Historic Santa Marta, Colombia

Friday, January 25, 2019

Preface

If you have been reading my blog, you already know how disappointed I was with the window in my “Ocean View” cabin. This morning, as I was preparing to go ashore, this happened:

Now, on to the story

As much as I love time at sea, the relaxing pitching of the ship, the feeling of being desperately alone on the ocean with little or no land within view, it is very nice to finally set foot once again on dry land. And here, as I firmly plant my feet on the dock in Santa Marta, Colombia, I wonder if the locals look at me and laugh as I walk around with my “sea legs” still very much active. If so, they’re at least polite enough to not laugh directly in my face.

It’s very warm here, 88º with humidity clearly about 50%. The skies are clear and I’m very happy to be back on land, and in a predominately Spanish speaking country. I feel very confident as I walk along the malecón and interact with the locals in their own language. Just trying to speak Spanish with them elicits smiles and warm greetings.

So, what makes Santa Marta one of the nicest places you’ve never heard of. Well, allow me to explain.

History

Santa Marta is a very old city. Established in 1525 by the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas, it is the oldest city in Colombia, and the second oldest in South America. (Pardon me while I experience a little shiver because I can hardly believe it; I’m in South America!)

Although the city does not really have many sites that date from that time, it still honors many of the people responsible for its very presence. A beautiful park is named for Simón Bolivár, liberator and first president of Colombia, and a statue of General Francisco de Paula Santander, the first vice president, is in another park close by. There is an interesting history between these two men. I leave it up to you to explore the topic on your own.

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Around town

The city is small. I walked around about half of the downtown area in three hours which included stopping in a local bistro/bar named Ouzo for a liquid lunch.

I found a very picturesque little alleyway called Carrera 3 in the downtown area of Santa Marta. This “street” is lined with restaurants, bars, and merchants. In places, trees from the parks along it path hang over the narrow street and create a colorful “old world” look.

I spent some time walking around the parks and trying to take in the culture. In so doing, I found some unexpected sights, like these:

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If you don’t remember Juan Valdez, perhaps this will jog your memory.

After enjoying my walk around town I returned to the ship to have a cocktail and take in the view of the beautiful harbor. On the stroll back, I encountered two happy women on a street corner. They smiled at me and asked me where I was going. I told them I was headed back to the ship. They asked me, “Why?” and suggested that I go with them and have a party. Isn’t that nice? A couple of local girls wanted to have a party with just them and me.

Anyway, back to the beauty of the harbor. A true landmark of this harbor is the tiny island with a lighthouse on the top.

Also, while I was sitting on the Sea View deck, I saw stars floating just above the water next to the ship. I stood up to get a closer look. It took a little time to figure out what was causing all of the twinkling but eventually I could tell that the “stars” were tiny fish (maybe the size of a guppy?) that were being chased by a larger fish and were jumping out of the water in an effort to escape. There had to be millions of them brightly reflecting the sun’s rays! Quite a show!

So, I’ve departed Santa Marta and now I’m on my way to the San Blas islands of Panamá.