A Warm Welcome to Santa Marta Colombia

15 rally boats all setting off from Oranjestad Aruba at once was a sight to see.  This photo shows 11 boats on AIS as we left Aruba.  The passage to Santa Marta Colombia was about 250 miles, just under 2 days travel most boats.   Some pushed straight through and several stopped in Ensenada Huaritcheru for a few hours rest.  It was a close knit fleet at some points but stretched out a bit over time.  It was nice to see boats all around during night.

 

Throughout the trip  there were reports of successful fishing efforts, tuna, wahoo, mahi.  We finally caught one –  We caught a Mahi!  Several of the boats caught a few fish and generously grilled for the entire group one evening in Santa Marta.  We’re continuing to feel optimistic that our efforts will improve.

 

 

 

We had started out with good wind and seas but conditions varied along the way.  We used our spinnaker at times and often sailed “wing on wing”  using various combinations of head sails.  We have had little opportunity to use our new main sail since Grenada as it has been a downwind journey but did put it up once just to see how things went.  There wasn’t a sense of racing but it seemed we all wanted the best performance we could manage from our boats.  It was interesting to see how everyone did with different wind or sea conditions.  The last little bit of the journey was where we all saw the highest wind speeds and largest waves, that bit of water had us all wide awake for our entrance to Marina Santa Marta.

 

 

Each boat received an individual welcome via radio from the Colombian Coast Guard as we neared the harbor at Santa Marta.

 

Marina Santa Marta was also quite welcoming.  They quickly had us all set in our slips and responded right away to any issues needing attention; installing cleats, helping with electricity or water.  The office staff was friendly and helpful throughout our visit.  Kelly is an amazing ambassador for her country and so very helpful!.  The general sentiment was a warm welcome to Colombia and hope that we would spread the message that Colombia is a wonderful place to visit.

So here we are spreading the word – Colombia is a warm and welcoming country!  We have enjoyed our stay very much and only wish we had more time to explore this diverse country. 

The marina organized and assisted with our clear in which went quite well.  One little hitch was each boat had to pay the customs and broker fee in Colombian pesos. The ATMs nearest the marina were quickly out of money so it became necessary to wander around town to find a machine with cash.  For me and Jeff it was a bit more complex as our card does not have a chip and most machines required them.  After several attempts we found one that worked for us and we tapped it several times over our stay.

The currency here is Colombian Pesos, 3300 Pesos equal one US dollar. It’s tough to get your mind around the cost of things at first but you feel like a millionaire when your ATM receipt includes your account balance.

 

With 5 days in Santa Marta we opted to take advantage of some tours offered so we could learn about the area and the country.  We did a city tour, a hiking tour to an archeological site in the national park of Tayrona and a tour of a coffee plantation with a stop at a waterfall along the way.

We learned about the indigenous peoples of Colombia and their history.  We learned a bit about the history of Colombia specifically, it’s geography  and it’s economy.  Each of our guides offered a great deal of information and perspective.  We also discussed the relationship of Colombia and the US with regard to our “war on drugs”.  There is a general feeling that Colombia has had about 40 very difficult years with challenges including cocaine, internal wars and difficult economic times.  Today the economy is strong, the drug trade exists but under much better control and a peace treaty ending a decades long internal war will be signed in March.  Everyone we spoke to is very optimistic about the future and strongly recommends people come to visit their country.

 

 Santa Marta City Tour and City Scenes

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Trekking Pueblito

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Minca Tour

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We are enjoying Colombia so much and are thankful to be part of “Suzie Too’s” group.  Suzanne’s preparations continue to ease our journey in so many ways plus she and David are wonderful people spend time with!  The rally members are welcoming, helpful and lots of fun!  As we each explore the areas in our own ways we cross paths often and gradually get to know one another.  We gather for meetings, meal, provisioning, and visiting.   It’s a great group of people!  

Next stop Cartagena.

 

~ Jeff and Mary ~