I just had to stay in a hut on the beach. Everybody said it would be worth it. It’s better than a day trip, they said. It’s so beautiful when the crowds leave, they said. And so I did. Peer pressure’s a bitch. While visiting Cartagena, there are tons of options for trips to the nearby beaches and islands – especially Isla Barú and Islas Rosario. Being a port city and all, Cartagena has beaches, though apparently they aren’t super nice. I have yet to visit the Bocagrande neighborhood where they’re located but I’ll take the Internet’s word for it. But after reading so many lovely accounts of Playa Blanca, the popular Caribbean beach located on Isla Barú, I knew I wanted to visit and maybe even spend the night. During the day, it’s a common attraction for foreigners as well as Colombian tourists. People are shuttled, bused, and boated in from Cartagena and other cities. The negative reviews that Playa Blanca receives come from the crowds, touts, vendors, and trash that sometimes accumulates due to all the tourism and crowds. And man are people trying to sell you stuff there! Jewelry, ice cream, “fresh” oysters (yea right I am not eating that out […]