taganga, aka 'little israel'

even though i was a bit sceptical because of taganga's reputation as a backpacker hidehout i had to take a look. and i must say, i was very very impressed. the scenery is stunning! i took the packed local mini bus for the 30 minutes ride to the neighbouring bay and coming down into taganga was one of the best colombian sights so far: you can see the whole bay, the fishing boats and the huts of the fishing village scattered around: really nice!

the town definitely has its charme but the traveller / locals ratio is a bit off. there's tons of hostels and hotels. and it seems like taganga is a colony of israel: the israeli travellers have quite a presence all over colombia but in taganga, they are everywhere!

the beach is quite good but the water looked a bit dodgy next to all the boats! i quickly got a nice sunburn to show off in switzerland! however, i do not recommend trying the steak in one of the restaurants at the beach: it had all the qualitites of a shoe sole but none of meat.

and, of course, i met the irish/british traveling gang again! no surprise really, the colombian beaten track is quite concentrated :)

but surprise, i actually saw a swiss couple there! couldn't be bothered to speak to them though as i generally try to stay away from the swiss abroad :) but still, i was impressed a little.

nevertheless i was happy to stay in santa marta and just take the short bus trip to hang around the beach for a while as most of the nightlife is in santa marta itself.