That was the weekend that was

Trip Start Oct 01, 2008

Trip End Apr 01, 2009

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Flag of Colombia Santa Marta, Colombia
Monday, October 27, 2008

Got away for the weekend to a tiny fishing village and mecca for scuba divers called Taganga. Passed miles of saltwater marshes and lagoons along the coast road on the way. Saw my first Colombian flamingos - very bright pink like my feet - and also many water fowl, waders, raptors and parrots. Bill Oddie's wet dream. Lying Planet alleges Colombia has nearly 25% of the world's bird scpecies. Unlikely I'll see any exotic mammals though. They're in the same places as the guerillas and I'm not going there! Lying Planet also alleges that the trip to Taganga by bus only takes 4 hours - it took 6. Mark from my class came along too to take a PADI diving course for the princely sum of GBP150 for 4 days!! Having trailed around dive shops with Jon for years I was able to advise/suggest/direct him to the best place. This was later confirmed by several others so Mark's mantra is now "always listen to Val". If only it were Jon's.

I met the lady from Mark's dive school in the bus station on my way back to Cartagena. She asked how my son enjoyed his first lesson!!
Had to get out of Cartagena after nearly a month and check out Taganga as it's where Jon and I will spend Xmas (hotel now booked). And maybe new year if Jon goes to the Lost City - Colombia's very own Macchu Pichu. No train unfortunately, and I think 3 days walking there, 1 day looking round and 2 days walking back, sleeping in hammocks and being a stranger to personal hygiene would finish me off. Also there are many steps at the end and rivers to ford along the way. I'll check out the beaches in the national park.

Back in Cartagena my local bottle shop was closed so I couldn't tell Jesus (Hayzoos) the proprietor about my weekend (I practices my Spanish on Jesus when I go to buy my diet Cokes). Then discovered a total absence of alcohol in town - another election of course. A good weekend to be away.

I finish school on Friday, then it's Halloween and the Day of the Dead weekend and a public holiday on Monday. Next Tuesday I plan to fly to Popayan - another colonial gem with interesting preColumbian sites in the vicinity. I considered taking buses via Medellin and Cali but I've no interest in seeing them for themselves or in 3 days of 8 - 12 hour bus journeys. GBP100 for the flight will be money well spent. Colombia is a really big country