Santa Marta Cathedral

We then paused for those who wanted to buy fresh coconut.  Marina took the opportunity to go back to the seafood stall to buy a risotto.  She said it was really good, but it was too much, so she ended up giving half of it to some local children.  Another member of our group had already bought them a coconut, so we knew they wouldn’t be hungry today!

Next, we visited the city’s cathedral. The Cathedral Basilica of Santa Marta is a Renaissance- style Catholic church built in the 1760s.

Here, Javier told us the fascinating story of Simon de Bolívar's grave.  After he died in Santa Marta in 1830, he was interred below the floor of the cathedral.  We saw the plaque that marks the spot.  However, shortly afterwards, an earthquake struck and split his grave in two.  He was reburied in a vault in the wall of the cathedral.  Later, the city suffered another earthquake, and, again, Bolívar's tomb was damaged. His remains were moved again to a spot behind the chapel.  History repeated itself on a further two occasions.  When he was moved for a fifth time, it was to a place directly in front of the altar of the cathedral to give him God's protection.  Unbelievably, the city succumbed to another earthquake, which split open his tomb once more!  By now, the people of Santa Marta believed there was a curse surrounding Bolívar's tomb, so when Venezuela demanded that his remains be returned to Caracas in 1842, they were more than happy to see them go!  Now, all that's left in Santa Marta cathedral are the multiple plaques showing the places where Simon de Bolívar once rested!

After the remains were moved to Caracas, Venezuela was hit by its first earthquake in 200 years! 

In 2010, President Chavez of Venezuela ordered that Bolivar's renains be exhumed in order to determine his cause of death. The exhumation was carried out in secret. Within 2 years of the service, all 12 people present, including the president, were dead!  Just a coincidence?  Or something more mysterious?

There is a memorial to Rodrigo de Bastidas, founder of Santa Marta, in the back of the cathedral. His remains were returned to the city from the Dominican Republic in 1953.Read more