Santa Marta Services

By Lorraine Caputo

Tourism Office

The Santa Marta tourism office on the second floor of the historic Casa de Madame Agustine gives free maps of the city, El Rodadero and Taganga (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Calle 17 and Carrera 4). Information about what to see and do in Magdalena Department is available from the Dirección de Cultura y Turismo in the Gobernación building (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-noon, Carrera 1, Calles 16 and 17, Web.: www.gobmagdalena.gov.co).

For maps of the region, go to the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (Calle 15 3-25, Edificio BCH, piso 4, Tel.: 5-421-0157). Dirección Territorial Caribe de la Unidad de Parques Nacionales Naturales coordinates the national parks in Magdalena, including Tayrona, Ciénaga and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-noon, 2-6 p.m. Calle 17 4-06, Tel.: 5-423-0704 / 423-0752).

DAS, or immigration, is at Carrera 8 26A-15; the phone number for extranjería or visa extensions is 5-423-2704. Panama, Spain, Finland, France and Italy all have consulates in Santa Marta; check the telephone directory for contact information.

Money

Many banks in Santa Marta are found in the Edificio de Bancos, between Calles 14 and 15, Carreras 2A and 3, with tellers on the second floor; others are in the same neighborhood, or on Calle 15 along the Parque Bolívar. Some institutions are:

• Bancolombia (Monday-Thursday 8-11:30 a.m., 2-4 p.m., Friday 8-11:30 a.m., 2-4:30 p.m. Carrera 3, Edificio de los Bancos)—Changes American Express travelers cheques; ATM (on Calle 14 side of building): MasterCard, Visa, Cirrus, American Express

• Banco de Occidente (Carrera 2 15-28)—ATM: ATH, Visa, Plus, MasterCard, Cirrus

• Banco AV Villas (Calle 15 3-79)—ATM: ATH, Visa, Plus, MasterCard, Cirrus

• Banco Popular (Carrera 3, Edificio de los Bancos) ATM: Visa, Plus, MasterCard, Cirrus

City Cambios can change your cash U.S. dollars, Euros or bolívares (Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-noon, 2-6 p.m. Calle 13 5-22).

For receiving giros, or wired money in Santa Marta: Western Union / Giros y Finanzas (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-noon, 2-5:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Calle 23, between Carreras 7 and 8, Almacén SAO); and MoneyGram / Cambiamos (Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Carrera 5 and Calle 23, Almacén Vivero, Tel.: 5-423-5439).

Keeping in Touch

Telecom in Santa Marta has local calls at $0.05 per minute, national at $0.15 per minute and international starting at $0.30 per minute, plus internet at $1.05 per hour (Monday-Friday 7 a.m.,-4 p.m., Saturday 8:30-11:30 a.m., closed Sunday and holidays. Calle 13 5-27). Local shops charge $0.05-0.15 per minute for local and national calls. Internet is quite common in Santa Marta, as is Skype; average price per hour is $0.50-0.80 per hour. A one-stop option for all telecommunications needs is T@yrona.Net which has international calls from $0.25 per minute and internet at $0.35-0.80 per hour, depending on the time of day; ask at the desk for the headset to make Skype calls (daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Calle 11 5-05, Tel.: 5-431-4997). Correo de Colombia, of course, is where to mail that “Wish you were here” postcard (Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-noon, 2-6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-noon. Calle 15 5-31).

Medical

The most recommended medical facility is Clínica Capri, near the market in Santa Marta (Calle 11 8-21, Tel.: 5-421-0142). Several drugstores are on Parque Bolívar, and a number more on Carrera 5.

Laundry

Santa Marta does not wont for Laundromats. Two are located side-by-side on Calle 11. Lavandería Santa Marta is the cheaper, charging $1.30 per kilo for wash and dry; it has same-day service (Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m.-2 p.m., 4-7 p.m. Calle 11 2-60, Tel.: 5-423-5906 / 431-5040).

Camera

To purchase film, digital cards, batteries or any other camera accessories, hie over to Carrera 5 where a number of shops can fill your needs. Digital cameras can be repaired at Servisony (Calle 11, between Carreras 5 and 6) and analog cameras at Señor Alberto Góngola’s shop in the pasaje on Calle 15, between Carreras 5 and 6.

Religion

Santa Marta’s telephone directory lists Catholic mass hours and non-Catholic churches at the end of the yellow pages. Protestant faiths in Colombia are called “Iglesias Cristianas Evangélicas”; of the mainstream religions, several Baptist and Presbyterian are listed.