Sorted, Sort Of - Taganga, Colombia

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Today my mission was to go over to Taganga which is a little beach town over the hill next to Santa Marta. My aim was to case the place out and get some information regarding PADI Diving Schools. Getting to Taganga was a cinch. Basically you just go over to the main road in Santa Marta and wait for a minbus to cruise by that has a Taganga sign in the window. Once you spot your ride you wave the driver over and you hop onto the bus whilst the vehicle is still in motion. Great fun really, just be sure not to roll your ankle. The mini bus was a dodgy tincan of a ride, built for maybe 12 but packed with about 18. Just the way I like it and only $0.80.

Once in town I set out and spoke with about 4 different schools. Some are really cheap and the equipment looked a little sketchy. I feel that this is something I do not want to go for the cheapest option. Kind of like sky diving. Do you go with the best deal, or the guy with the nicer plane? I'll choose the latter. So it comes down to two schools. The first is Aquantis Diving and the other is Poseidon Diving. Poseidon comes highly recommended by a friend of Amy's named Carlos that she had me contact. Carlos is a local free dive instructor here in Santa Marta. Both schools seemed really comparable given my naive knowledge of scuba. My main concern is the age and look of the equipment and both places had really nice stuff and seemed very professional and well run. The cost difference between the two is about $40 with Poseidon being the more expensive at $380. Generally PADI courses are about $550 so both are of exceptional value. I'll sleep on it before I decide.

After this was sorted I decided to hike over the ridge to Playa Grande just north of Taganga. It was a pleasant hike of about 25 minutes or so and the views were great. This place reminds me so much of Los Cabos in Baja. I imagine Taganga is like Cabo was 50 years ago. Once I got to the beach I went for freshly caught fish grilled to serve right on the beach overlooking the bay. A great lunch for only $12 with drinks.

The rest of the day was basically just hanging out on the beach watching time go by. It was very relaxing and calming. I was at peace and happy to be in such a lovely setting. As much as I like to travel without any schedule it is nice to now have a little bit of an itinerary. This week will be the Lost city trek in Santa Marta, and then next week will be the 4 day PADI course in Taganga. I'm sorted and it has put my mind at ease.

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