It all worked out fine in the end! Diary of an older woman travelling solo in Colombia.

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Hi everybody. I left Bogota today and am now on the coast in Santa Marta, in the so-called historic quarter. I can see why the Colombians go to the high rise resort next door as this place is really run down and decrepit. It is also a port with petroleum storage etc. However when I went out after dark this evening I was pleasantly surprised to see that it looked a lot better and was quite lively with street musicians and people eating out of doors round the illuminated square and in the street next to me. It certainly feels a lot safer than my bit of Bogotá at night.

The reason I am here is to do a trip to Parque Tayrona which is supposed to be very beautiful. You do a trek through the jungle to pristine tropical beaches with all the rest of the tourist groups and backpackers. Suspect I will have seen much more beautiful tropical beaches in the Caribbean, for example, but we will see!

The journey here was uneventful which was good as the low cost airline I flew with gets reviews that make Ryanair customer-orientated. Of course I arrived at the airport far too early as a result of ignoring the hotel staff's advice. Sailed through check-in and security and was at the departure gate in about 10 minutes. (Shared a taxi with an American coupIe whose flight was an hour earlier). I thought that airport security might be very tight but planes getting blown up is perhaps the least of their problems.

No organised taxi service at the airport here so obviously it's seen as less risky to take a taxi in Santa Marta than in Bogotá. The main threat is drivers trying to get you to use them for your excursions. I did remember, though, to head for the line of official yellow taxis which are properly registered. Had to contend with the usual expressions of surprise about my husband letting me out here on my own. This one suggested that he (my husband) would be worried that I might fall in love with a Colombian and decide to stay! Told him that I was far too old for this and that my husband did indeed worry about my safety but not about that sort of unlikely occurrence.

The receptionist in the hotel, which is what you would call a boutique hotel in quite a historic building, turned out to be the mother of the owner. She was like an employee except she didn't get paid! When I asked her if the office of the tour company I wanted to go to Tayrona with was open on Sunday she was immediately on the phone to them which she then handed to me so I got it all booked without having to go anywhere near their office. I then further complicated matters by asking to switch the day of my tour but that was easily arranged too. This was after I had rejected the beautiful superior room which she offered me (and for which I hadn't paid) because it was right next to the street. I am turning into the hotel guest from hell! I apologised for being 'a pesada' (pain in the neck).

Whilst I was waiting for the second room to be got ready (had arrived at 11 am ) I read an article about a woman schoolteacher who had been threatened , attacked and raped not once but on several different occasions by a gang of ex -paramilitaries who apparently run the place where she lives, Buenaventura, an important port. She had been re-homed twice in Bogotá in an effort to protect her but to no avail. Her 'crime' was that she had tried to prevent these thugs recruiting the young boys she taught to their gangs and criminal activities and then further offended them by reporting these attacks to the police. Just in case anybody is in any doubt, I shall not be going anywhere near Buenaventura. It's on the Foreign Office's no-go list, obviously for very good reasons. Colombia certainly has a long way to go to achieve some sort of normality throughout the country as a whole.

Am getting picked up tomorrow for the Tayrona tour at 7.50 a.m. which will not bother me as my sleep pattern is still all over the place. Have an aversion to organised tours but have to admit that they can be quite useful in small doses. This one appears to be a bargain, it's too hot to hang around for buses or walk miles as a result of getting lost and it's even nice to get looked after occasionally. Also some company will be good and it's a Spanish speaking group.

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