While in Bogota, our tour guide, Daniel, recommended Santa Cruz de Mompox as a town to visit for its buildings and history. We decided to visit and got more than we bargained for in this town forgotten by time.

Getting to Mompox

Mompox is in Bolivar province but is generally considered part of the Carribean region of Colombia. Getting here from Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta is quite easy as well as well as the nearby Andean cities like Bucaramanga.

It cost us 56,000 pesos (~ USD 17) per head to get there on a direct bus from Cartagena. The bus ride took 7 hours, was overall uneventful except the driver eating every time we stopped at a bus station. Big guy!

The History

Mompox was founded by Spanish and thrived as a town due to its location on the Magdalena River. It had churches, businesses and lots of people coming in and going out from this town for that time. Simon Bolivar visited many times in this city and even recruited for his army here.

Mompox was equivalent to Cartagena in terms of the buzz, development and trade back in the day. Unfortunately, the river which was its connection to the rest of Colombia silted up making it harder for ships to get here. The town’s glory gradually declined as Magangue took its place as a port and people forgot about Mompox.

However, this forgetting actually proved to be a positive for its buildings. The locals restored the ancient architecture as not much development was happening here. In fact, UNESCO Heritage listed Mompox the historic centre in 1995.

The Churches

We walked around all the streets of this tiny town and saw a church on every second street.

Our hostel was right behind the Church of Santa Barbara. The building itself was beautiful but what’s more interesting is that till today the Church rings the bells each quarter hour to indicate time. Something clearly from the past!

There was also San Augustin, San Fransisco and Santo Domingo churches. The biggest of them all was Church of the Immaculate Conception, though every church is beautiful in their distinct ways and all were open on different days and at different times.

The Buildings

The historic centre runs along the river. All houses as well as businesses were whitewashed with tiled roofs, ironwork on the doors and the windows. Each house usually had an iron cross on it or a cross in the masonry.

There were boutique hotels, small restaurants selling local cuisine and lots of street vendors selling anything from food to jewelry. Outside many buildings, there are plaques (parks) dedicated to a famous person such as Bolivar or a famous family that lived there.

The Village Life

Mompox is tiny. Period. Though it has a population of 30,000, most of the people are spread out and the historic centre can be walked in an hour. There are tuktuks and moto-tuktuks taking people around the town. Everybody knows everybody. People love their drink and their music.

One of the people we spoke to (in our broken Spanish) said, “Momposinos son muy tranquilo” which means, people of Mompox are quite tranquil. People were happy to talk to us about whatever we wanted. They even complimented me on my bad Spanish.

The tranquility came along with the weather. Mompox was extremely hot after mid day and virtually everything shut down from 1pm onwards and opened again at 5pm. The only thing to do was stay in the shade and drink a fresh juice next to the river or siesta. It was so bad that we never really saw the historic museum opened. That could be due to the fact that we were there on a weekend and everyone was drinking and dancing. Says something about Momposinos!

A sad but unique experience was visiting the town cemetery. Again the former greatness of the town showed itself as some major politicians and other famous people were buried there.

However, a different sight for us were the vertical graves. Sometimes entire families were buried one on top of another. Together at last or hating each other even in death depending on how you like your relos!

The Town Fiesta

While we were walking along the river on the first evening there, and I must say we had seen most of the town in that 1.5 hour walk, we came across an area that was being decorated. We asked a lady selling drinks what was happening and she replied in her accented Spanish. I could gather something about a queen and how we should return at 7pm to see it all. That got us really excited!

Unfortunately, we assumed things would start late but they were right on time at 7pm. By the time we arrived around 8:30pm, the show was in full swing and the entire town was already there. That made it hard for Shruti and I to see much and we had to settle for a foothold on some stairs.

The affair was essentially a beauty pageant combined with dancing with the stars as the potential Kings and Queens were to dance and be judged. From our limited view, the dances were elegant and the king was meant to be rejected by his queen and try repeatedly. Finally, she let down her guard and they danced together happily ever after. So Bollywood!

