Having been woken early yesterday morning by a deafening dawn chorus from the tropical birds that live around the hotel, we sleep blissfully today until our alarm clock wakes us at 7.30am, jet lag and any lingering cold now seemingly behind me. Breakfast is taken once more in the beautiful dining room of the hacienda, and we finish our packing in time to be picked up by Fernando to drive us four hours to Bucaramanga, the capital of Santander. From there we are due to catch a flight back to Bogotá this afternoon for a connecting evening flight to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast.
The drive takes us through the spectacular Chicamocha canyon, one of Colombia’s natural wonders and it’s utterly breathtaking. Paragliders fly high above us, riding the thermals alongside the vultures, while down below us adrenaline-junkie backpackers usually go white water rafting along the surging waters of the Rio Chichamocha.
However the river gorge is more like a desolate river bed than a flowing torrent and Fernando confirms that there is real concern about water levels now due to climate change, with no sign they’ll return to previous levels. The impact on farmers and local people, as well as on future tourism, is becoming more and more pressing.
Crossing the vast canyon is a snaking cable car line that takes 45 minutes to descend down one side and ascend up to the ridge on the other one. Fernando tells us it’s very tranquilo but Coman goes white at the thought of it. We eventually descend safely to the valley floor in the car and cross the bridge over the river, following its path along an ever-twisting road, often stuck behind big lorries plying their trade the vast distances between cities. The scenery is worth going slowly for though as it really is magnificent. Tropical plants abound, with vast trees and sheer rocky river walls creating vertical drama.
We finally approach a huge city and Fernando explains that Bucaramanga is actually four different cities in one lengthy expanse, comprising Bucaramanga itself and the distinct sister cities of Floridablanca, Girón and Piedecuesta, which between them are home to 1.5 million inhabitants in total, making the district of Bucaramanga Colombia’s fifth biggest urban expanse. The separate skylines are laid out across a dramatic canyon and as we ascend to the summit of the other side and approach Palonegro airport we can see all four separate municipalities laid out before us. It’s quite a sight.
The airport is pretty small with flights only to Medellin, Cartagena and our connecting destination of Bogotá, but it has a little lounge with a well-stocked bar and snacks so it keeps us happy until boarding. However the time comes and goes and eventually it becomes clear that due to delays we will miss our connecting flight from Bogotá to Santa Marta tonight.
We are called to the gate and the Avianca staff are extremely helpful, arranging for us to have a hotel when we finally arrive in Bogotá tonight, sorting out our luggage and changing our boarding passes to the morning instead. The years of learning Spanish really prove their worth as none of the airline staff in Bucaramanga speak English, but as we wait to finally board our delayed flight to Bogotá, a young chap sat at the gate called Daniel starts chatting to us in English
He’s got a baseball cap on, sneakers and a diamond earring and his girlfriend Julianna is scrolling through her phone and chewing gum. Daniel tells us he’s a lawyer and a budding music entrepreneur and they’re flying to Bogotá for a concert by their favourite Mexican reggaeton artist tonight. He commiserates with us that we can no longer get to Santa Marta as planned but seems relaxed about potentially missing his concert. “We’ll get there before it finishes!” he grins.
He’s really chatty and asks us all about our trip and is keen to know where else we are travelling, genuinely thrilled that tourists are coming to this part of Colombia. Like everyone else we have met so far, he is really friendly and positive. And once we land in Bogotá the Avianca staff patiently sort us our room in the airport Hampton hotel, give us vouchers for dinner and help us on our way to Santa Marta in the morning.
Founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas, Santa Marta is South America’s oldest European-founded settlement and the second most important colonial city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast after Cartagena. It was the launchpad for the expedition into the heart of Colombia that led to the founding of Bogotá, but also the base for many attacks on the local Tayrona people, and later repeatedly ransacked by pirates. Most famously, Simon Bolivar died there, having brought independence to six Latin American countries, on December 17th, 1830. So if we’d arrived yesterday night as planned we would have landed on that very anniversary.
