Semana Receso: Trip to Santa Marta and Palomino

Semana Receso is essentially "fall break" in Colombia, where all the teachers and students have one glorious week off to rest. My poor students all told me they would be studying and writing during their break, and I admit that I gloated in their faces because I would NOT be grading and would be heading to the Caribbean coast! I was in dire need of some fun and sun and the Colombian coast was screaming my name! The break could not have come at a better time, as I felt like I had been on-the-go since I arrived in Bogotá.

Christina (my roommate) and I found pretty cheap tickets to the city of Baranquilla, our gateway to the coast. From there, we would take a 2 hour bus ride north to Santa Marta, an old colonial city, and then continue another 2 hours north to Palomino, a very small coastal blip on the map our third roommate (Nicole) had told us about.  We were joined by another girl from our university, Corrie, on the second day. Let me tell you, the shenanigans began right away!

Santa Marta was a cute city and we spent some time wandering through the squares and eating at a fantastic Greek restaurant (we went twice it was that good). The first night we ended up at a crazy party hostel (hence, the shenanigans) but we then transferred to a closer hostel that was very pretty and a lot more relaxing. We also met two guys from Seattle who had been traveling through South America since the World Cup and were on a mission to bring clean water filters to villages wherever they went. Pretty cool stuff. To my delight, they were huge soccer fans, loved cards and playing pool, and liked to drink. Fun times were had and I do believe a pact was made that the day the Sounders first play Atlanta's future team (3+ years?), we will have a reunion in whichever city the game takes place!

The five of us departed for Palomino the third morning and arrived at our hostel, The Dreamer. I immediately fell in love. It was a hundred yards from the ocean, had a pool, a pool table, and plenty of happy hour drinks for all the weary travelers. I quickly met a fun group of people around the pool table and it almost felt like I was back home at The Independent bar, my local watering hole!

As what seemed to be a normal practice, there were a few travelers volunteering at the hostel in order to stay for free room and board. They simply had to be the bartenders and DJs-- not a bad gig. The three volunteers at this hostel were guys from California and we instantly bonded with them as well. Our group was getting bigger and louder by the moment. In fact, one morning a British guy asked me, "Were you part of that loud American group last night yelling 'chug it?'" Why yes...yes, I was, and it was damn fun, especially since we were actually telling the female Colombian manager of the hostel to chug it...international relations at its finest!

The second day in Palomino, I decided I had found exactly what I was looking for and informed Christina and Corrie that I refused to leave. The thought of getting back on the road to go to another place (Cartagena) was just too much and I had all I desired right there. They considered leaving...but ultimately fell trap to Palomino's charms as well. The same thing happened to the Seattle boys and a few others as well.

Unfortunately, I did get sick on the second day. I must have eaten something bad (the coast is notorious for this) and I spend most of the day lying in a hammock in the shade. Not a bad place to be when you feel ill! My fellow pool players kept me up to date on the tourney going on and one sweet kid from Missouri made sure I was stocked with Sprite for my poor tummy. Like I said, why would I want to leave here?

Because we spontaneously decided to stay longer, The Dreamer ran out of room for us! We were devastated, but luckily there was another cute hostel just next door that was much quieter and the rooms were in tikki huts. And of course, it was super easy to walk back over to The Dreamer and keep the party going :)

Finally, the sad day came where we had to return to Santa Marta. I admit I pouted like a child, but that's life. We spent the last night with all our new friends and even took the party down to the beach. One guy realized there was incredible phosphorescence in the water that night and a late night swim commenced. It was truly magical to see the glow cascading around my body in the ocean and I was struck with memories from night dives in El Nido. Corrie and I floated in the shallow water, stared at the stars, and marveled at how nice life can be.


We left the next afternoon (after one more lazy day at the pool) to return to Santa Marta. Two of the Californians had plans to come through Bogota in a few weeks, so we knew it was not the end! We spent one more lazy evening in Santa Marta (and ate more Greek food) and then left for Baranquilla the next day.

The return to reality was harsh, but I think my first sojourn out of Bogota was wonderful and must be repeated soon.