Walk Tall & Carry a Big Stone

The rich color & texture of Cartagena will certainly be missed, but I really wanted to get out into Tayrona National Park & listen to the surf & twilight jungle sounds while lazing in my hammock. Time to ramble. Vamenos!

When the little bus rounded the curve that sent us swirling down a curvy road above a beautiful fishing cove below, I thought perhaps the reports of muggings & drug-addled backpackers & machete muggings must have been exaggerated. The little calles were mostly rough dirt & stone, and the general look of the place had a fishing town vibe with some backpacker ghetto vibe mixed in, but the hostel was pleasant & there was access to a pool as well as unoccupied hammocks. Ahhhhh!

After a quick swim I headed off for the beach in Taganga to catch a little of that golden late afternoon light before completely relaxing into a hammock. But first I figured a pit stop for a couple chilled Aguila cervezas might just be the ticket. Or, so I thought.

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Free Spirit

"Free Spirit" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Mujer del Mar

"Mujer del Mar" ~ Santa Marta, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Pescarosa

"Pescarosa" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Lanchas Taganga

"Lanchas Taganga" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Payaso Azul

"Payaso Azul" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Fin de Semana

"Fin de Semana" ~ Santa Marta, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Rosa's Place

"Rosa's Place" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Cuidado

"Cuidado" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Lancha Rojo

"Lancha Rojo" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Tarde Bueno

"Tarde Bueno" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Paz

"Paz" ~ Taganga, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Espero

"Espero" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Lampara

"Lampara" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Palma Vista

"Palma Vista" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Camino de la Cruz

"Camino de la Cruz" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Temprano

"Temprano" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Sacerdos

"Sacerdos" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Camposino

"Camposino" ~ Barichara, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Barichara Sacerdos

Shared a taxi to the bus terminal in nearby Santa Marta with a Scottish backpacker who was distraught about all the theft & bad vibes he encountered in Taganga. He's friends with the Canadian couple who got robbed & seemed shook up in general. Can't say that I blame him but I wasn't nearly that ruffled about it all.

The set price for taxis, even if shared, is $10 mil pesos. The taxi driver told us nearly double when we got close to the terminal & I told him no, that we were only paying the agreed rate. He demanded more for a tip & I again told him you can't demand tips, those are voluntary for good service. At this point he just went nuts screaming & calling me a bad person & banging on the steering wheel. I mean, the very large & bald Colombian appeared to be having some sort of violent fit. The Scottish guy just handed me a couple mil more pesos to give him. I thought about it & decided I wouldn't be intimidated into paying up. I handed the money back to the Scott & told him, "It's your money so you can give it to him if you want, but that's why he's trying to scare us into giving him more money because tourist always cave in. I refuse to, but it's up to you." He reluctantly gave the driver more money to appease him, but he didn't even say "gracias" or appear the slightest bit grateful, just tossed our bags to the sidewalk & took off without saying another word.

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