Essential Spanish phrases

The costeño all-purpose opener — 'so?', 'well?', 'go on then'. It carries a whole conversation depending on tone, and it is the first thing you will notice about Caribbean Spanish.

'What's up, cousin?' — the standard samario greeting. Coastal Spanish drops the final s ('¿qué má'?'), which is the biggest adjustment if you learned Spanish anywhere else.

The water tanker. When the mains fail — and in Santa Marta they fail — this is what fills the building's tank. Knowing your building's arrangement for one is a practical housing question, not a curiosity.

'Is there water?' — a completely ordinary question here, asked of neighbours, porteros and landlords. Nobody finds it odd, which tells you everything about how the city works.

The December-to-March trade wind that drops the humidity and makes the city genuinely pleasant. It is also the season the beaches are windiest, which locals plan around and visitors do not.

'Watch out for the eleven o'clock sun' — a genuine local warning rather than a saying. At 11 degrees north with a dry, clear sky, midday sun here burns faster than visitors expect.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the snow-capped range that rises to nearly 5,700 m barely 40 km from the beach. It is the territory of the Kogui, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamo peoples and it governs the weather, the water and the tourism.

'The elder brothers' — how the four Sierra peoples describe themselves in relation to everyone else. The phrase is used seriously in Santa Marta and understanding it is the beginning of understanding the region.

Mashed green banana with cheese and butter — the samario breakfast, and a dish you will not find done properly outside Magdalena. Ask for it with suero costeño.

Shaved ice with fruit syrup and condensed milk, sold from carts on the malecón and in the Parque de los Novios. The correct response to three in the afternoon.

'Gringo price' — the inflated one quoted to a foreigner in a tourist city. Naming it, cheerfully, is a normal and effective way to get the real one.

Help! Dial 123 for any emergency nationwide; 119 reaches the fire brigade directly, 132 the Red Cross ambulance service and 144 the Defensa Civil.