Taganga

Taganga is a small fishing village just outside of Santa Marta, on the northern Carribean coast of Colombia. We decided to stay here for a few nights because it is very close to Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona. We had heard about it from some of the the people back at Chill House in Cartagena. Some people come to Taganga for scuba diving, apparently it is one of the cheapest places in the world to get certified. This is also a popular place to start the six day trek out to Cuidad Perdida. Alex, who had only just begun to acclimate to heat, wasn't too keen on the idea of the hike, (three days of it have an arduous uphill climb and there are 6 river crossings that come up to your waist) so we opted for Tayarona.
Getting there was pretty easy. First, a 40 minute taxi (taxis are cheap in Colombia, and there are usually set prices for main destinations) from the historic center of Cartagena to the city's bus terminus, a 4 hour bus to Santa Marta's terminus and then a 15 minute taxi to Taganga.
The bus ride was scenic, and it was nice to chat with the locals. At one of the stops, the city of Baranquilla, a security officer from the bus company came on board and walked through the central aisle and recorded our faces with a hand held camera. The bus would occasionally slow down, but not stop, and pick up vendors with baskets of food to sell. Alex was a lot braver than I and had an arepa with egg. He said it was pretty good. We left around 7:30 in the morning (very early, but necessary if you want to beat the traffic) and arrived in Taganga by 1.
We stayed at Los Techos Azules, a hostel located near the main road just before you enter the Taganga. It has beautiful view of the town. The atmosphere is very different to that of our last hostel, at Chill House the party would go on until early morning... here it is very quiet.
We spent our first afternoon exploring the town and looking for info on getting to the park. There are tour companies in the village that offer trips out to both Cuidad Perdida and Parque Tayrona. One thing I found out while planning the trip out to Tayrona is that although a company may offer either boat or ground transportation to the park, it is illegal to go by boat. That's because the main gateway where you pay your admission is located on an inland road called El Ziano. A boat will only take you to a beach, and return to pick you up later in the afternoon. If a park ranger comes and finds you without proof of payment, you could pay a heavy fine.
Unfortunately, my camera connector kit went missing, so it will be a couple of weeks before I can upload pics again, but I will continue to write about the trip until then.

Our hostel had a good view of the village below.

Main Street Taganga

Playa Grande

This little guy joined me while I was taking pictures our last morning in Taganga. I couldn't resist taking one of him.

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Cartagena

Cartagena is HOT. And very humid. It's been years since my last visit, and I can't believe I'd forgotten how brutal the heat can be. Anyhow, as I mentioned in the last post, my brother Alex graduated from high school and he decided to join me for a few weeks.




Lol, Alex is a little tired from his big weekend.



The old colonial town of Cartagena de Indias, a World Heritage Site.






We stayed four nights at the Chill House Backpackers Hostel, which is located in the northeast section of the walled inner city.






These colonial walls surround the historic center of the city.









One day we visited the Museo del Oro, filled with beautiful gold work of the Zenu people, who lived in the region prior to the Spanish Conquest.



Monumento a la India Catalina, a beautiful Carib woman who served as an interpreter to Pedro de Herida.



Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, the greatest and strongest fortress ever built by the Spaniards in any of their colonies.





















One day, we took a trip out to Volcano De Lodo El Totumo, a volcano that spews mud instead of lava.



It's only 15 meters high!





At the top.



The mud is warm and slippery. It was hilarious trying to sink lower (you can't, you always float back up).



Afterwards, our group had lunch at a beach.




























A sculpture by Botero.



:)






I love Colombian cumbia! These dancers, performing in Plaza de los Coches, were amazing. They performed a variety of styles of dances, my favorite being the frenetic Mapale.












Puerta del Reloj



The next day, we were off to a small town called Taganga.

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Orlando

It was great to spend a couple of weeks in Orlando with my family. It went by so quickly. So much happened; my cousin Christine had her first baby and my brother Alex graduated from Celebration High School. We went to Clearwater beach a couple of times. More family came to visit from out of town. I enjoyed sleeping in an adult sized bed again, as well as having as much time as I wanted in the shower. I gave my cats lots of love. Sent stuff back home and got ready for Colombia. Caught up on reading (I think I read six books in one week :).
I try to visit Orlando once a year. It doesn't take long to find something to do. Aside from the major theme parks there are plenty of entertainment hot spots in the greater Orlando/Kissimmee area. There is downtown Celebration (master-minded by Disney about 20 years ago as an ideal small town and as vanilla as can be, very Stepford Wives), Downtown Disney, Universal's City Walk, and Orlando's original Old town (there are actually two of them and they both resemble a carnival dating back from the 50's, where you can buy a bag of popcorn in one of 35 different flavors, a Dreamcatcher, or a pair of "Gucci" sunglasses for five dollars, just don't look at them too closely).
Then there is the tourist trap highway 192, that runs through central Kissimmee. This is an endless stretch of road lined up hotels, mini-golf courses, and gift shops with outrageously cheesy murals, usually dolphin themed. There are buildings with giant 3D mermaids and wizards extending from their facades. My favorite was a massive alligator in the middle of a parking lot with an actual jeep in it's mouth (for a hotel called the Gator Inn). It's ridiculous, and I love it! This is also the place to go for themed based dinner entertainment such as Arabian Nights, Medieval Times, ect. Unfortunately, I sent my memory card with the Highway 192 pictures back home before I remembered to upload them. So you'll just have to picture it :)

Dad's place, on Little Woods Lane, home sweet home. As rural is this appears, it is only about 20 minutes away from Disney.







To be honest, it was liberating to be driving again. Dad was nice enough to lend me his pick up truck while I was in town.

























Celebration's Class of 2011






My brother Alex, and Dad. We are so proud of you Alex!






Graduation dinner: Dad, me, Florimar, and Alex.






Saying good-bye to Dad and Ausania.






On to Cartagena, Colombia!

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