Bioluminescence in Cartagena- do it!

I am the queen of the late post. This is from Winter Break!

The other day we took a trip to Gente Del Mar for the sole purpose of fulfilling a dream of mine for the past few years: seeing the bioluminescent plankton! The picture here is not mine but let me tell you how it went....

AWESEOME.

We had a lovely, serene day at Gente Del Mar and were able to take our dog, who enjoyed her first island vacation. I found the hotel nice, clean and comfortable though perhaps a little pricey (if you make pesos) but nothing insane. I didn't love that masks were hardly even a suggestion, though at least most of the time the staff could be spotted wearing them.

The best part was obviously seeing the plankton. When Sam first called about doing a tour, they said there was a guy who doesn't work for the resort that takes people on a boat for tips. When we got there we were told it was a 10 minute walk and booked the experience at 8:30, supposed to be a private "tour" for 40mil/pp. At 8:30 we were told it was now going to be a group thing starting at 9. At 9 we were told we weren't being charged and going with the group would be more fun anyway, very informal as we would just be going for fun with some of the guys that work there. At 10ish we were trekking across the resort, through Cocoliso resort with a group of about 10 or 15 people-- mostly extremely but hilariously drunk people who brought speakers and played the creepy moans of the folkloric "Llorana" as we walked through the other resort and told ghost stories. It reminded me of being in camp a million years ago!

We got to the dock and were told in the pitch black to make sure our phones and flashlights were off and to jump into the water. I started by sitting on the edge of the dock and dangling and twirling my feet, seeing faint blue circles with each movement, only to later canon ball in and spend about 30 minutes doing flips and twirls like I did whenever I went in the swimming pool when I was young. As I did so, I watched the water around my body light-up-- I was glowing! Sam's beard was glowing! If that wasn't magical enough, the sound when you submerge your ears and the scenery of the night sky filled with stars was just pure peace. We don't have any pictures but we won't be forgetting the experience anytime soon! Recommended for sure. Perhaps booking with Cocoliso would be a cheaper option too.