South America, the traffic is pretty bad and, in certain neighborhoods, you can feel the danger in the air. In the good neighborhoods, in turn, you get lost among very nice restaurants, trendy bars, endless rooftops, and stores of the biggest brands in the world.

We were staying by Parque 93, in a nice residential area with plenty of restaurants and good looking buildings, most of them made of brick and with pleasant rooftops. Our first dinner was in the area, as we arrived quite exhausted from the long trip (and still from all the dancing in our big day). We went to a very good Peruvian place called Cuzco. Highly recommended!

On Tuesday, we left the hotel reasonably early, after a morning workout and a breakfast of arepas and eggs. We took a (clandestine) Uber to the historical center, and spent the entire day in the area. We walked around the colonial callés, we checked Parque Santander and its catedral, Plaza Bolívar, the parliament, all the monumental Government buildings downtown, and we visited two museums: the National Police Museum (as Gorda wanted to know more about the drug situation in the country) and Museo del Oro.

To finish the afternoon in style, we walked to the bottom base of the Monserrate cable car, and took a ride to the top of the hill. Despite the rain and the clouds, it was more than worth it going there. The endless view of the city is gorgeous, and the warm tea with that view felt like heaven.

In the evening, we walked to Zona Rosa, a very lively and fun neighborhood, packed with bars, restaurants and many, many stores. We had dinner and drinks in Segundo Bogotá, which we highly recommend.

In a bit over a day, we saw most of what we wanted to see in Bogotá. We were sad not to have been able to check Zona G (Zona Gourmet) or Andrés Carne de Res. Next time!

We where especially impressed/ amused by some stuff about Bogotá:

• All the public infrastructures are super well maintained and in extremely good shape.
• Stores are organized by type, I.e. in certain quarters you see dozens and dozens of stores of the same type. In some places, you only find printer shops, in others you only find military clothing shops, and in others only book shops. It's nonsense and hilarious.
• Colombians are very, very friendly and welcoming.

After Bogotá, we moved to Santa Marta and to Tayrona Park, with which we deeply fell in love.

We stayed outside the city, in the seafront, where the best hotels are located. The place isn't the most charming, but the hotel (Mercure Santa Marta) was quite good.

Tayrona Park was heaven on Earth. We left the hotel around 6 am on Thursday, survived a 1h30 bus drive, and then explored the park for a full day. We walked 15 km in total, literally in the middle of the forest, just by the sea. We beach hopped, we hiked in the most humid climate ever, we had coconut water, rested in paradise beaches, and sweated quite a lot. It was literally our kind of day - with some kind of workout, close to the beach, with some culture, together. Our major stops where at: Miradouro, Canaveral, Arrecifes, Piscina Natural, Cabo San Juan de Guia.

After a long nap on our way back, and the best shower ever at the hotel, we went to the city center for a remarkable dinner at Lulo. The food was amazing, the cocktails were even better and, for a few hours, we saw tons of street performers while eating and drinking. We can't get enough of the food and the vibe in Colombia.

More and more, we agree that we made a great call picking this place for our honeymoon. It's been fun, and not boring at all.

Now, it's time for Cartagena!

Love,

The Amorins 

Mr & Mrs Amorim

When I created this blog, almost a year ago, the idea was to have a shared journal of my MBA experience at INSEAD. The name of the blog - mbaround - could either stand for "MB around" or for "MBA round", where MB and MBA stand for Marta Bento and Masters in Business Administration. As a consequence, this blog should theoretically be down already, as I am officially a MBA graduate now.

However, I found out that mbaround can also stand for "MBA round" - Marta Bento Amorim round. Say what? I have an excuse to keep this blog alive! And, to celebrate such decision, I wanna try to write about our wedding. What a wedding!

On Wednesday, the 19th of July of 2017, Mom, Dad and I drove south to Vila Nova de Milfontes. Most of the pre-work was done, but we wanted to be in situ to help solving last minute issues and make sure everything was fine. Gorda and his parents drove down later that day too. My family stayed at Herdade do Freixial. His stayed at home, of course.

We hang out all together for a few days, talked to every neighbor apologizing in advance for the upcoming noise, bought some last minute supplies, supervised the guys putting the tent together, received suppliers of food and drinks, talked to the police, decorated the church... And welcomed our friends and family that literally came from all over the world. Inês from Australia, Luísa from Brazil, Dan, Sofia and Miguel from California, Chantal from Lebanon, Thomas from vacay in Bali, other Berkeley and INSEAD friends from all over Europe, and it goes on...

Gorda was a bit stressed out, although he does not admit so. Other than that, the days went pretty smoothly.

On Friday, my bridesmaids met Mom, Dad, Mico and me for dinner. The girls and I then left all together to Herdade da Matinha. They spent the night with me in the place where we were going to get ready for the big day and where I would spend the evening with Gorda after the wedding. We gossiped a bit and discussed which dress each of them could wear. Yup, Catarina brought 6 potential outfits, Carolina 4, Alice three, and Maria 2. Thank God there was a normal Brazilian in the room, who just brought one dress with her. Hehe. I then took a Zyrtec and slept like a baby for 6/7 hours.

Day D then arrived. I got up around 8:30 am, and put my workout clothes on. Did plenty of push-ups on my own (yes, I wanted my little arms to be as fit as possible) and then Maria joined me for a quick HIIT workout. In the meantime, Catarina attempted to do some yoga (didn't really do anything), Alice filmed herself and us for her weekly vlog, Carolina laughed about us, and again the Brazilian was the only normal person in the room. Alice started getting ready earlier than anyone else as she would be our hairdresser for the day and had no time to lose.

