{"id":6244,"date":"2016-01-21T16:12:11","date_gmt":"2016-01-21T20:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/?p=6244"},"modified":"2016-01-21T16:12:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-21T20:12:11","slug":"a-warm-welcome-to-santa-marta-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/?p=6244","title":{"rendered":"A Warm Welcome to Santa Marta Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"15<\/a>

15 rally boats leaving Aruba<\/p><\/div>\n

15 rally boats all setting off from Oranjestad Aruba at once was a sight to see. \u00a0This photo shows 11 boats on AIS as we left Aruba. \u00a0The passage to Santa Marta Colombia was about 250 miles, just under 2 days travel most boats. \u00a0 Some pushed straight through and several stopped in Ensenada Huaritcheru for a few hours rest. \u00a0It was a close knit fleet at some points but stretched out a bit over time. \u00a0It was nice to see boats all around during night.<\/p>\n

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\"We<\/a>

We finally got one!<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout the trip \u00a0there were reports of successful fishing efforts, tuna, wahoo, mahi. \u00a0We finally caught one – \u00a0We caught a Mahi! \u00a0Several of the boats caught a few fish and generously grilled for the entire group one evening in Santa Marta. \u00a0We’re continuing to feel optimistic that our efforts will improve.<\/p>\n

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We had started out with good wind and seas but conditions varied along the way. \u00a0We used our spinnaker at times and often sailed “wing on wing” \u00a0using various combinations of head sails. \u00a0We 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. \u00a0There wasn’t a sense of racing but it seemed we all wanted the best performance we could manage from our boats. \u00a0It was interesting to see how everyone did with different wind or sea conditions. \u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n

\"Spinnaker <\/a>
Spinnaker and Genoa <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Screecher and Genoa <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

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Each boat received an individual welcome via radio from the Colombian Coast Guard as we neared the harbor at Santa Marta.<\/p>\n

\"Individual <\/a>
Individual Welcome <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Colombian <\/a>
Colombian Coast Guard Welcome <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

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Marina Santa Marta was also quite welcoming. \u00a0They quickly had us all set in our slips and responded right away to any issues needing attention; installing cleats, helping with electricity or water. \u00a0The office staff was friendly and helpful throughout our visit. \u00a0Kelly is an amazing ambassador for her country and so very helpful!.<\/em> \u00a0The general sentiment was a warm welcome to Colombia and hope that we would spread the message that Colombia is a wonderful place to visit.<\/p>\n

\"Suzanne <\/a>
Suzanne and Kelly <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Suzanne <\/a>
Suzanne with the Marina staff <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Marina <\/a>
Marina Santa Maria staff <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

So here we are spreading the word – Colombia is a warm and welcoming country! \u00a0We have enjoyed our stay very much and only wish we had more time to explore this diverse country.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The marina organized and assisted with our clear in which went quite well. \u00a0One 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. \u00a0For me and Jeff it was a bit more complex as our card does not have a chip and most machines required them. \u00a0After several attempts we found one that worked for us and we tapped it several times over our stay.<\/p>\n

\"Refreshing<\/a>

Refreshing break while searching for Pesos<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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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. \u00a0We 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.<\/p>\n

We learned about the indigenous peoples of Colombia and their history. \u00a0We learned a bit about the history of Colombia specifically, it’s geography \u00a0and it’s economy. \u00a0Each of our guides offered a great deal of information and perspective. \u00a0We also discussed the relationship of Colombia and the US with regard to our “war on drugs”. \u00a0There is a general feeling that Colombia has had about 40 very difficult years with challenges including cocaine, internal wars and difficult economic times. \u00a0Today the economy is strong, the drug trade exists but under much better control and a peace treaty ending a decades long internal war<\/a> will be signed in March. \u00a0Everyone we spoke to is very optimistic about the future and strongly recommends people come to visit their country.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Santa Marta City Tour and City Scenes<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Trekking Pueblito<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Minca Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n

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We are enjoying Colombia so much and are thankful to be part of “Suzie Too’s” group. \u00a0Suzanne’s preparations continue to ease our journey in so many ways plus she and David are wonderful\u00a0people spend time with! \u00a0The rally members are welcoming, helpful and lots of fun! \u00a0As we each explore the areas in our own ways we cross paths often and gradually get to know one another. \u00a0We gather for meetings, meal, provisioning, and visiting. \u00a0 It’s a great group of people! \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Next stop Cartagena.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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~ Jeff and Mary ~<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Suzzie<\/a>

Suzzie Too’s Sunday Beach Party – Santa Marta Colombia<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15 rally boats all setting off from Oranjestad Aruba at once was a sight to see. \u00a0This photo shows 11 boats on AIS as we left Aruba. \u00a0The passage to Santa Marta Colombia was about 250 miles, just under 2 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/svecho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Mahi.jpg?fit=800%2C575","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2y1a7-1CI","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6244"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6360,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6244\/revisions\/6360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}