santa marta

the shared mini-van picked me up at the hotel right on time but it felt kind of strange sitting amid businessman types and rich wifes in a small car somewhere in northern colombia. but all went well, it only took about 1.5h longers than planned and i even got some tips for santa marta from two of the passengers. they couldn't really convince me to stay at taganga though of which i've heard enough to make me not wanna stay there: backpackers, backpackers & more backpackers assimilating a tiny little village - no thanks.

so i ventured deep into santa marta to get to my hostel which comes with quite a reputation: el miramar. it was totally shabby but it has its charme i have to say :) quickly called up another courchsurfing host and we met later for a quick tour of santa marta's beacharea but first i had to get food as i was starving, got hinted to a local restaurant where i ate great food which basically cost me nothing. next i had to do my first colombian swim! even though its a beach right in the city, it's really not that bad. a nice little bay, not to full with people and ok water & sand. finally some real beach in my vacation!

the area around the beach is really nice and as i was assured, quite safe even after dark. of course i had to put this to the test and never had a problem: its well lit and even though there are some dodgy characters around, nobody really bothered me. in the evenings tons of students came to the beach to hang around - and chat with that strange gringo enjoying the sunsets.

ohhh the sunsets, they are amazing! one can watch the houses on the rock in the bay lit with blue light slowly contrasting against the stunningly red sun going down while people sit at the beach, chat, playing games or just sit and enjoy the spectacle. really cool!

and last but not least, a gourmet tip as well: the best filet mignon i ever ate: Ben & Josep´s Bar Restaurant