Santa Marta 2/10-2/12

The bus ride to Santa Marta was as much fun as any 12 hour night ride can be.  But we can’t complain – the bus was pretty decent, the movies were not too loud with earplugs, and we heard about it being super cold ahead of time, so we brought our fleece jackets as well as the sleeping bag onboard.  Instead of dropping us off in a town next to Santa Marta where we’d have to change bus to the one that would take us all the way, this bus surprised us by dropping us off directly in Santa Marta.  It took us a few minutes to realize where we were, then a few more minutes to get a cab – the first one was not able to move after we loaded up: the rear wheel was rubbing against the fender.

Julie and I did not know much about this town because in Colombia we planned even less than in any other country.  We figured it was time to relax now that we were with the Levys.  Turned out that Santa Marta itself is a port town without many attractions, and as far as tourism goes serves as a stomping ground for those about to depart to the Tayrona National Park.  But as it happened we caught the first couple of nights of the carnival, and got to see some dressed up folks.

The first day in town, after we ate, washed off and napped, we took a cab to the nearby Taganga, which is essentially a small beach with a few hostels and restaurants around it.  We did the beach thing, and headed back to Santa Marta for dinner.  It was a Friday, so we decided to celebrate Shabbat at a nice restaurant.

Next morning we were off to Tayrona National Park.

Usually people go to this park for more than one day, and either do a multi-day hike to the Lost City, or camp by the beach in tents, or simply in the hammocks.  We did not have the time for the Lost City track, and after reading about the quality of the provided accommodations decided that the camping is not for Julie or me either.  So we went for one day.  Andrey and Irin decided to play it by ear, and just in case took enough food for 2 days.

The hike was relatively easy and pleasant.  There were 2 trails that led to the Piscina beach: one that was made (recently?) for tourists, and the other one for pooping donkeys, horses and tourists who did not see the sign for the first trail.  Luckily we took the former one on the way to the beach (less luckily we decided to take a short cut, and took the stinky route on the way back.)

We spent a gorgeous day on the beach, tried an unusual and very tasty sweets made by some girls who are travelling on the budget, and get by by selling the aforementioned sweets.

Around 4pm Julie and I headed back to catch the bus back. We got lucky, and saw a species of monkeys we had not seen before, El Mico Titi.

The next morning we were going to Cartagena, and the Levys would catch up.  Later that night however Levys caught up with us at the hotel; they decided not to spend the night in the park due to circumstances outside of their control (they were in fact ready to spend the night in a pretty nasty tent, or in a mosquito-infested hammock.)

The next morning we were off to Cartagena in the last long bus ride of our trip.

2012.02.10 Santa Marta