Aracataca, Colombia

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South of Santa Marta, Aracataca is a tiny place that's famous because it's the birthplace of Gabriel García Márquez. In some of his books the town is referred to as Macondo. If you love his books, definitely visit this place - there's a special atmosphere that you might recognize from his books.

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There are a few cheap places to stay, nothing special.

Things to do:

The place is still much off the beaten track (not much tourism infrastructure). There's not much to do but stroll around. Rubiela Reyes Yañez (rubiela_reyes at hotmail.com) is a recommended local guide (Spanish only). You can ask around to see the birthplace of Marquez (it's being restored). So far they have completed half of the museum in family home, in fact they were due to have finished it all by now....but who knows what is going on there? Also, the big idea was to start the Tren Amarilla de Macondo that would run tourists in from Santa Marta to spend the day or possibly overnight in Aracataca and promote tourism in the interior here - the only time this actually worked was for Gabo's triumphant return to the town in 2007. It has been said that both Colombians and foreigners have been buying up the land in this area with an aim to getting Aracataca firmly on the tourist circuit.

Getting around & transportation:

The town is one hour south of Santa Marta on the main highway from the coast inland.

 

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gringisimo (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 23, 2009, 08:15: There is a hostel in Aracataca. It's called Casa Macondo, but I dont know the details because the owners were changing the location when I left. Ask around for "Los Gringos" "La Mona", Tim (holandes), Nora y Mauricio. It's a small town, everyone knows everyone and you'll be able to find these guys. (if you can decipher the local accent). They're really into GGM and literature/art in general. Cool people, cheap prices. Aracataca is well worth the visit... 0 funny, 0 helpful.

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