Treadin' water in Santa Marta

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. After a very unhelpful bus driver on my way out of Cartagena, the day didn't have the best beginning. Dark ominous clouds loomed over the horizon, but i made no special notice of them. After all, it was the rainy season in the middle of a rain forest. But it turned out that arriving into Santa Marta, on the north coast of Colombia, would have been better served by boat rather than bus. The clouds had unleashed a fury. The streets were flooded. And so began my first impressions.

More often than not, i understand the reasons for mass tourism. "If you build it, they will come". Whether it's a world landmark, a stunning beach, a unique activity or whatever, people flock to a place to take their turn. In Colombia, that place is Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Among domestic tourism locations, this port/beach town reigns supreme in attracting the hordes, especially around Christmas/New Year's. Foreign tourism isn't too far behind as travellers seeking to "get off the beaten track" and away from the over-touristed Cartagena usually end up here.

Sure the architecture is nice, but i would hardly call it spectacular. Even as i trudged through the flooded streets trying to find an affordable hotel that didn't threaten my life was previous thought extinct fungi, i was generally unimpressed. The big draw of the town, the beach, was a further disappointment. While i didn't expect a sandy heaven, i thought there must have been something special to draw in the tourist dollar. But no. I found the whole place to be ordinary, rather unfriendly and tragically overpriced. I simply do NOT get why everyone comes here.

There will be those (and i will say many) who will speak of a wonderful experience in Santa Marta. I am not one of those. Sure it's close to the equally popular fishing village turned tourist trap of Taganga. And it is a good jumping off point for exploring the much hyped Tayrona National Park. But i cannot understand the value of the town in and of itself. Perhaps the largely inland population of Colombia need their Caribbean fix. Perhaps foreign tourist figure there must be something to the place due to all the Caribbean starved Colombian tourists. Whatever the real reason was, it has surely been lost. While Santa Marta is not horrible by any stretch of the imagination, it is most definitely not deserving of it's tourism superiority crown.