Immediately following Carnaval, I switched into birding mode. I met my friend Arman Moreno from Austin at the Barranquilla airport. We jumped into a taxi and then onto a bus to Santa Marta. We only had three nights there before moving to Minca in the Santa Marta Mountains so we had to move quickly.
We stayed at Hotel Santa Sofía del Mar. It is a delightful little boutique hotel located just a few blocks from the beach and with upbeat and helpful owners.
On our first full day, we visited Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino. Simón Bolívar, having fallen out of favor with much of the population at the time, spent his last days here. It is now a great birding location and, of course, a museum.
Photos:
1-3 - Artwork from the museum
4- The actual bed in which Bolívar died
5 - Large sculpture of Bolívar
6 - The grounds included several different types of habitat from manicured gardens to a cactus field.
Hotel guard cat
Beach dog
Sunset from the beach
Santa Marta has a fun restaurant and bar strip.
(first photo below)
A ground gathered when the fishermen had pulled a net full of fish onto the beach. People, restaurants and street vendors purchased fresh fish on the spot. (second photo below)
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