my novia and i last month rode the overland bus from ctg to baq, sm ending in maicao. the bus was full departing from ctg at 5 am. at least 6 passengers were partying with music and drinking rum from ctg to baq (3 hr. trip).
there are numerous road blocks and speed bumps along the route. heavily armed police and military camps were seen. not one leo entered the bus to check. the passengers on the bus all minded their own business. no problems whatsoever.
the landscape around santa marta and eastbound is extremely beautiful to see in some parts with the carib sea on one side and mountains on the other. other parts are flat wetlands. the poverty in the small villages is something for a westerner to see. imagine a village gas station consisting of a table, one barrel and one black hose for filling? i am sure very few if any westerners have seen and experienced what i have of poverty in magdalena and guajira departments.
from maicao and after lunch, we got a collective taxi (8 people in a old, rusty lincoln) to the vnz border but we were detained 3 hrs. by border le because of no visas. two young, civilian dressed leo harassed us. finally, we took the bus back to sm and stayed overnight in the el rodadero area at the tamaca beach resort hotel. very nice room with 2 queen size beds, refrigerator, 2 buffet meals, beautiful grounds and good service. amounted to us$76. sm has many small restaurants on the beach for enjoying fresh seafood. we did not enter sm town itself but stayed in el rod area strolling the beach, eating etc.
late in the afternoon, we took a taxi from sm back to ctg taking approx. 3ž hrs. we were stopped a total of 3 times at the road blocks. twice, i was asked to show id, searched for weapons and luggage was opened for inspection. entire process took less than 5 min. during the early evening hrs. we no longer saw road blocks east of baq and westbound from there back to ctg.
i am not staying this adventure was completely safe for others to try but i did and am grateful to have seen the col countryside rarely seen by others. i only wish i had opportunities to take pictures from the bus window.
a picture of sm beach. the beach continues to the right of the picture up to the high rise building. i can post another if interested.
i received a few emails from cyberchicas from santa marta writing it is safe for me to visit them there.