This was all new to us and we loved it. We grabbed a couple of beers and just took it all in. Cumbia music has a catchy but repetitive beat and all the dancers waltzed on the same song. The problem was that we couldn’t understand the commentating because it was fast so we decided to go and drink on some rocking chairs.

When we returned, the pageant was done and lots of people, mostly young boys and girls, were dancing. At first, we were shy but then decided to copy their moves. Latin men and women can move and move fast. We ended up staying for half an hour and had great fun. At last, we enjoyed a Latin cultural event in Mompox.

Party with the locals

Our last night in Mompox was a Saturday night and we were craving a party. We walked around town but could not find any big party. People have drinks and extremely loud music at home so we were sure we wouldn’t be allowed in. Therefore, we decided to settle down close to home and have a few beers. That was an experience in itself as two rival shacks along the river were competing for customers and playing all types of Latin music extremely loud.

While there, I had an interesting experience asking for the bathroom:
Mani: ¿Señor, dónde está el baño?
Bar owner: Para las damas, Hay el baño allí pero para los hombres hay el lado del rio.
Mani: ¡Que!

Translation
Mani: Sir, where is the bathroom?
Bar owner: For the ladies, there is one there but for the gents, we have the river bank.
Mani: What!

While on our second round, a big Latin family turned up along with their kids and bought some beers for all the adults. A little while later they bought a tetrapack, from which they were drinking and then eventually started dancing. Shruti wanted to know what was in the tetrapack so I introduced myself to one of the guys (Eminso), told him we were tourists and asked him the name for the drink. It was Aguardiente which is a Colombian favourite. The guy then turned around and asked if we wanted to try and we did! It was like a better version of Sambucca.

As the night went on, Eminso offered us more drinks which we mostly refused so as not to finish the stock of the entire family. At around 12 they all started to leave and spoke to us again. That led to a 3-way multilingual conversation.

Eminso: Vamos a la casa. Compraremos más aguardiente y cervezas y bailar por la noche. Venga con nosotros.
Mani to Shruti: They are inviting us to their house to dance.
Shruti to Mani: Where is their house? Is it far?
Mani a Eminso: Estamos en casa del viajero. Dónde está su casa?
Eminso: Está acerca de viajero.
Mani to Shruti: It’s close to the house.
Shruti: Ok lets go!
Mani a Eminso: Vamos!

The rest of our night involved being guests at a real Mompox house with real Momposinos, mixing beer & aguardiente and dancing to all types of latin music popular on the coast and interior. At around 1:30am, we decided it was best for us to leave if we were to make the 1pm Medellin bus the next day and said our goodbyes.

The mums loved us and wanted our whatsapp numbers while the young guys readied their bikes to drop us home. They rode ok in a drunk state and we made it home alive and unable to believe the events. We were glad to leave Mompox on a high note!

Food & Drinks

We thought Shruti’s options would be limited considering she is a vegetarian and we were in a small town in interior. But actually all restaurants, except bbq ones, had great vegetarian dishes. The sandwiches for her were huge and tasty.

I tried a few different types of meat namely grilled and skewered. Both were beautifully done and the portions were huge.

In terms of drinks, we tried some more amazing juices in Mompox to escape the heat as well as two new milk based home made drinks. Chichas, same name as the alcoholic drink we loved in Bogota, is a drink made from milk and grinded rice and sugar. It was sweet, cool and acted like a radiator coolant on a hot Mompox day. Similarly, Avena is made from milk, sugar and oatmeal. It is also cooling but also very filling and people have it as a post-drinks food.

We tried a new beer in Mompox, the costeñita. It was smooth and we totally loved it.

Should You Visit?

We recommend visiting Mompox if you have plenty of time on hand and don’t mind experiencing a sleepy town. Once there, you could stay for 2 days or 1 week. It all depends on what kind of a traveler you are. If you decide to skip it, you wouldn’t be missing much.

After spending a week in Taganga, we did a whirlwind tour of Cartagena. It is one of the biggest tourist cities in Colombia and we got to know what makes Cartagena so popular. Here is how we spent 2 days in Cartagena.

Getting to Cartagena

Cartagena has international flights from many places in the US. As we were in Taganga, we took a bus from Santa Marta which costed us 56,000 pesos (under USD 20) per head.

