We had both slept so well through the night.  I woke around 0630 and next minute, it was 0800.  The poolside breakfast was good but as soon as we returned to our room, it started drizzling and it later became light rain that would make any activity undesirable. Around 1100, we walked along the grey […]

With a bus to Santa Marta at 0930 departing from a station 45 mins away, we took breakfast at the earliest possible time of 0730.  Being the first there, we were served immediately and were out within 25 mins. The first taxi driver we found offered a good honest price of COP30K.  Traffic was bad […]

Largest fortress in Latin America I must have needed a lot of sleep to help me get over the light symptoms of whatever I’ve got.  Despite having slept early, we didn’t get up till around 0800. After breakfast, we left around 1000 for a short walk across the water to Castillo de San Felipe de […]

Walking tour of old city The power went off at breakfast this morning.  The receptionist later showed me a notice saying that there would be no power till the evening and that water supply would also be interrupted for the upper levels also due to no power to the water pump.  Well, luckily for us, […]

Our priority after breakfast was to get our laundry done.  That was quite easy, being just around the corner.  The next priority was to top-up our cash to take us till our last couple of days in Colombia.  We found the Scotiabank (again) which dispensed a maximum of COP900K without a local fee. Near there […]

Above:  The Bocagrande peninsula as seen from the air is very low-lying. Flying to the Caribbean coast I woke at 0230 probably having had too much sleep in the last couple of days.  I managed to doze from 0500 to 0600 before the alarm at 0630.  Surprisingly, I managed another cold wash before summoning an […]

Above:  Bucaramanga’s main square.  Having been spoilt with travel by private car two days ago, we decided to repeat the experience from Barichara to Bucaramanga, where we stay only one short night before a morning flight.  It’s a nightstop of necessity.  Public transport would require one change, taking 40 mins plus waiting time plus at […]

For breakfast, I had opted for the Tamal filled with meat, chicken and chickpeas.  It was nice, like a Chinese bakchang but with a corn mash instead of glutinous rice.  The Santander-style arepa was very dry unlike the greasier version back at Villa de Leyva. Seated by the gardens with chirping birds, including some bright […]