Feb 12 – This morning we called an Uber to take us to the bus station, where we had tickets for the 10:00 van to Santa Marta. The van was semi air conditioned and played the Spanish version of the newer Avatar movie. Four hours later, we arrived in the beach town of Santa Marta.

We walked the few blocks to our apartment, but were faced with a locked lobby door. Unlike previous hosts, we realized that no one had reached out to us to tell us how to get into the building or who would have our key. We tried calling the number on our reservation and emailing Booking.com, but no bananas.

A man who lived in the building let us in, and walked with us to Apt. 302. One look in the window told us the sad truth – it was an empty apartment. Uh oh!

Others have shared their bad experiences with Booking.com, but out of hundreds of rentals over the years, this was the first time we were left high and dry. We got out our phones and sat down on the steps, and before too long, Jim had found us a nice hotel with air con and wifi, a block from the beach. Day saved!

Santa Marta is a tourist town, with lots of trinkets, eateries and music playing in the streets. We found a seafood restaurant right on the beach, and watched the sunset over the water.

Not the day we planned, but still a good day!

Feb 13 – When you stay in a hotel, someone else makes your breakfast and washes the dishes! On a breezy terrace, we enjoyed our eggs, fruit and strong Colombian coffee. Birds stood on the ledge nearby to see if we would drop any crumbs.

This is the beginning of the relaxing part of our vacation. We walked around the small town. There is a church here:

There is a museum:

There is wall art here:

And the beach:

A relaxing day.