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Santa Marta, Colombia (Part 1)
  • svatfirstsight.com
  • svatfirstsight.com

Santa Marta, Colombia (Part 1)

We have been interested in visiting Colombia since hosting an exchange student from Medellín in the mid-1990s. We're finally here! We expect to base in Santa Marta for 2-3 months, and then cruise over to Panama. Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 21, 2025
  • svatfirstsight.comSanta Marta, Colombia (Part 1)Traveler
    Alfredo, our driver and guide, maps out our tour plan for the day trip to Minca.
    The stands of thick bamboo were everywhere along the trail from Minca to Pozo Azul.A fleshing swim in a pond beneath a scenic waterfall.Cacao to chocolate. Voila!We wore a chocolate mascarilla to help melt away wrinkles and smooth our skin.

    Day trip to Minca

    May 29, 2025 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We made a day trip to Minca, a laid back coffee-growing town in the foothills of the mountains overlooking Santa Marta. We departed at 8am and returned to AFS about 6pm. In between, we hiked a trail to Pozo Azul, a waterfall and stream outside of Minca. We had lunch in a restaurant Colombiano. We toured a coffee bean processing station on a coffee plantation. To end the day, we toured a chocolate plantation that had a wonderfully delicious demonstration of how cacao is processed and refined from bean to bar. Samples included.Read more

  • svatfirstsight.comSanta Marta, Colombia (Part 1)Traveler
    This was the idyllic setting for a wonderful massage.

    Surf’s up! 🤙🏼

    June 3, 2025 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    They say giving one another their own time and space is one key to a happy and success marriage. We did exactly that on this day. While Vicki was having her hair washed, cut, and styled at a local salon in Santa Marta that specializes in curly hair, I traveled 90 minutes over to Tayrona for refresher training for surfing.
    When I arrived at the surf school at 08:30am, the surf was too big for novice surfers, but it was forecasted to decrease in 3-4 hours. I used the time to read, walk on the beach, and take in a massage.
    In fact, the waves did decrease while I waited from just over 2m to about a 1.5m. But some of the sets were still bigger than 2m, and as a result I was worn out at the end of my 2-hours lesson.    Read more

  • svatfirstsight.comSanta Marta, Colombia (Part 1)Traveler
    Humberto checks the fuel tanks for turbidity and determines only the port tank needs cleaning.
    We evacuated the tanks with an electric pump in Spain, but here we used a manual pump. A tough grindRoman feeds clean fuel into the tanks for flushing.The return fuel looks clean after flushing and it has no gross particulates. 😀1It's still kinda turbid when it's collected in a clean bucket. 🤔

    Dirty Fuel - Again

    June 5, 2025 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    We can’t seem to shake our problem with dirty fuel. We defueled and discarded ~300 gallons of diesel in Rota, Spain, back in November, and the tanks were flushed with gallons of clean fuel several times to remove any residual gunk from the bottom of the tanks. The fuel system looked and performed well, until it didn’t, while we were on passage across the Atlantic when the genset stalled several times and its Racor filter unit looked turbid. We tried to have the tanks cleaned again in Virgin Gorda and Puerto Rico, but things didn’t work out.

    Meanwhile the genset, which is fueled from the port tank only, began to stall again. And its Racor unit looked gunked up again.

    So, today we moved AFS 0.2nm to the service dock at Astillero Santa Marta to repeat the defueling and tank cleaning process, again with ~300 gallons of fuel. However, when the tech came aboard today and closely examined both tanks, he concluded only the port tank needed cleaning. Instead of defueling 300 gallons we only had to 150!

    The whole process went quite smooth, including moving the boat to/from the service dock, emptying the port tank, flushing it several times with clean fuel and then adding 75 gallons of fresh fuel.

    Our fingers are crossed that this will take care of the problem, along with continued meticulous preventive maintenance of the fuel system and constant vigilance for signs and symptoms of a recurrence. 🤞🤞    Read more

  • svatfirstsight.comSanta Marta, Colombia (Part 1)Traveler
    Southeast side of Isla Morrito.Close by Isla Morrito with Isla Morro in the background.Looking back at Santa Marta though the narrow and shallow slot btwn Isla Morrito and the mainland.Isla Morro Lighthouse.The "backside" of Isla Morro.

    Row, row, row, a boat.

    June 8, 2025 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    I took in the splendor of Santa Marta this tranquil Sunday with an early morning row - before the sun cranked up its oppressive heat and before the wind freshened. I rowed a loop from our slip around Isla Morrito, then around Isla Morro, and then back to the marina. The circuit took about an hour. I was surprised by the 6ft (2m) swell in the vicinity of Isla Morro. Ahh, now time for breakfast and some delicious Colombian coffee.Read more

    Trip end
    June 13, 2025
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