Taganga
Day 285 Mon 13/6
Breakfast and it was time to start the marathon journey. I had stayed away from overnight journeys in Colombia since the Colombian buses are nowhere as comfortable as the ones in other South American countries I have been to, bar the ones in Ecuador. This time, there wasnt much of an option unless I wanted to spend a day in Bucaramanga. However, following the advice of a local that there wasnt much to hold a visitor there, I decided to brave the overnight journey. The girls were headed to Tayrona park and we decided to continue all the way to Taganga.
The bus ride from Barichara to San Gil was short and I fell asleep. After a wait of an hour, we boarded the bus from San Gil to Bucaramanga. The windy road makes it one of the most dangerous roads in Colombia, while also one of the most picturesque! The cañon (I forget the name) was breathtaking and my photos did it no justice! Arrived around 6pm at the bus terminal in Bucaramanga and decided to take the 10:30 pm bus to Santa Marta. The torrential downpour discouraged us from exploring the city and we spent the time at the bus station, eating dinner and Cynthia sharing photos of her trip to Mexico.
Day 286 Tue 14/6
The bus was full! The ride was comfortable and I slept well, with interruptions, however. We reached Sta Marta around 7 am. By the time we caught a taxi to Taganga and settled in at the hostel, it was time for breakfast. Shower and off to the beach. Taganga was once a laid back fishing village. It no longer bears much resemblance to that! It is full of tourists, which is surprising since the beaches werent that pretty! I spent the day swimming and relaxing with the girls on the beach. Such hardship lying on the beach!
The only thing of note was that I arranged my hike to Ciudad Perdida (the lost city), home of the Tayrona people for a while, before they left it. The Spanish never made it there, but the people left it when the conquerors arrived to nearby villages. I was lucky – the price of the trek would go up by 100,000 CoP (about 60USD) in a day or two as the high season were to set in, to coincide with summer vacation for the school-children.
Tags: Travel
Damu