TotalAdventure flew from Cali to Santa Marta – from the Pacific to the Atlantic in one day. Arriving in Santa Marta at night I had a swim in the pool, then off to the Old City for supper. Now a laid back tourist town – where the barren brown Andes meet the Caribbean – Santa Marta was the main trans shipment point for cocaine to Miami back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In Santa Marta, I attempted to rent a 4X4 pickup tuck, but all that was available was a little eggbeater of some Kia sort of car. I then set off for the wilds of La Guajira.
Incredible Places To Eat Along The Highways. Vegan is often not option – just salad or rice and beans. Fresh Grouper on the coast of La Guajira Peninsula.A simple hotel room in San Juan del Cesar, $ 30 ( 120,000 Pesos) Per Night. Great AirCon and WiFi. In the video you will see the journey through the desert. Life is hard in the Guajira – local people were selling a bitter fruit by the side of the road. I did buy some in support, but it was unpalatable and fed it to goats instead. La Guajira is one of the regions now safer to travel since the Peace Treaty was signed with FARC. FaRC is still active in scattered regions. TotalAdventure then drove through the Sierra Madres del Santa Marta back down to the Caribbean. TheColombia Adventure ended in Cartagena, where I turned in the little Eggbeater and relaxed in the excellent rooftop pool of my hotel. It was my first time back since April,1988 when I was a reporter of the Trans Amazon Rallye. Check out the primitive but amazing website from 1995. In a back street of the Ciudad Vieja. Rooftop Pool – Great at the end of a long hot day. Caribbean Sunset. To the West is Panama. One day in Cartagena I went to meet an old family friend, the Artist Rafael Ortiz . Above, the artist in his studio.Rafael Ortiz Art.
Rafael Ortiz Art.
The Artist directed this mural in a Barrio near the studio. To See more of Rafael’s work ,please visit his Instagram
After 11 Days in Colombia, TotalAdventure returned to Miami on the 2hour, 45 minute flight. flight – around the same time as to go to New York from Miami. Note the plane boards from both front and back – 15 minutes total as opposed to 45 minutes in the States.
Comments