Semana Santa Marta

Catholicism is a big deal here among the Colombians and they celebrate lots of holidays. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday they call Semana Santa (Holy Week.) During this time no one works or goes to school– including me! Seizing this opportunity, I packed my bags and climbed aboard a bus to Santa Marta, which is a city on Colombia's Caribbean Coast; it's known for beaches, hot weather, and costal cuisine.

The bus left Medellín at 11:00pm (it was scheduled to leave at 10) on Saturday, March 31st. Along the way we stopped at numerous small towns so that passengers could board as well as people selling all sorts of empanadas, candy, boot-legged DVD's, and so on. At about 10:00am Sunday, April 1st we changed busses in Barranquilla and at about 2:30pm I arrived in Santa Marta. The trip took about 15 hours total, which is better than the 17 hours people told me it usually takes.

Upon arriving in Santa Marta I didn't do much besides go to a restaurant where even the kids' tricycles are colored like the Colombian flag.

I ate this food which is pretty close to the ideal coastal meal. Ideally I'd like an entire deep-fried fish and arroz con coco (coconut rice.) This was also pretty over-priced, but I liked it anyway.

I went to bed early-ish because I knew I'd be leaving early the next morning...