Navigating San Andrés by public transportation

Our scheduled activity for a Holiday Monday in Colombia was to tour around the island.  We had a shuttle bus just for us, and an authentic tour guide “Patricia”; she belongs to the Raizal community and gave us all the insights of the issues in San Andrés.  We asked her questions that go beyond the touristic attractions.  As we passed by the North end, she pointed to one of the best hotels on the island, the only one with the best private beach, and told us the story behind it.  The Raizal community owned this property, and it used to be their ancestors cemetery.  They were displaced to the South end of the island and today there is a pool and a bar for tourists in a hotel that is owned by an international corporation.

Students were able to see the most affluent houses of San Andrés by the west north side; we kept going south on the west side until we arrived at the “Casa Museo”, a beautiful replica of the way of life of the early residents on the island.  There, we also learned how to dance the “raga raga” and “calypso”.  Later we visited an ecological park and observed all the plants that grow on the island and the domestic animals.  We saw more folkloric dances and end up on a high trampoline and toboggan.  It was a wonderful natural light blue pool with lots of fish.  I jumped again, this time not so much due to peer pressure, but because of the heat and need to cool down.

All wet and stinky, we went through the south point and rode back north through the east side. We passed the university and the botanical garden where we are planning to go at the end of the week.  We also passed by the Raizal neighborhoods where we will be this coming this Saturday morning.  The bus passed our Posada and students decided to continue down town.  Carol and I stayed at the Posada; we needed a fresh shower to continue with our afternoon riding on local buses with the people of San Andrés.  We managed to find a restaurant out of the tourist area, then took another bus to the North end where the tourist stay, and sat peacefully to feel the breeze and drink some Colombian coffee by the beach.  All by public bus transportation, we were very proud of our selves. Students are also riding the island on their own; we have finally gotten a sense of orientation.