As it is we land at Aeropuerto Internacional Simon Bolivar just after midday and are treated to views of the Caribbean as we touch down, with the runway being right next to the beach. Juan Carlos, our driver for the next week, meets us in the sweltering tropical heat and drives us to our hotel, Akuamarina, and as we drive it’s obvious that Santa Marta is not the prettiest place on earth. Gritty would be an appropriate word to describe it.
Unfortunately the little restaurant at Akuamarina has just closed for lunch so we are directed to a supermarket a couple of blocks away to buy bread, cheese and tomatoes to make ourselves a sandwich but as we are leaving an old man, who has been sitting at one of the tables in the hotel, comes up to tell us that area is “peligroso” (dangerous) and we must “ten cuidado” (be careful). He’s not wrong. The hotel, while pleasant enough itself, is definitely located in a sketchy part of town and we can feel eyes on us just going to the local store.
Once we’ve eaten Juan Carlos arrives back with our guide for the next two days, Andreas. Originally from Bogotá he moved to Santa Marta a few years ago to escape the capital’s traffic and to develop a tourist business on the Caribbean coast, with the hope that Santa Marta will become more tourist-friendly in years to come.
He says the city used to be referred to as the Pearl of the Caribbean, and it is still one of the most important ports in Colombia. We walk along the seafront in absolutely scorching sunshine, seeking shade wherever we can and watching our ice creams melt instantly down our fingers. Andreas tells us that this year has been outrageously hot and the usual northern breeze, called La Loca, that can at times bring a bit of cooling relief, has been in short supply recently.
After seeing the statue of Rodrigo de Bastidas we cross the road to the Gabriel Garcia Márquez library, dedicated to Colombia’s most famous author, and the local Museo de Oro, which is closed today, as it’s a Monday. Wandering through the downtown streets, past Colombia’s first cathedral, there’s a definite edgy vibe to the place, but it’s also quite a funky town and when we get to Parque de los Novios (Lover’s Park) we’re surrounded by buzzing bars and restaurants.
Parque de los Novios boasts the local magistrates court and a decaying bandstand and at its heart is a statue of Francisco de Paulo Santander, who fought alongside Bolivar for independence and came to be the father of the nation, as he developed the laws and judiciary that established Colombia as a democracy.
Juan Carlos picks us up once more and drives us out of town to La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, a 17th century hacienda and sugar plantation where in 1830 Simon Bolivar was given sanctuary but died of tuberculosis before he could set sail for exile in Europe.
Bolivar, although lauded as a hero, was actually very complex and a fervent Freemason. While he believed in Independence from Spain, he actually wanted to gain personal power and establish his own elite dictatorship. So once independence was gained his previous allies, including Francisco de Paulo Santander, jailed him to prevent his personal ambitions, and the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Panama were able to forge their own destinies.
La Quinta hosts small exhibitions of how rum was made at the plantation and we visit the main hacienda, seeing the marble statue of Bolivar in repose in the room he died in. Throughout the grounds are fabulous trees, teeming with parrots and iguanas, as part of Santa Marta’s biological gardens, and at the heart of it all is the Altar de La Patrimonio, a huge marble mausoleum which features a large and striking statue of Simon Bolivar, looking extremely haughty.
We end our tour in the nearby fishing village and backpacker haunt of Taganga for a welcome beer on the beach as dusk falls. Dropping us back at our hotel, Andreas recommends a restaurant called Ouzo for dinner on Parque de los Novios and, even though it’s only eight blocks away, strongly recommends getting a taxi there and back. We heed his advice and find the whole downtown area is pumping and partying hard even though it’s a Monday night. Vibrant, loud and busy, people are very dressed up, with Colombian tourists all dripping in super glam clothes, along with a few hot and sweaty foreign tourists in far more casual mode.
Ouzo is lovely and we enjoy great cauliflower and mushroom gyros and a couple of margaritas before wandering around the souvenir market at the heart of the square. Exhausted we take another taxi back to our hotel to prepare for one of the absolute highlights of our Colombian adventures tomorrow. We are definitely going to need our sleep for this excursion.
