We left Cartagena proper for three nights on Isla Grande in a fairly rustic island hotel. Sandra had been given the name of this one by a friend and assumed it was the only option, but we soon discovered that it was one of about twenty places tourists could stay on the island. Some were little more than a shack, while others were the full five-star experience. With our decent sized room, small beach and an array of hammocks, I was happy with our choice, but the food was sub-par and Sandra suffered a bit.

We enjoyed walking through the village in the centre, exploring some of the other beaches, and taking a boat out to snorkel among the coral, but the highlight was the plankton in a small harbour on the other side of the island. We paid one of the hotel staff to guide us one night around the island, through a couple of luxury hotels to a secluded inlet with a pontoon, where other tourists were already in the water making appreciative noises. I’ve seen phosphorescence before on canoe camping trips with my family. We’d swish the water with a paddle and the water would spark prettily. That was like a sparkler to the New Year’s Eve fireworks we saw on Isla Grande. And when we got into the water with goggles and dog-paddled the water lit up like the night sky.

All in all, our time on Isla Grande was the relaxing, bonding time we hoped our ‘honeymoon’ would be.