Recent weather: upper 80s with 70+% humidity, feels like 110.
Recent reads: Galations-Revelation (!), ¨Piercing the Darkness¨ by Frank Perretti, ¨The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes¨ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ¨Hens Reunited¨ by Lucy Diamond, ¨The Shining¨ by Stephen King
The past couple of weeks in Santa Marta have been the perfect addition to the last phase of my travels. Santa Marta is is located on the Carribbean coast, towards the eastern edge of Colombia. The oldest city in South America, Santa Marta and it´s port have a lot of history. Today, there isn´t much to el centro of Santa Marta but it´s a perfect launching pad for the beaches and sights in the area.
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| The oldest church in South America, located in downtown Santa Marta |
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| Santa Marta port |
I found a gig in Santa Marta bartending at a very cool hostel. The hostel itself used to be a cartel house and, of course, has a few ghost stories to go along with it. The best part, considering the suffocating humidity this time of year in Santa Marta, was definitely the pool. A close second are the tons of hammocks in the hostel.
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| Fell asleep in these hammocks almost every day. |
I just bartended in the evenings which meant I had plenty of time for day trips exploring the areas around Santa Marta. For 2 days I explored nearby Tayrona National Park and spent the night in a hammock.
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| Doing a bit of strolling. |
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| Awe. Some. |
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| Wandering along the path. |
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| Accommodations for the evening! |
One day I went to Bahia Concha which is a beautiful beach, perfect for swimming, which is definitely off the gringo trail. Another day I went to Costeno Beach to try my hand at some surfing again. This will not be the location for the next world´s surfing competition and I will not win anytime soon but it was a fun day. I also went to Palomino, about 2 hours from Santa Marta, and tubed down the river which made for a relaxing afternoon.
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| At Bahia Concha. Ignore the old man in the water behind me... |
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| Perfect swimming at Bahia Concho! |
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| Strolling down the path to Costeno Beach to surf. |
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| Is it really waiting? |
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| Zero complaints at this moment at Costeno Beach. |
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| Spent an afternoon in Taganga, a fishing town and 30 minute bus ride from Santa Marta. |
My last excursion was to Minca, just a collectivo (shared cab) and a mototaxi ride away from Santa Marta in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was a great spot for hiking, checking out local coffee fields, and enjoying nature. As isolated as the location is (only mototaxis can get up the moutain road), the hostel I stayed at was just as welcoming. The hostel itself was very inviting with a giant hammock on the hillside and a jungle hammock just a 10 minute walk off the nearby river. On my way down the mountain, I took a scenic 5 hour walk via the handdrawn map one of the hostel owners made for me which was a nice touch. A friendly black dog was my tour guide all the way down the mountain. He walked ahead of me sniffing just about everything and ¨marking his territory¨ pretty much everywhere. Just went I thought he´d left me and gone on his own little trek, I´d come around a corner to see him waiting for me, his neck craned back watching for me to come around the bend! Occasionally I´d come across some aggressive dogs along the way but my little friend would confront them with a fierce bark of his own while I sneaked past. When I finally stopped for lunch in town 5 hours later, a local recognized him as ¨Jugo¨ and offered to take him back up the mountain to his owner before I could even thank my travel companion by sharing my lunch!
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| Laying on the jungle hammock looking up. |
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| Top right is Jugo, my tour guide. Bottom left is the amazing giant hammock! Bottom right is the open air window view from the toilet-no joke! |
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| Finishing up my hike just before dusk. |
On Saturday I fly to Bogota, the final stop in my South American travels! While I am looking forward to a respite from the heat and humidity, it is surreal to think that this whole adventure will be over in just a matter of days!
