Blogs :: Sick in Santa
Andrea's parents told me a story before they left about how Dad took ill one trip to Cartagena after indulging in unknowingly tainted foods. I didn't make it that far.
By day 2 of Santa Marta I found myself unable to move past the bathroom, spending most of my day in bed lacking any energy. Odd thing was, our meal the night before was at a decent, respected gringo-owned establishment. But apparently the lobster disagreed and reeked havoc on me for the next week.
By day 3.5 I was moving about, albeit slowly.
Day 4 was New Years and with tradition, I spent it still mildly sick and sober (usually, due to a hangover) except for the two glasses of Flor de Caña I downed. I could handle no more. There were no spectacular displays of fireworks, no big parties in Santa Marta, most everything was shut down, but there were people in town, somewhere.
New Years Day we taxied over to a smaller beach town named Taganga, known mostly as the center for diving in Colombia. Classes are cheap, around $200 for the basic course, and I had planned on taking a dip under under the ocean myself, but my condition was not improved enough for that kind of adventure underwater.
The beaches of Taganga were packed. I think its where all the people missing from Santa Marta were spending their days. We hiked 30 minutes up and over a huge hill to Playa Grande, but it wasn't that big. More people. After a nice afternoon nap in the shade, we threw around the football I had dragged all the way from Bogota for the sole purpose of playing on the beach. That was the first and last time we played.
Forgetting the being sick part, the town of Santa Marta was nicer (and larger) than I expected. We stayed in the historical slash touristic district. It seemed smaller, more quaint. It was confirmed safe once I saw kids playing tag in the streets after ten at night. The dogs traveled in packs as normal, but instead of fighting, also played tag in the streets. The streets themselves except for the large amount of trash, were constructed very well using a nice combination of quality concrete and red brick. The number of pedestrian paths was unexpected. If you add few more places to eat, I see Santa Marta as town ready for a tourism explosion. Just hopefully the prices, which are quite affordable right now, do not go through the roof as they have in our next stop, Cartagena de Indias...
Taganga, Santa Marta, illness, beaches, holidays, Colombia
Posted By:
Brendon
2/5/2010