Refajo, a Pool & a Hammock

I woke up early this morning to golden rays of sunshine on my face as I swayed gently to and fro in my hammock. A couple hours later, I walked to the local supermercado (supermarket) called "Exito!". I bought about $40 worth of groceries since this place doesn't provide breakfast and I figured I could make myself lunch as well. Mario (from my plane ride here) told me about a local drink called refajo. It's basically Club Colombia beer mixed with Colombiana soda, two products of Colombia. You should have a 2:1 ratio of beer to soda. This mixture produces a malty tasting beverage with a sweet and bitter finish. It's very good. The soda is like kola champagne for those of you who have had West Indian drinks before. For those who haven't, it's like cream soda. 

Mix to create Refajo

This is the view of the pool from the balcony where all the hammocks are located. The pool is very refreshing especially during the middle of the day when it feels like it's approached 30C. Where I sleep is a long hallway with several hammocks strung across it. I can't believe I have to pay for this! Just kidding. This is the best hostel I've been to so far. It's called Drop Bear Hostel and it's run by a very friendly and helpful Australian guy and his Colombian wife. Today I spent the whole day alternating between my hammock and the ledge in front of my hammock overlooking the pool. I didn't realize how draining that travelling was yesterday. I didn't even make breakfast until about 11:30 even though I had come back from the market at 9:15.

Not much privacy

Dinner was at 6pm and was empanadas again. I don't know if I'll get tired of them. They're good. They're cheap. And they are everywhere. A light pastry filled with seasoned chicken and beef then fried to a golden crisp. The restaurant, Sol de Oro, was just a few technicolour picnic tables covered by a corrugated metal roof with an incubator for the empanadas outside. Simple, but so good. I've taken a picture below with a stupid grin on my face.

The nights are warm here in Santa Marta, but you can tell from the video that there is a strong sea breeze that blows in and cools your body after a long day of the sun. The rocking at the end is me getting back into my hammock.