SANTA MARTA

(Columbia, South America, SW Caribbean)

11^O14.52’N, 74^O13.13’W

30 November to 13 December 2018

  National Flag of Columbia

Wednesday 28 November 2018

Aruba to Santa Marta, 295 miles, 1 day 21 hrs 15 minutes (45.25 hrs), 2.1 engine hrs,

6.52 knots average speed.  Total miles since Falmouth, August 2016: 12197

The sail to Santa Marta was wonderful.  The twin headsails coped well with the gusts of 30 knots plus.

We chose to leave Oranjestad, Aruba early evening, arriving lunch time on Friday, along with three other of the Suzie Too rally boats.

Twin headsails – wind coming from directly behind

Sierra Nevada Mountains–highest coastal mountains in the World at 19,000 feet.  Santa Marta in the distance

                        
                             Big fish …………….                                                                              little fish ………….

The anchorage at Santa Marta was not recommended so we berthed in the marina.  Copies of our passports, boat registration papers, insurance and crew list had been pre-sent for Customs and Immigration making checking-in a refreshing pleasure!  To Ken’s delight, beer at the marina bar was the equivalent of £1.00/bottle!

The tuna tasted wonderful raw as a sashimi starter and lightly BBQ’d as a main course aboard La Mischief!

View from our berth on Santa Marta Marina.

We utilised the marina’s shore power and water to wash the boat, pressure wash the cockpit cushions, lines etc. and do several loads of washing!  Unfortunately, whilst Ken was gutting the fish on passage, a large wave hit us, rocking the boat considerably, tipping the bucket of fishy water into the lazarette where we store, amongst other things, all our ropes, hoses and cables.  Given the heat of 32 degrees, it was stinking, so all the contents had to be removed and thoroughly washed!

Once all the rally boats were safely moored, the marina hosted a welcome party attended by the Armada and local press.

Suzie, our rally organiser, being interviewed by the local press and thanked by the marina staff

                               Welcome party and group photo

The atmosphere in town later that evening was unbelievable; absolutely spectacular.  Lots of happy people jostling around, partying on the streets, eating, drinking and being merry whilst watching in awe the amazing entertainers - street performers, musicians, acrobats, dancers and singers.  Wow!

All this socialising was balanced by a healthy exercise regime.  Ken’s idea of ‘balanced’ is a beer in each hand 😊.  I however thoroughly enjoyed yoga on the marina helipad (like you do!), working out at the local gym and noodle exercise by the beach.

Marina helipad, perfect for yoga, that is until the helicopter wanted to land!

We had a few trips into town in search of various boat bits, without much success, so I guess I’ll be bringing them back from the UK following my Christmas visit.  Parts of the town were geared to the tourists with pleasant walkways, shops, bars and restaurants.  The local’s areas however, absolutely manic with people, scooters, buses and cars constantly hooting and speeding around!  Just negotiating the pavements, dodging in and out of people’s way and the market stalls crammed into every inch was totally exhausting; a real eye-opening experience.  The language barrier didn’t help; very few locals speak English, hence our part-taking in a few Spanish lessons, held at the marina, to get us started.

A couple of tours to various areas of the Sierra Nevada mountains was a must do.

Looking down on Santa Marta                                    Stunningly green mountain range

La Victoria Coffee Plantation                                                       Separating the coffee beans in a vat of water

Further coffee bean separation                                                 Antiquated machinery

Roasting                                                                                                               Grinding

Ken disappeared at one point, only to be discovered trying to talk his way into the small brewery next to the coffee plantation, without success!

El Pozo Azul water fall – too cold for us to swim, but others did, brrrrr ………

Our second trip took a small group of us further into the mountains, along extremely bumpy tracks, to visit some villages, tribes and ethnicities of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Parrots at the breakfast stop                                       Shopping for lunch ingredients to be cooked at one of the villages

We frequently had to get out of the vehicles either to lighten the load or just incase they left the track and fell down the mountain sides!

Road blocked by a landslide                                                                         Very narrow tracks                                         

Snow capped mountains in the background                                         Lunch stop at Quebrada Del Sol

The odd cow and pig roaming

A hollowed-out gourd called a ‘poporo’ contains crushed seashells. A stick is used to transfer the powder to the wad of coca in the mouth – the highly alkaline shells react with the coca to stimulate its active ingredients. Surplus powder is rubbed on the neck of the poporo – over time, this becomes a thick collar.

Right from an early age the males wear shoulder bags, the females beads – sometimes this is the only way to tell the difference between the two sexes!

A swim across the very fast flowing Don Diego River lead us to an Arhuaca family - indigenous people of Columbia.  We were not able to take photographs and had to keep our distance.  They do not like ‘tourists’ as feel we are destroying the Earth.

We visited the Kogul community, another one of the ethnicities of Sierra Nevada

I was pleased we did these tours early on in our stay as during the second week I suffered a severe stomach bug.  I missed a few social events, some exercise sessions and a couple of beach clean-ups (as a group, we spend time collecting rubbish from the beaches and harbours to keep it from polluting the oceans).  Rather I missed that than the wonderful adventures we had in the mountains.

Next stop:  Puerto Valero and Isla Grande, Isla Roserio