Santa Marta.
I must be honest. At first, I was pretty unimpressed with Santa Marta. During the day, it looks like a quiet, dirty, port town. However, as the sun sets, all the streets open up and restaurants spill out into the plazas, salsa music pumping from every club – nightlife is alive! Good restaurants, street performers, and fun Salsa dancing bars! I guess Santa Marta isn’t so bad after all.
We spent a day scuba diving in the Caribbean and that was magic. We saw countless fish, a seahorse, eels, lobsters, and turtles! Thanks, Octopus Dive Center!
Pro:
- Great scuba diving!
- Surprising good Mexican food – Finally!
- Fun night life and Salsa dancing
Con:
- Beaches in the city are very dirty. Go outside the city to the park for a good beach and swimming experience
Tip:
- Do yourself a favor and don’t try the Colombian national alcohol, Aguadente – tastes like gasoline and black licorice. Yuck.
- Just a day or two in Santa Marta is plenty
Fun Fact:
- Don’t be alarmed if the locals stop and ask you for a photo because they’ve never seen a large red-bearded man before 🙂