Taganga aka Dog Town

We had all heard some good things about Taganga - a beach town on the north coast of Colombia. However I couldn't see quite what the fuss was about. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a horrible place to be and I guess it is very easy to get overly picky when you're see so many amazing places. We chose to stay there as most people apparently opt to go there instead of Santa Marta these days.

But how nice can a place be when it is practically being run by dogs?! Literally dogs. There are almost as many dogs in Taganga as there are people. And they don't trot around minding there own business as in most places. They loiter the streets in packs. They have formed gangs and hang around intimidating humans and other dogs looking to switch allegiances. They may as well have had flick knives and nun-chucks! I'm not exaggerating here and I don't have cynophobia - a phobia of dogs. On the contrary, I very much like dogs.

And while I remember, I feel compelled to warn anyone wishing to stay at the hotel Casa Blanca. On our first night when looking for somewhere to stay Sophie got rudely treated by the owners and their dog tried to take a chunk out of her bag. Nice. They could have just said they has no vacancies...

On a lighter note, if you walk 20min over to the next bay there is a lovely beach with plenty of deck chairs and places to buy a cold beer. Plus the sunset there is pretty special. Oh, and if you're into diving then I have it on good authority that Taganga offers great dives at a reasonable price. They are also in the process of building new footpaths and generally tidying up the place. They really should start with the stray dog issue though.

Cartagena - it's a delight

Being so late that you think you're going to miss your flight is a horrible and stressful situation and one I don't intend on repeating. A combination of events led to a mad dash for the gate and somehow we made it - the full story is admirably covered in Viva Latin America

Rocking up in Cartagena my first impression wasn't all that thrilling. The airport was fine.  In fact the flight was extremely smooth and sitting in the comfortable brand new plane I was able to de-stress from the madness that led up to boarding it! But as we entered the backpacker part of town in our taxi, I started to wonder whether we were heading for the right place. Run down buildings and no shortage of threatening looks aimed your way. Plenty of awkward eyes. And in these parts a man with nothing to do will happily sit on a wall and dish out shifty looks by the dozen!

However, spend a bit of time there and you soon find there's nothing too threatening lurking about after all. Once you've experienced the stares second time round, its like water off a ducks back. Of course, your confidence is helped by the thousand or so police officers patrolling the area!

A ten minute walk down the road is the historic quarter which is not only completely safe but truly beautiful. Even more so at night when all the buildings are lit by up-lighters. There is no shortage of restaurants and bars there - though they don't exactly cater for the backpacker budget, you can treat yourself once in a while.

Each morning from the port hundreds of people leave on boats out to the various beaches nearby. We took one out to Playa Blanca (a popular choice) and enjoyed the white beaches, the turquoise waters, the hassling vendors less so - they don't take no for an answer so you just have to be rude.

Most people express concern about travelling to Colombia and think its a dangerous place to be. I heard before we came out that its a bit of a dated view now and I have to agree. There is a visible effort with tourism and that was especially noticeable in Cartagena. Its no surprise that its one of the top tourist destinations in the country.

Cahuita - Fright Night!

We arrived in Cahuita on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica after another long day of travelling, but at least it was a straightforward day. The bus from Santa Elena to San Jose took only four hours, and the bus to Cahuita three and a half. Nothing really!

Cahuita follows a familiar trait with places on the Caribbean side of Central America. The place is worn out and shabby but the vibe is a relaxed one. It has its fair share of dodgy characters loitering the way they do, but nothing too threatening. Most just seem a little messed up. And then of course, should any stranger strike up a conversation it’s more to ask if you want any drugs rather than a polite chat!

We settled in at a place called Jenny’s Cabinas, which is right by the sea and after dinner, joined the German girls we met on the bus for a few drinks at the only bar in town.

The next day we went to Cahuita National Park, which happens to be on the beach! And when you’re in need of a relaxing day, but still want to go see things, it is the perfect combination. The park itself starts just on the edge of town and there is a visitor centre and some rope across the beach to show where the park starts. You can walk many a kilometre, or you can find a nice spot and sit and watch the nature around you. We saw monkeys in the trees above us, more crabs than you could count and plenty of birds. Not bad when you’re just sitting on the sand!

Our second night in Cahuita was a little different. At two in the morning we awoke to the loudest and most frightening scream I think I’ve ever heard. The screaming lasted a good while and with the scrambling noise coming from outside, I knew it wasn’t just someone waking from a bad dream. The first floor rooms at Jenny’s each have a balcony and I went out onto ours to see what was going on. Eventually the two girls staying next door came out onto their balcony to say that someone had just tried to break into their room. By this time everyone in the place was outside wondering what had happened, but despite the supposed guard on patrol (he was probably asleep) and Jenny’s not so alert dogs, the intruder had escaped.

With the dodgy types hanging around Cahuita and the relatively flimsy locks, it was no surprise that the girls left the balcony light on and didn’t go to sleep again that night. It was only because one of them was already awake when the intruder appeared at the window the first time that she screamed the house down and scared him off. Good for her. It certainly worked!

I slept with one eye open the rest of the night. It seemed perfectly possible that another attempt would be made to break in that night. Who knows what is going through the mind of a desperate addict. And that’s who we were dealing with, I had made up my mind!

I spent the next couple of days being pretty paranoid and overly security conscious. It makes you realise how easily someone could break into some of the places you stay. But most towns haven’t had that air about them, or at least I haven’t noticed it before.