Old City

Cartagena was one of the first Spanish cities in Colombia. It was setup as a port connecting Europe to South America in the middle ages. The Spanish constructed a wall around the city as a defense from any naval or pirates attack. Through Cartagena Spanish managed to conquer and control Colombia. The most interesting thing though is that the walled city built mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries still stands firm in the current times.

Every building within the city appears as they would have atleast two centuries ago. The city is listed in UNESCO Heritage as locals continue to live within the walls and lots of hotels and restaurants offer the Spanish experience to travelers.

The houses are colorful and well maintained. The walls, doors, balconies and the windows are remarkable. The colours shining under the tropical sun were absolutely mesmerizing. On the first day, we ended up walking through most of the old city just photographing the houses.

However, the beauty wasn’t limited to the houses. There are plenty of old buildings and churches around that enhance the beauty of this city. Cathedral of Cartagena in particular is quite high and painted with vibrant colours. Shruti was able to click it from various different parts of the city and each time its beauty was unlike the previous one.

Not to forget, Cartagena has many squares around the old city which were all beautiful in their own way. However, The square of the Clock Tower, Plaza de la Reloj, was incredible as it had a monument, city walls, lots of people and traditional looking bars around. At night, one of the bars played Salsa music which just made the atmosphere better.

After spending just a day in Cartagena, we had walked almost every corner of the walled city and seen all the popular buildings. The only way we can explain this beautiful city – Cartagena is a small European town stuck in the heart of Colombia.

Walk on Walls

The wall around the city, which is more than 500 years old, is accessible to public. Everyone, locals and tourists, enjoy a nice long walk on it.

We kept aside an evening just for this activity. We walked all around the city taking in the traffic, the sea, the horse rides and people going by. The wall enhances the beauty of the city as well as serves as a spot for people to enjoy the sunset and cool off in the evening.

We had a drink at one of the sunset points along with hordes of tourists but it wasn’t meant to be. There was no visible sunset that day as there were clouds on the horizon.

Getsmani

Getsmani is the old forgotten part of the old city which the backpackers and budget travelers have taken over. We only realised how well kept the houses were in the old city when we saw the houses in Getsmani. Though still beautiful, they were a little rough around the edges and needed maintenance.

In any case, we were able to photograph some buildings while eating and drinking in the Church Square. The Church Square was a meeting point where locals and tourists came together to eat street food and enjoy non-alcoholic drinks in public. This was probably the only square where alcohol wasn’t allowed and we think it was because od the presence of an active Church.

Beautiful Evenings

Cartagena has two seasons: hot & humid and rainy. For most of the year, its sunny and sticky. While this makes the buildings look amazing, it means that it is very hard to do anything between 1-4 while outdoors. Tourists stick to beaches, musuems or bars during this time.

Most of Cartagena’s activities happen mostly in the evenings. We saw a beautiful music and dance show of Afro-Colombians in the evening at Bolivar Square. The dancers in their unique dresses put on a energetic and sensual show and demonstrated 3 different types of traditional dances.

As the sun goes down, all the restuarants and bars start to setup their outdoor seats. The musicians and performers come around showing off their talent and entertaining the people around. It truly has a very different vibe to anywhere else we have been till now.

Castillo de San Phillipe Barajas

We visited this unique Castle while in Cartagena. If I had to describe it, the castle looked like a combination of squares and triangles with a flat top. The castle was quite high which provided some great shots of the old city and river.

Moreover, The castle had a lots of tunnels to go from one part to another which made it one of the coolest castle we had seen so far. At the top was a huge Colombian flag flowing in the wind. It really is a beautiful sight seeing the old city in the backdrop of the flying Colombian flag.

Touristiness

Cartagena is the biggest tourist site in Colombia. Period. It is the starting point of many journeys across Colombia. While this keeps the city beautiful, it also brings in tourist traps.

First of all, the hotel prices in and near the old city are comparable to mid-range western cities. While this may not be expensive for some, it is unaffordable for budget travelers and most Colombians. We lived a 20 minute bus ride from the centre and still paid 150,000 pesos (USD 50) for 3 nights. This will never happen in any other Colombian city.

