The Beach Vendors Of Santa Marta Are Reliable, Hard Working And Happy To ServeBeach Vendors The beach vendors of Santa Marta are an underrated group of people, along with the street vendors. Out on the beach early in the morning you will still see them late at night. I enjoy the beach in El Rodadero, sitting there drinking a beer and enjoying a snack, whether you would like something warm or cold there will be someone not too far away ready to sell you something, and usually at a pretty good price. The food fare on the beach is pretty good. Most of the time the vendors are really helpful although there are times when you want to be left alone, if that's the case you only have to walk down the beach for 5 or 10 minutes and you will be away from all the people who ply their trade on the beach. These hard working people can be found selling food or drinks along the beach, scuba lessons, Colombian newspapers, perhaps a day tour somewhere. The best deal on the beach is beer, used to be about $1.00 but the weakness of the US dollar has raised the price to about $1.25, still a good deal compared to a lot of rip off countries. The worst deals on the beach is the rental of the carpas, these are the open air tents that keep you out of the sun so you don't get too sun burnt, they usually like to rent them for about $10.00 for the day, but it's hard to stay in one place for the full day and sometimes conditions change and you have to leave less than an hour after renting one, don't expect to get any money back though. These are among the few people who you should barter with before you pay. I usually don't like to barter much with beach vendors, some things perhaps like necklaces but on a lot of the stuff it's still a good deal without driving the price down. I don't care if I spend a few dollars extra as sometimes it can be a game for a tourist but the person on the other end is struggling just to live, so unless it's obvious thievery I just pay their price. In my usual disorganized fashion I will arrive at the beach ready for a fun afternoon only to discover that the only money I have with me is a 20.000 peso bill, about $10.00, many times the vendor has left me with a beer without paying and has gone off to find money so he can change my bill, they are pretty trusting people.
Street Vendors The street vendors of Santa Marta can be found all over the city, whether you want to make a phone call but don't have a cell phone you will find someone along the sidewalk who sells phone calls by the minute. You will find fruit vendors that walk the streets with their carts full of fresh fruit, others selling apartments for rent or tours around the city to perhaps Tayrona Park or the lost city. Beware the sun glass salesman, just because you have 2 pair of sunglasses doesn't mean that you couldn't use a third, and he will do his best to sell you a third pair. Tee shirts, jewelry, trinkets, people who want you to enjoy a particular restaurant, they are all trying to make a small percentage from a sale. Most of the merchants are pretty easy to deal with, some won't be discouraged with a simple no though, they hear no all the time, sometimes they will walk with you for half a block if they think that your no might be a maybe. When you are around one area for a length of time you will begin to recognize some of the people you are buying items from, they will also remember you as this is their home and they know what's going on, so when you buy from them you will make many friends who will help you out when you need it.
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