Really a pretty park with some amazing old trees, so so art with sweet student guides and fluorescent squirrels and iguanas 4 feet long. Something dor everyone! And some of it is air conditioned!
The quinta is the last place where Simon bolivar was living beffore he died. The tour is good and informative. the park is real nice and there are a lot of things to see!
We spent about an hour strolling the grounds and touring the hacienda site of Simon Bolivar's death. Grounds were nice and breezy, it was very informative and we were glad we went. We also went into the modern art museum which includes exhibits from colombia and the neighboring countries, on the same grounds but not related. It was airconditioned and OK if you like modern art.
Ah, everyone may be here for a beach holiday, but Santa Marta is much more interesting than just the beaches and the fun. Our young volunteer guide (a medical student) spoke with a sound understanding of the story of Bolívar. More importantly he imparted his appreciation not only of Bolívar´s achievements but his example. I am interested to know more about this man who dedicated his life to this ideal of an independent, united America, who appeared to have a grasp of democracy and who was betrayed by those less principled. Our guide also spoke of the lack of recognition, or appropriate regard, that is given to Bolivar in Colombia. Now I want to know more, find some historical accounts and go back to Garcia Marquez´ "The General in his Labyrinth". The Quinta (so named because the owners of this sized estate had to pay a 5th of the sugar income in tax) has a botanical garden of ancient spreading trees and palm lined avenues. It is a beautiful setting for this museum, memorial and ... shrine. Ultimately a moving experience. So catch one of those little blue buses from the centre to Mamatoco... let the conductor know where you are going and ask him to tell you when to get off.
The good news is that they have signs in English to explain some of the exhibits - a very refreshing change because it is near impossible to find someone that speaks English in Santa Marta!!There are guided tour, but they are in Spanish so you will have to rely on the signs. I would have rated this place higher if the guided tours were conducted in English, but the signs were a fair compromise.The grounds are good and the exhibits interesting. There are some great pieces of art in the galleries, make sure you check them out. Keep an eye out for the animals and reptiles in the trees.
When you're inside the main house, you can feel how thins were back in the day when Colombia was trying to separate from the Spanish inquisition.Simon Bolivar died in this place, you can imagine his suffering while the guide talks about his final days.
visit an hour near the center of Santa Marta. We enjoy learning more about the Great Libertador, Simon Bolivar. A divine house, beautiful gardens, with lots of history. The guides will explain every detail.
An enjoyable visit to the last home of Simon Bolivar. There were a lot of coach parties visiting, but we were able to see the rooms in between the visiting groups! There are cacti growing in the roof tiles of the quinta; something I've never seen before.We also enjoyed the modern art museum which had some interesting exhibits, especially photography and also benefited from air conditioning.
Impressive lavish green estate with a great contemporary art museum. Worth the COP$ 20.000 entrance ticket. Count on spending 2 hours here and making some beautiful photos of the impossible diverse flaura and fauna.
Pretty much a waste of time unless you are a Bolivar fanatic or have absolutely nothing else to do. The Contemporary Art Museum was one of the worst I've seen in Latin America, not even interesting in a funky down and out way. Nothing seems to be taken seriously here and the employees are the least welcoming they could be. There is a tour offered but it wasn't offered to us. Expensive too, $20,000 pesos each. The best thing was the fruity palettas (popsicles) at the huge shopping mall down the street.