Second, due to the western tourism, the food and museum prices are also double to anywhere else in Colombia. We saw American tourists paying USD 20 at the San Phillipe Barajas which was double the rate in Colombian Pesos. We paid 17,000 pesos (USD 5.50) per head, which was easily double the general Colombian rate.

Finally, in the evening lots of chariots come around ready to take people on a ride around the city. The romantic horse buggy ride through the old city could take up to 15 minutes or 30 minutes for 40,000 pesos or 60,000 pesos respectively.

The point is simply that Cartagena is beautiful but expensive. So make sure you come with your pockets full and enjoy this city!

While we were in Taganga, we did a few excursions. A day out in Minca was amazing, you can read all about it here. We also visited the Tayrona National Park and spent a night there. Unlike National Parks in Australia, Colombia is all about providing service and making money.

Get to Tayrona National Park

We got to Santa Marta knowing there are buses that go the National Park but we didn’t know from where. So we got to Santa Marta and asked a few people till someone was calling out to us hysterically. Maybe we looked like the people heading to National Park because he directed us straight to the bus.

The bus ticket from Santa Marta to the Entry of the National Park costed us 14,000 pesos (USD 4.50) each. We lined up for 15 mins to get the tickets but once we got to the cashier, she pointed us to the other side and said “bring a token”. Initially, we thought they wanted us to sort out our accommodation for the night before heading into the park but it turns out we had to watch a short informative movie about Parque Tayrona before buying our tickets. After watching the movie, one of the staff gives you an overview and hands you a token which means that you have watched the video and now you can buy the ticket. Bear in mind that the video and short intro was in Spanish, so almost foreigners were confused and didn’t get much of the information.

The ticket into the park was 39,500 pesos (USD 13) per person for Non-Colombians. You need to show your passport but they were fine with our driver licenses.

Accommodation for Night

As mentioned above, we thought we needed to sort out our accommodation before getting the entry ticket. We knew there are locations within the park that rent out hammocks for the night and Parque Tayrona is incredibly popular so getting a spot can be difficult and expensive in popular beaches.

We spoke to a guy sitting on a tiny table for options. He said we could find out if 2 hammocks were available at Arrecifes beach and that got us excited! While doing the research, we decided Arrecifes would be our first option.

After making a call he confirmed that he can book 2 hammocks for us. The cost for each hammock was 32,400 pesos(USD 11) per person. Again, while we did our research, We had read that hiring cost was about 12,000 pesos, so that seemed a little strange to us. Anyway, we had no choice, but to pay the price.

Once we bought these tickets, we heard a guy selling hammocks at the same beach for 15,000 pesos (USD 5). Now, that was the better deal. We decided to go back to the gentleman on that table and request him to cancel our booking. He gave us the spiel that their service was better and that the other place doesn’t have lockers. We didn’t really require a locker, so we ignored everything and took back our money to reserve at the cheaper place. Savings double!

Unswimmable Beaches

We walked from the entry to the first beach, Cañaveral, though we could have taken a shuttle. It was about a hour walk but we were glad we did it as we spotted titi monkeys fighting and making noises on the trees. Other than that, we heard lots of birds and got to breathe fresh clean air.

Upon reaching Cañaveral, one of the main beaches only to find out that it is closed for swimming. This story played itself out many times with different beaches. This stretch of the Carribean Sea is rough and the non-protected beaches can easily take your life.

Hike to Arrecifes

After Cañaveral, the trail was mostly wooden structure built by the park authority. The trail goes up and down hills and around boulders and cliffs. It is only 3.2km and there are markers the whole way but it took us bout 1 hour 15 mins due to the terrain. After reaching Arrecifes, we realized the place we booked was actually quite good for the price.

La Piscinita

We walked from Arrecifes to La Piscinita. Strangely, though there is accommodation on the Arrecifes beach, the beach itself is unswimmable. La Piscinita was a small beach next to it and we enjoyed ourself in the water for a while. The beach is covered by rocks protecting it from big waves. We were kind of getting an idea of why Colombians love Tayrona!

