Casa de Filipe in Taganga, Colombia
After two nights here, it`s about time that I described this lovely hostel. It`s really more like a boutique hotel or a tropical B&B, set on a hillside and a ten-minute walk to the beach. We have a gorgeous view of soft brown, shrub-covered mountains and a horseshoe bay looking out to the Caribbean Sea.
The beach sand looks like brown sugar and the water looks like weak tea, so it isn`t the sparkling fantasy beach of one`s dreams, but Taganga is a fishing village becoming more and more a tourist destination because it is the jumping off place for Tayrona National Park. The shoreline is filled with tatty commercial little eating places, which I hope to try, but it`s not terribly alluring and one`s curiosity satisfies quickly. There seem to be many other spots in better shape to which one must walk…Playa Grande is a 20-minute walk; others are a 45-minute walk. I may do one today after I fetch my laundry from Katya, the washer woman who has a bunch of stairstep kids and a bright, happy smile, who washes your clothes for $1.50 per kilo. In this hot climate, I`m sure she does a booming business as signs in this hostel caution us not to do our laundry in the bathroom sinks.
But, back to the hostel description. My larger dorm room cost $9 per night. My upgrade to the 3-bed room with the fussy roomie, costs only $10 per night. I`m breaking his resistence down, little by little, as I went up and introduced myself to him this morning as he was trapped at his breakfast table. What could he do but give me a limp handshake and say his name (forever a secret here…in case he actually manages to turn nice and make me eat my words). There was no communication during the night as I was already in bed but not quite asleep…pretend asleep…when he came in late. I got up first, consequently.
Anyway, back to the description of these surroundings. It`s a great hostel, very well-managed with plenty of rules which prevent some of the usual abuses, such as loud music and late-night talking. Families stay here as well, and they have private suites for $17 per day. An enormous breakfast at tables under the trees costs $3 per day. Internet is $1 per hour and mine is about to time out.
Bye
Tags: 1, hostel in Taganga, Tag Index
lindajbrown