Traveler Interview by kim kim

www.kimkim.com helped us build a customized travel plan for our three weeks in Colombia. We loved the trip!! They interviewed us and I have included a link to that interview below.

Traveler Interview: Three weeks in Colombia

Santa Marta, Colombia

Santa Marta is South America's oldest European-founded town and the second most important colonial city on Colombia's Caribbean coast.

The climate is hot, but the heat here is drier than Cartagena, and the evening sea breeze keeps the city cool after dark.

We stayed at La Casa del Farol. This small, boutique hotel is in a lively and loud area. We stayed in the Simon Bolivar room. They serve a full breakfast and have a very small rooftop pool.  There are English speakers on staff, but keep a few Spanish words and phrases handy. We didn’t stay for a drink, but they say they have the best gin and tonics in town. 

Simon Bolivar is a very important figure in Colombia. We saw a statue of him in every square and in Bogota we saw the window where he jumped out to escape an assassination attempt Sept 25, 1828.

"Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) was the greatest leader of Latin America's independence movement from Spain. A superb general and a charismatic politician, he not only drove the Spanish from northern South America but also was instrumental in the early formative years of the republics that sprang up once the Spanish had gone. His later years are marked by the collapse of his grand dream of a united South America.

He is remembered as "The Liberator," the man who liberated his home from Spanish rule."

 

We went out for lunch and this dog took up position beside our table. This was on one of the "walking streets". We were warned not to go a couple of blocks over in the area of abandoned buildings. We were so close to the border with Venezuela that many unemployed Venezuelans flooded the area.

The days were hot and humid but the nights were cooled by the ocean breezes. We stopped at this restaurant and sat outside. Groups of entertainers stopped by the play their music or dance.

Check your bill because chances are there has been a 10% service charge added even though we were told that tipping is not expected in Colombia. We tipped.

Dinner for Dave

Dinner for Bonnie

Cathedral in the square.

For some reason I am always fascinated with images of a black Jesus

We sat at a small cafe just across from the water. Santa Marta is known for it's beaches but we didn't go to any after being told at our hotel not to go to the beach closest to town because of pollution. Figured that if one beach is polluted, chances are that all were.