Breakfast was great. There were gluten and lactose free stuff, decent coffee, good fruit, and enough eggs to feed me. Herdade da Matinha is the cutest place too - charming and laid back at the same time, you know? At breakfast, Lu gave each of us a small souvenir: a fridge thingy with an image of the church.

The make-up artist, my irreplaceable Annija, then arrived. Things were getting real!

Alice kicked off with the hairstyles while Annija started working on the make up, and, one by one, my bridesmaid became more and more gorgeous (if possible). Mom and I where the last ones to be taken care of. Around 3 pm, my Grandparents, Mico and Dad arrived, but I made the men wait for me to be 100% ready. I wanted to create full impact. And I guess I did: both dad and me cried when he saw me for the first time.

Before heading to the church, Rui Valido and Sérgio - one of our photographers and our camera man - took a few pictures and clips of us all. Herdade da Matinha is cute a nice setting for any photoshoot. I am so looking forward to seeing those pictures and movie!!!

People started leaving to the church. Dad and I where the last ones heading there. When we arrived at the center of Vila Nova, and I saw the church and everyone standing there, I felt butterflies in my stomach and my heart beat increase quite a bit. We stopped for a few minutes, made sure that my bridesmaids where inside and that the photographers where ready, breath deeply, and stepped out of the car. Carolina made sure that the doors closed before I got in, and that created an even bigger impact on my entrance.

The unbelievable choir led by Miguel Cunha Monteiro started singing "Can't help falling in love with you", the Luka Bloom version, and we walked to the isle. I could hardly stop smiling and putting my shoulders up, as a sign of excitement, and Gorda got slightly teary. That was a first. Dad and I actually cried - getting teary was not enough for these tough but highly emotional Bentos.

Then the ceremony was beautiful. Our priest - Padre Ricardo Gonçalves Pinto - is young, modern, and knows us well. He talked very well and briefly enough. The texts read were beautiful and the songs and choir performance made the ceremony even more magical. Most of our guests noticed how cute we where throughout the ceremony, and they made fun of how many times Gorda kissed me. Hehe

We left the church in an old open body dark grey Defender, sitting in the back. We cheered with a beer and a cider, and everyone clapped to our happiness. Salvador Colaço, the other of our photographers, came with us and made a small photo shoot before we headed home for the cocktail.

The cocktail went by pretty fast! As soon as we arrived, most people came great us. In the end, we had a small photo session with the most important people: family, best men and bridesmaids. In between, we briefly ate (I don't really remember what was served as finger food!!!) and drank, and we had the chance to talk a bit with our friends. Somehow, in the middle of the cocktail, a bee managed to sting my back. How fortunate...! It did not ruin the cocktail a bit, though.

Around 8 pm, the wind became stronger and stronger and we decided it was about time to move inside the tent for dinner. The best men and bridesmaid gathered the bride and groom and all of them, and they made me wear a costume of a super muscled man and gorda wear the costume of an old fat lady. The initial plan was to get inside the tent dancing to the sound of "Can't stop the feeling", from Justin Timberlake. However, Zé Maria Spínola (aka Spike) had a last minute idea of us going inside to the sound of "Call on me", with me pretending to be their fitness instructor. It was EPIC! And so appropriate. The names of the tables where fitness exercises, and the table markers where hilarious pictures of gorda and me "performing" them. Props to another of our best men, Zé Diogo Lucena (aka Zedi) for handling all the graphic work for the wedding - save the date flier, invites, website, table markers, ceremony scripts, and so on. We cannot thank him enough.

Dinner was super yummy, the yummiest I have ever tasted. The caterer wais our old friend Francisco Amado. Everyone wants to meet him now! He served a seafood vichyssoise as a starter, and then a marvelous self-service buffet with plenty of options: cold seafood salad with wasabi, peppers filled with codfish, beef with mustard sauce, roasted lamb, Arabic rice, crispy chips, taboulleh, grilled vegetables, plenty of salads, and so on. There was a buffet for desserts later as well. During dinner, we managed to toast with each of the 34 tables. Some where louder than others. Props to the INSEAD tables and to the TDJ ones!

Just before we cut the "cake" - 3 levels of palmiers do Careca and tortas de Azeitão -, Dad made a brilliant speech: short, funny, personal, emotional and universally understood, addressing both Gorda and me, his family and mine, and all of our friends. Cutting the cake was again a cute moment, we both of us truly happy and cute.

As a last event before we opened the dance floor, ours bridesmaid and best men prepared us a hilarious movie making fun of Gorda and me, in the format of a talkshow!

Then Dad and I danced the valse, followed by gorda and me. I would dare to say we did pretty well. The dance floor was then open and, until after 5 am nothing stopped us - not even a electricity blackout and the police complaining about the noise. We danced literally non-stop - at the dance floor, at the upper level where our table was, by the buffet, around the tables. Our friends where super into partying too. By 5:10, when we left, there was still so many people partying with us, even though the sound was less loud than desirable due to the neighbors complaints. Props to Chumbinho for killing it as a DJ, and to our friends for partying insanely.

It's been a few days already and we still cannot stop going back to such a perfect day.

Special thanks to our parents for letting us have the wedding of our dreams, and to Tudo é Festa for making it real. Special thanks to to our bridesmaids (Alice Trewinnard, Carolina Perry, Catarina Calha, Luísa Schettino, Maria Raimundo, Sónia Teixeira da Mota) and to our best men (António Amorim, António Menéres, António Monteiro de Barros, Diogo Mourão, Francisco Amorim, Francisco Empis, Francisco Pena Monteiro, José Diogo Lucena, José Maria Spínola) for all the help.

Official pictures coming up in a month!