El Paraiso

Hotel El Paraiso Bukaru had a restaurant, camping grounds, tents and hammocks with a mosquito netted area. To be fair, the mosquito net wasn’t the best but we had our insect repellent so we were fine. There were showers, toilets, a great restaurant serving juices, alcohol and food and a parrot that said, “Hola”. Great deal!

For dinner, Shruti enjoyed her vegetable rice while I decided to go for some shrimp rice. The shrimps were fresh and the meal was tasty. We decided to be a little adventurous and tried costeño (colombian coastal) hot sauce, the ahibasco. It was mindblowing spicy and we could only have a little without ruining our meal. The meal was quite cheap, only 30,000 pesos (USD 10) given we were in a National Park. That would not be the case in Australia!

As night drew upon and we were done with dinner, we decided to take a stroll down the beach. Turns out we weren’t the only ones with the idea. We got a spot and spent some time under the moon light before heading to our hammocks.

This was the first time we would be spending a night in a hammock. I must say, I was a little concerned initially but had a comfortable sleep. Hammocks are really comfortable and I am not sure why we don’t use them much in Australia.

Snorkeling

On our way to Minca we met a few American girls and they told us how great the snorkeling was in Tayrona. As we were walking to El Cabo, another famous beach within the park, we came across the snorkeling board at La Piscina beach, a few beaches up from Arrecifes. An old grandmother was the owner of a snorking company and we decided to go with her. The equipment, guide and photos costed 40,000 pesos (USD 14) per person for 1.5 hours. Bargain!

Our guide showed us around the bay, the corals and the fish. However, the star of the tour were 3 turtles we saw one after another. We followed each of them around until the guide spotted something else. We spotted a sting ray rested on the sea bed, covered with sand and lots of other colourful fish.

The current in the water was quite strong and it was interesting to see huge boulders break the wave and long sea grass being swayed around. It was a beautiful sight and we were glad we did it.

El Cabo

Post-snorkeling, we did another hike to reach Cabo San Juan de Guia. It is the most famous beach in Colombia and the one that usually represents Colombia and Tayrona. We took lots of photos of the beach and Shruti went for a swim as well.

A great memory of this beach was a huge iguanna who came from the rocks to walk around the beach, scaring tourists and walking all over their towels. Shruti got a couple of great shots. Scary but cute!

There are plenty of camp grounds, hammocks and premium hammocks available at El Cabo. Though, based on what we learnt, these spots cannot be reserved early on. There is a need to queue up and at checking in time, spots are allocated.

Long Walk Back

After an hour on Cabo, it was time to head back. Somehow the walk back was much quicker and we were able to walk 7km of rough terrain in 2.5 hours. We had almost run out of money so the shuttle to the exit wasn’t an option and we ended up walking 4km back to the exit again. We were sweaty, tired and in need for a shower. Eventually, we got a bus back to Santa Marta and made it home with a few thousand pesos left.

We had some great experiences in Tayrona. The beaches, the snorkeling, the hammocks and the heat will be remembered for a long time to come. In the two days spent there, we saw the beauty of the park which draws hundreds of thousands of tourists every year both Colombians and foreigners.

Important Information

• There are no cash machines in the park and card isn’t accepted. Make sure you take lots of cash.
• Take fly spray as the mosquitos come out as soon as the sun is setting. And most likely long sleeves will not work.
• Take lots of water and high energy food like muesli, nuts etc.
• Buy from El Paraiso at Arrefices as it caters for budget travelers and things, such as water bottles, juices, aren’t as expensive as in El Cabo.
• If you are spending the night in hammock or tent, make sure you either carry a jacket or blanket. It can get chilly from 3am onwards till the sun comes up.
• Most popular beaches such as Cañaveral, Arrecifes, La Piscina and El Cabo provide accommodation options and have restaurants. Depending on your budget, you can pick what suits you the best.

Minca, Santa Marta is a village atop the Sierra Nevada range very close to the town of Santa Marta. While we were in Taganga, we decided to spend a day in Minca. We took the bus from Taganga to Santa Marta. Upon reaching, we enquired about the collectivo (shared jeep) station to Minca.

