Santa Marta

Tuesday 8th February 2011
We had a pretty relaxing day. With a bus at 6:30pm to take us towards Santa Marta overnight, we spent the day in San Gil. 

You can get your five a day here.

Having walked through the market the day before, we returned and stopped for a fruit milkshake, Emma having strawberry and James trying Guayabana, which looks like a massive custard apple and is well worth a try.

Time for a bath.

It was certainly a day for twitching. As we settled on a park bench to read our books we saw various colourful birds (some having baths) and even some humming birds (Emma's favourite).

Wednesday 9th February 2011
After a relatively comfortable, if rather chilly, night bus we arrived in Santa Marta at around 8am. What immediately struck us was the further change in climate. Temperatures here hover around 32 degrees in the shade, with humidity apparently in the 90s.

In Santa Marta we're staying in the lovely Hotel Nueva Granada. Given the extra heat we splashed out a little for air con and a pool. Both are not disappointing.

We heard mixed reviews of Santa Marta on the way here, with many preferring to stay outside the city. As with any tourist destination, it's a but pricier, there are more street sellers and the streets around the market could smell better. But to counter this, there's more life to the city at night. Eating in the evenings is straight forward and it looks like there's a vibrant nightlife. Obviously we're getting on so are safely tucked up by 9pm...

The end of another day.

The main bay in the city looks west. This results in a wonderful sunset each evening. We both enjoy the contrast of the sunset against the busy container port to the right of the bay. This is Colombia's third largest port on the Atlantic side and so there are always 4 or 5 ships in and around the docks. There's a desire to expand the city, although it's easy to spot the obstacles, namely the mountains and sea that surround it.

Thursday 10th February 2011
It was a lively start to the day. We were just about to head for breakfast, when a giant cockroach appeared waving its antennae at us. Luckily the nice chap on reception came along with his broom and 15 minutes later we were back to normal.

At around 9am we headed off to catch the bus to the 'Parque Nacional de Tayrona' for a day of walking. Catching the bus was, as always, an event in itself. Having been pointed from one one bus to the next, we were eventually approached by a conductor who thankfully wanted us on his bus. The adventures continued as on the way we saw a naked woman walking down the central reservation.

On the bus there we met Joe, an American travelling Colombia for two and a half months. Once inside we also got chatting to Ruban, a nice man from Bogota who was taking a bit of time away from the city and who planned to stay in a hammock in the forest. As it turned out the four of us all trekked together through the forest.

Foreigners pay 35000 pesos (~£12) to enter the park and this was one of the most expensive fees yet. Although being 3 times what the locals pay, it was worth every peso. 

On the way we witnessed some excellent ant trails, loads of huge colourful butterflies and on breaking out of the forest, some of the most stunning coastal views we've experienced. It looked like something out if Lord of the Flies.

A new standard of camping.

Amazing views.

Fancy a dip?

The mist from the mountains, endless palm trees and the coconut strewn beaches all made us feel a million miles from home. We didn't have the chance to do everything and camping here would be much fun, although proper kit and an excellent mosquito net is a must.  If you're ever in this area, this has to be on your to do list.

The bus journey home was again eventful (there's a theme here in case you haven't spotted it).  Firstly the bus was stopped and searched by the police and secondly it turned out it didn't go to the middle of Santa Marta. The slight rip off only cost us about £1 and 25 minutes, but was another example of the extremes of the bus system.

A cheeky Mexican for dinner (recommended by Joe) and we're pretty much done for the day.

Friday 11th February 2011
We day with no plans. Over breakfast after studying our trusty guidebook, we decided to head to Minca. We never got there after another bus incident. To be fair, there wasn't actually a bus involved which was the problem. We were in the right place to catch it but none of the locals would tell us when it was due, many even saying that there was no bus, pointing us to their friend's taxi. Not willing to pay the extreme price of a taxi (£15), we headed back to the centre to reassess.

We went to the gold museum, another freebie and it promised to be an interesting hour to take us up to lunch. On reaching the museum we thought our luck was out, with it being closed for renovations. Luckily it had moved to the library next door so we spend a pleasant hour refreshing our knowledge of gold in Colombia and especially the indigenous groups around this area.

After lunch we headed to the memorial and place where Simon 'the liberator' Bolivar died. On the way our faith in bus drivers was restored. We accidentally gave him a 10000 note. He was honest enough to point this out to us whilst explaining the difference between this and the 1000, namely the extra zero. A chuckle later we were on our way. This bus had no conductor, so James played the part, ferrying money to and from the bus driver. 

Is this a dinosaur?

Maybe a career opportunity in later life. At the house there was lots of interesting info about Bolivar, but the highlight for us was the iguanas in the grounds, especially the ones chasing each other through the trees.

After our now standard sunset, swim and out for supper, we had our first late night of the trip, making it just beyond midnight and almost certainly in bed before most locals had gone out. We had a few cuba libres (rum and coke) in a lovely bar called 'La Puerta' where various latin beats had the dance floor full early on.

We're a little sad to be leaving our comfortable hotel (especially the pool), but with two days ahead of nothing but relaxation and beach, life's not too bad at all.

Observations:
Onions: when buying onions in Colombia, you find they are already peeled. On closer inspection there is generally someone in the corner of the market who's job it is to peel them. One for the the UK we think.
Street Sellers: As with any tourist destination there are loads of people on the streets selling everything from jewellery to rice pudding to ornamental rum bottles (tat in English). On the whole they are not at all pushy, a simple 'No, gracias' sending them on their way. You have to admire how they are trying to make some money offering a potentially useful service.
Carbs: Colombians eat an excess of carbs. It's very typical to get rice and chips, pasta and potatoes, etc. At lunch today in Merkabar (great fish, highly recommended) we witnessed a local man devour the most enormous plate of pasta with chips. He then ordered another plateful of chips just to ensure he got enough carbs for the day. With no room left he turned away a delicious looking salad.

Fact: 
As mentioned in an earlier entry, it's important to continue to look down when walking. James has once more learnt this lesson by falling down a pothole in the middle of a 3 lane road. Good news, he was able to save the groceries and bounce back up before the oncoming buses and taxis did further damage. James felt slightly better a day later having seen a local woman do exactly the same thing.

Useful phrase:
'A la orden'. You hear this when they wish to serve you and also after you pay.