Imagine the striking coastal setting of the now-famous Colombian city of Cartagena, its candy-colored Spanish Colonial buildings and leafy plazas, its vibrant nightlife with bars pumping out a mix of reggaeton and salsa. Now imagine all this on a much smaller scale, a bit scruffier, without the scores of cruise-ship tourists on organized excursions. Now you are in Santa Marta, Colombia’s oldest city and one of the Caribbean's newest hotspots.
Up until a few years ago, this port town 150 miles north of Cartagena was a hotbed of criminal activity, like so many other places in an increasingly calm Colombia. Today, much of the historic center has been freshly scrubbed, parks sprout flowers and greenery and people mingle on the shady edges of the Plaza de la Catedral or relax on benches at the Parque Bolivar (named after Simon Bolivar, who liberated Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador and who died in Santa Marta).