After asking about 4-5 people along the way, we managed to get to the station. We hired two spots in the collectivo which costed 7000 pesos (USD 2.50). The ride was about 35 minutes from Santa Marta.

Minca has various spots which can either be walked to or there is the option for taking a moto taxi – basically transported by motorbike.

Pozo Azul

We opted to walk to Pozo Azul which was a beautiful series of two waterfalls. The walk was probably 45 mins long and an easy one. Each waterfall formed a pool, the first one was shallow and the other was deep. Shruti even managed to jump into the deep pool along with the locals. After the swim, we sat there and watched people dive from the top of the waterfall which was a height of around 12 feet.

La Victoria Coffee Plantation

Once dry, we took a moto taxi to the La Victoria Coffee Plantation. Walking up hill for an hour or more would have been a nightmare. The ride on Bajaj Boxers was quick, dangerous and noisy but we loved it. We never thought we would be seeing a Bajaj vehicle in Colombia of all places. Hamara Bajaj!

La Victoria Plantation has a coffee tour, coffee for sale, a microbrewery, a great bistro and amazing view. We had sandwiches and house beers while enjoying the view. Though we didn’t get to do the tour because the guide who spoke English was missing, the place is still a must go.

Other Spots

Minca also has a few other highlights like Marinka Waterfalls and Los Piñas. Both of these can be done in half a day but it is recommended to hike and spend the night. As we didn’t have the time to do so we had to skip them.

Instead, we walked down from the plantation to Minca while breathing in the clean air, enjoying the view and hearing the birds. In the end, we were happy to get a small taste of Minca and it was great fun!

After spending 3 days in Bogota, we wanted to check out the North of Colombia. This region is famous for its beaches as it is part of the Caribbean sea and natural areas. After doing some initial research we figured there isn’t much to do in Santa Marta, an attractive town for tourists. It basically is a destination to explore the region, so lots of day trips around the area. Some of the popular spots to go are Minca and Tayrona National Park.

We looked through the accommodation for Santa Marta and it was a little expensive. So we looked into nearby smaller towns and found a pretty seaside village called Taganga. Turns out, it is the backpacker hub and has plenty of options. We checked AirBnB and found a nice place and great opportunity to stay with a Colombian family.

Rancho Aparte

Rancho Aparte is located at a hill in Taganga. It has great view of the beach but also of the hills around Taganga. We were able to book a room for a very good price not knowing much about the ranch at all.

Normally, I don’t like the flight landings but in Santa Marta you land right between the sea and mountains and the sun was setting too. It was certainly a beautiful start. Ingrid, our host and her husband Jeff picked us up from the airport.

The journey from airport to Taganga was eventful. A police pulled over Jeff for no apparent reason. Jeff and I got off the vehicle, went through a body check, our IDs were reviewed and we were done in 5 minutes.

We stayed with Ingrid and her family for 8 days and had a great time. Her mother was gracious enough to offer us fresh juice upon our arrival and cook us a Colombian breakfast and dinner. Everything was very delicious!

We relaxed at the ranch couple of afternoons enjoying the strong cool wind and swaying in our hammocks. It truly was relaxing time.

Taganga Beach

Taganga became a backpacker mecca sometime ago. Though we don’t know when it happened but it certainly amazed us. Everything in the town is catered to the tourists and some of those who stayed behind and now have businesses catering to other tourists.

The beach has several restaurants, few bars, cafes and tiendas (shops) selling alcohol and eatables. Bonsai Bistro is a small cafe run by a Dutch couple and is worth checking out. The breads are baked fresh everyday! Another place to check out is Pachamama. It is a nice joint in a small alley from the beach strip.

On any day, you can find people haggling prices to take tourists other beaches along the coast by fishing boats. Playa Grande, Playa Crystal and Playa El Cabo are some of the options and the cost varies depending on distance.

However, it is the freedom that the backpackers love here though the village itself has no sealed roads. You can drink on the road, on the beach and outside bars and no one will say a thing. The locals are friendly and safe.

We had the chance of taking a dip in the Tanganga Beach as the sun was going down, it was raining unusually and there was a rainbow. Add in the hills around and the sight was picture perfect. Para para para dise!

