Santa Marta has won me over. Initially I wanted to get in, get online and get out but after wandering the streets for 2 days I like this little place. The people are very friendly, the town is easy to navigate and every other street is a little pedestrian zone where kids play and old people sit in plastic chairs outside their doorways. Early in the morning coffee vendors stroll the street yelling "Tinto!" "Tinto!" and selling little shots of heavily sugared black coffee for 25 cents. Good stuff. People take pride in what they do, whether it's shining shoes, selling cell phone minutes or pallets of bananas. They look like they have known each other forever and there's lots of shaking hands and smiles.
There are churches conveniently sprinkled throughout the city as well so there's always a place to duck in for shade or stop and watch a wedding.
The beach is mobbed right now with Colombians from Bogota and Medellin, which is fine because we've been taking a break from the sun and there's no way I would hit a beach with this many people. Crazy.
The streets have a nice colonial feel, but lived in, not polished up like a museum. We have accomplished our goal of planning the next phase, which will be a flight to Lima, Peru and on to Cuzco to put us within touring distance of Macchu Picchu. That won't happen until the 3rd of January though so we're headed back to do some surfing until then. I am very much looking forward to that.
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Santa Marta has won me over. Initially I wanted to get in, get online and get out but after wandering the streets for 2 days I like this little place. The people are very friendly, the town is easy to navigate and every other street is a little pedestrian zone where kids play and old people sit in plastic chairs outside their doorways. Early in the morning coffee vendors stroll the street yelling "Tinto!" "Tinto!" and selling little shots of heavily sugared black coffee for 25 cents. Good stuff. People take pride in what they do, whether it's shining shoes, selling cell phone minutes or pallets of bananas. They look like they have known each other forever and there's lots of shaking hands and smiles.
There are churches conveniently sprinkled throughout the city as well so there's always a place to duck in for shade or stop and watch a wedding.
The beach is mobbed right now with Colombians from Bogota and Medellin, which is fine because we've been taking a break from the sun and there's no way I would hit a beach with this many people. Crazy.
The streets have a nice colonial feel, but lived in, not polished up like a museum. We have accomplished our goal of planning the next phase, which will be a flight to Lima, Peru and on to Cuzco to put us within touring distance of Macchu Picchu. That won't happen until the 3rd of January though so we're headed back to do some surfing until then. I am very much looking forward to that.
Hey there. Great blog post. We (two Alaskans from Anchorage), are taking on in mid February for 12 days. I nearly bought the tickets yesterday to Panama, and then started reading into Colombia. Now, after reading this, I'm totally torn. This is what we want in our vacation: about 4 days of beach chill, and the rest exploring little villages and at least one city, or maybe a jungle.. The more culture shock, the better. Heard anything about Panama? Are the beaches in Colombia totally fantastic (probably not possible, but our dream beaches are in Thailand). Here's a tip from me to you about Peru: do make sure you acclimate to the altitude. Ariquipa is a brilliant place to do so. My aunt lives there, so email if you want some tips. I think you're leaving tomorrow?
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Tony and Amanda from Anchorage
Hey Tony, we find that nothing compares to Thai beaches, that´s just the way it is. That said, the Carribean coast has hotter water. I´m hearing about people hitch-sailing from Panama to Cartagena in 6 days. Can be great, can be hell depending on who picks you up and weather and all that. Panama seems to be the next Florida in my opinion but all I´ve seen is Panama City so I say get thee to Colombia, it´s changing fast as well. You could have a great 2 weeks going from Cartagena to Santa Marta and the coast as we did. Tough call, good luck!
ReplyDeleteTony- send me an email, I couldn´t access your profile: jgaedeke at gmail I´d love some Peru tips.
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