My Favorite Place on Earth

I might have talked about San Andres Island before, but lately it has been in my mind a lot. Probably because I have been at home for so long. I was obsessed with this island growing up. We used to go on our family vacations once or twice a year. It was my favorite place on earth. I haven't been there in 12 years but I have hundreds of pictures that I scanned from our trips in the 1980's and 1990's. 

San Andres island belongs to Colombia, but is located in the Caribbean close to Nicaragua. There have been endless arguments with Nicaragua about who should have the island. Nicaragua recently "won" some marine space and all Colombians were really upset. The island is also close to Jamaica and that is probably why you will mostly hear reggae music and listen to islanders speak creole instead of Spanish.

I remember seeing many European tourists in San Andres. Not many from the rest of the world. There are direct flights from Panama City or Bogota. The hotels are not really 5 star resorts. The true magic of this place is the ocean which is called the sea of 7 colors. This island is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Many people travel to San Andres and the nearby islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina to go scuba diving.

Providencia and Santa Catalina are 2 islands close to San Andres that are more rural and absolutely beautiful. You must take a short flight from San Andres to Providencia. Once there you could take a boat tour to see these islands. There is a legend that pirate Henry Morgan hid his treasures in San Andres. There is a rock in Providencia that is said to be Morgan's head. In San Andres you can visit Morgan's cave where his treasure is supposed to be hidden. My favorite stop was always Cayo Cangrejo (Crab Cay). This tiny cay was full of black crabs that you could barely see because of the rocks. You can hike a small hill to see the endless ocean from there.

View from Cayo Cangrejo

The best memories of my childhood are in this island. Someday I will take my daughter to show her my favorite place and to continue to create great memories along with my family.

If you want to see more of San Andres, I found this video that was created as part of a National tourism campaign.