The Caribbean Sea off Colombia is home to some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the Americas. Coral reefs are built by tiny animals over thousands of years, creating an underwater city of colour and shape. Fish of every pattern weave in and out. Sea turtles glide past on their way to nest on the beaches.
The coast has a different feel from the Andes. The pace is slower, the music louder, the food spicier, and the nights warmer. Cumbia music - Colombia's most famous rhythm - was born here, from the mix of African, Indigenous and European traditions that all met on this stretch of coast.
One of the most remarkable parts of the Caribbean coast is the Rosario Islands - a collection of small coral islands about an hour by boat from Cartagena. Many of them are so flat that they barely rise above the water. They are famous for their coral reefs and for being home to Colombia's first marine national park.
At the far north of the coast, near the Venezuelan border, is the Guajira Peninsula - a dry, windswept place unlike anything else in Colombia. Here the land is sandy and almost desert-like, and the sky is full of pink flamingos feeding in the shallow coastal lagoons.