Playa Grande

Aside from Taganga’s main beach, there is also Playa Grande which can be reached by walking 20 mins along the hilly path or boat taxi for between 6000 to 10,000 pesos ($2-3.5 USD). We decided to walk it. It was an easy walk and the view of Tanganga from top of the hill was a sight to behold. While it has developed slightly, Tanganga is still a pretty fishing village at heart.

Playa Grande too looks beautiful from the top of the hill. In comparison to Bondi Beach or beaches in India, it is small and overly crowded but one can easily hire chairs in a beachside restaurant for 5000 pesos($2.5USD) to sit, tan and enjoy the cerveza.

We enjoyed the water for a good hour in the calm waters and were able to go in quite deep in the water. As we swam, people were being thrown off banana boats around us.

A funny thing happened as I got out of the water. I noticed my slippers were gone. As I looked around, I saw a young local girl coming back with them on. At first, I thought better of it but then yelled at her in my bad Spanish “Oye! Este son mis zapatos”. She immediately took them off and apologised. She probably thought she shouldn’t have walked past me. Lucky me, I managed to get my lost slippers back while Shruti couldn’t stop laughing. Fingers crossed we don’t have to deal with this again!

Santa Marta

We did a day trip to Santa Marta while here. This historic city was one of the first cities founded by the Spanish in Santa Marta. It has beaches, historical buildings and great food. The bus from Taganga took only 1400 pesos($05.USD) to get us to the historic centre and dropped us right at the Bahia beach with its port and cargo ships.

We spent the first couple of hours just waking through the streets and taking in the sights, sounds and the colours. The colors of the houses, the blue sky and the strong sun made the city look remarkable. While Bogota had it rustic beauty and Taganga its natural beauty, Santa Marta looked much more beautiful than both. There are lots of parques in the old city which looks more like plazas then parks but they were great places to sit, people watch and have a coffee in.

The Cathedral of Santa Marta shined like a white sheet against the Sun. Both from the outside and inside, it was stunning and showed the former glory of Santa Marta. An interesting thing about the Cathedral is that Simon Bolivar, the Liberator General of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador was buried here but his remains were exhumed and moved to Caracas, Venezuela.

Our next stop was the Museum of Gold in Santa Marta. We didn’t intend on visiting as we had seen the Musuem of Gold in Bogota but another museum in the area was closed and this was free. It ended up being a good decision as the museum had lots of information on the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Foundation and Trade in Santa Marta, natives of the region and Simon Bolivar. The information was well written and just the amount without boring us.

Post lunch, we decided to take a dip in the beach. At first, we went to the close by Bahia Beach but then decided against it. Rodadero Beach is the famous one in Santa Marta so we decided to head there instead. Buses to Rodadero beach are available from the main street in Santa Marta and takes around 15 minutes to get there. Once we had corssed the hill, the conductor dropped us on the main road in Rodadero, about 10 minutes walking distance from the beach.

The sun was almost setting as we arrived at Rodadero beach. The beach itself was packed to the brim. The best thing about popular beaches in Colombia is that they have plenty of food and drinks right at the beach itself. There were people selling arepas, alcohol, tours to the national park, sweets and DJing right on the beach itself. The atmosphere is like a party and you can easily stay all day.

Food

While in Santa Marta and Taganga, we tried a lot of local food from street stalls, which was mostly cheap and tasty. One of the first things I had was the local fish in Taganga. It was fresh and flavoursome. Another local food we had a few times was the arepas with cheese and sauces. It was cheap, only 1500 pesos (USD 0.50), tasty and fatty with all the cheese. I even had a massive chicken burger from a street vendor for 5000 pesos (USD 1.50). Similarly, Shruti tried the vegetarian salchipapas which was salad, cheese and french fries. It costed 5000 pesos (USD 1.50) and was a sufficient dinner meal.

Moreover, we had one of the best lunches in Santa Marta. The lunch special was kidney beans, rice, plantain and a choice of yuca or chicken with a maracuya juice. It was similar to thali lunches in India and we were incredibly full. And surprisingly, the entire lunch only costed 20,000 pesos (USD 6.50).