We were up early again and were first for breakfast. We wanted to be packed and out to catch an early bus to Santa Marta, about 4 hours up the coast. We took a taxi to the Berlinas bus station, which was the closer of the city's two bus stations. The bus was ready to leave as we arrived, so as soon as we bought our tickets and got ourselves on board, we were off.

It was a really nice coaster bus with really comfy seats. The journey, as most of them have been, was nothing spectacular. There was dual carriageway to Barranquilla so the first half of the journey seemed really quick. Barranquilla itself is a massive city, it took the best part of an hour to get in and back out again. North of the city, the road changed to single lane with occasional sea view and seemed to have three times as much traffic, especially trucks and petrol tankers. Our driver didn't mind putting his foot down and passing whenever he could though.

Santa Marta is another big, busy town and we were staying quite far from the centre at the Drop Bear Hostel. It's run by an Aussie and a Kiwi and is the most infamous ex-cartel house in, being an ex-car Santa Marta which also happens to be in most exclusive suburb, El Jardin. Apparantly there is a lot of history and secrets within the house, like hidden rooms, secret coded tiles, caletas (hiding spaces) and even underground tunnels. Perhaps we will find out if the rumors are true before we leave.

As you might imagine, being an ex-cartel house, it is quite grand. There is a huge pool, hammocks galore, games room and even the original bar from the '70s. Our room is very spacious and with the strong breeze, it's nice and cool.

We took a walk into the main centre and being out in the suburbs, we got a good appreciation of the different neighbourhoods. There are definitely some areas you wouldn't want to walk through at night.

We made it safely however to the central Plaza de los Novios. The plaza's adjoining streets are lined with bars and restaurants that seemed to be competing with each other to see who plays the loudest music.

We decided to try Radio Burger for something to eat, they also happened to be on Happy Hour, two for one cocktails. We supped away on Margaritas while our burger orders were being prepared. Maria decided on a standard burger, the best way to decide how good the patties are...and very good they were too. David decided to try the Choriburger, it was 50% chorizo and 50% beef made into a pattie. With some crisped cheese (yes, you read that correct but no idea how they made it) and chimichurri sauce, it was amazing.

We took a taxi back to the hostel and the streets were crazy busy. According to the taxi driver, everyone is trying to get everything done today so that tomorrow can be devoted to watching the football, especially the Colombia-Uruguay game in the afternoon. We should probably join them...