Pip in Columbia
14 March 2012
Santa Marta was a bit of a mixed experience. The marina itself was new and clean, and the marina staff were very friendly. But we'd ended up there because of very strong winds, and oh boy did it continue to blow like billio for so long, we thought we'd never get out of there. The wind was not only extremely strong but very dusty, both from the nearby mountains and the coal dust from ships loading in the harbour. It was pretty hot as well, and although we were near a public sandy beach the water didn't seem too inviting- especially as at first glance there were what looked like turds with wings swimming about in the marina! On closer inspection, they turned out to be rather cute sea slug/snails called Sea Butterflies- I got quite fond of them after a while.
The town was busy with quite a few interesting old buildings, its older than Cartagena in fact. The large market was an eye-opener- especially for Kevin, who was rather disconcerted by the huge choice of animal parts on offer, including the severed cows heads lying around in the street. There are still a number of donkey and mule carts in everyday use, but overall Santa Marta gives the impression of a fairly modern town catering to Columbian holiday makers.
Cartagena was lovely- seriously quaint old town, very touristy but just about worth the long hot cramped bus journey to get there and back- although the journey back was character-building, I had a bit of Montezumas revenge and instead of 4 hours it took 7 hours on the most crowded uncomfortable mini bus I've ever been on.
I was quite pleased when the winds died down enough for me to mend my ripped genoa so we could move on- I would go back to Columbia, and do more of the interior- but we were feeling a bit trapped and it was definitely time to move on.