After 3 days at anchor in Aruba, the time had finally come. While windy predicted good winds the next day, it was supposed to be very calm for the next few days.
The next morning we started early and had a good wind BF 4/5 from NE. The waves were still relatively high at 1.8m from the previous days with a lot of wind. Maya rolled quite a bit but we were able to sail with the genoa well.
In the evening, a whole school of tuna leapt jumped around Maya, but none of them could find my hook.
During the night the wind dropped and the next morning we put the Genoa out with the pole. In the course of the day there was so little wind that we set the cruising sail and were able to sail at least with 4 kts. The sea was absolutely calm and finally we started the engine.
During the night hundreds of flying fish jumped over Maya and many of them landed on the deck, which I then tried to save.
On Sunday morning we arrived at the marina in Santa Marta and after a short wait we were greeted warmly and shown to our berth.
In total we motored for 30 hours which was definitely too much.
The city of Santa Marta was founded in 1525 by the conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas and is not only an important port city with coal transhipment but also a large tourist centre. The freedom fighter Simon de Bolivar also died here in 1830. The city, which is home to about half a million inhabitants, is located on the Caribbean coast and is bordered in the hinterland by the Sierra Nevada with its snow-capped peaks.
Here on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada live 4 different but related indigenous peoples. The Arhuaco (or Ika), the Wiwa (or Arsarios), the Kogi and the Kankuamo. There are no more than 30,000 of them together, and they are only occasionally seen in the streets, where they can be recognised by their white costumes and hats. The indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada call themselves “elder brothers” and they believe that they have a mystical knowledge that others do not possess. Outsiders are therefore also called “younger brothers” by them.
The “elder brothers” believe that it is their task to maintain the balance of the universe. If there are hurricanes, drought or famine anywhere in the world, it is a sign of human failure to keep the world in balance.
Balance is achieved by making offerings at sacred sites to give back to the earth what has been taken from it.
We really like it here in Santa Marta in the marina. The town is within walking distance and the marina is quite secure with fingerprints for the showers and the main entrance is always manned.
Across the street in the Hilton hotel marina guests are allowed to use the pool, which we do almost every day. Here in Santa Marta the climate with its high humidity and dry heat is quite exhausting.
The old town of Santa Marta is characterised by small, pretty streets with many ice cream parlours and small restaurants. Several supermarkets, which are also reasonably well stocked, are within walking distance.
A Belgian family suggested we should go to the hostel Carpe diem which is located in a side valley of Minca in the mountains.
Together with our Italian friends, who had also arrived in the meantime, we booked in there. An adventurous drive with a 4WD through the jungle took us there and we had three really relaxing days. On one of our walks we saw Howler monkeys!
In the evening the incessant chirping of the jungle insects was incredibly loud and fascinating . We also had a little black scorpion living in the bathroom of our round hut.
The next week we were in Minca, where our hostel was definitely a hostel for the many backpackers, so it was quite noisy in the evenings.
Unfortunately I didn’t feel so well there, I had a sore throat and felt weak. Nevertheless, we did two hikes to the waterfalls there which was great. Back on Maya, I took two Corona quick tests which showed positive – I had Corona. I had probably caught the virus in the accommodation before. Our Italian friends also had symptoms.
After 3 days of quarantine on the boat, we went to Palomino with our nice taxi driver Abel. A small hippie town on the coast where we spent two relaxing days. “Tubing” on the Rio Palomino took us through the jungle and was really fun.
