Arriving in Santa Marta

We made good time and arrived at our hostel, Dreamers, 6km from the centre of Santa Marta, at about 2pm.  Our rooms weren’t ready, so we convened in the bar to wait!  The hostel was lovely with a decent pool and a well-equipped shared kitchen.  We were here for two nights, so we decided to forego our dorm beds and upgrade to a private room with ensuite.  The extra cost was just 123,000 pesos (about £24).  It was well worth it for two good nights' sleep!

Once we’d been allocated rooms (we were in Jamaica!), we dropped our bags and went to the local supermarket to buy stuff for dinner tonight and tomorrow night.  We went for fresh chicken, salad, and saute potatoes.

Back at the hostel, we were contemplating what to do with our free day tomorrow.  One of the reasons for coming to this area was to visit Tayrona National Park.  Unfortunately, it closes a few times a year to allow access to indigenous people only for them to perform their traditional rituals and to give the land time to recover from too many tourists.  Now is one of those times.  So, our options were more limited than they might have been.  We decided on a city walk and booked one through Guru Walks.  We were joined by Marina, Susan, and Shonagh.

Santa Marta is South America's oldest European-founded town and the second most important colonial city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening having our meal, sorting our bags out, and socialising with others in the group.Read more