December 26, 2010
My new friends Ladys, Mervin and Zuleima took me to the beach. Even though we are very close (as the crow flys) to the playa we have to take two buses to get to one of the nice tourist-ca beaches. We waited over an hour outside Garagoa but there were no buses direct to Taganga. We had to take a bus into town and catch another bus to Taganga.
Anyone that enjoys a smooth and safe ride would probably not enjoy a ride in a busetta. (mini vans fitted for 20-25 people) No where else do you get the sense of community other than on a busetta.
Taganga is a sweet little tourist town with many “jugos” and fruit stands dotted along the pedestrian walk way. Apparently Taganga is known for being a bit of a gringo hippy beach spot as well as a destination for some Colombians. I was duly impressed by the first no motorcycle sign since arriving in Colombia.
I invited the girls if I could treat them to a jugos as I really wanted to try a mango jugos myself. The drinks are made with fresh fruit and blended with either milk or ice water (I opted for ice water) and the strangest thing to me was the huge amount of sugar they added to the juice which isn’t really necessary as the fruits are so ripe and sweet.
It was a deliciso treat before we ventured on our hike to Playa Grande - the main beach which is sandwiched between two massive hills. You can take a boat to reach Playa Grande bay but we opted for the view and the exercise (and saving a few pesos) to hike 20 minutes on a cliff hanging hill to reach the beach. I must admit that part of the hike was a bit nerve wracking for my fear of heights but the view was worth it. It was also reassuring to know that the Colombian policia are keeping an eye on the gringos. I had a personal bodyguard named Jamie who walking behind me 1/2 way to the beach. He spoke incredibly good english.
Just as we started our descent towards Playa Grande bay the girls spotted two lorros (wild parrots) sitting in a tree. To see these beautiful birds in the wild with full tails was amazing!
We arrived on a very full beach at mid day and there was barely an empty spot on the sand but we got lucky. I opted for an immediate dip into the water to cool off as it was so hot and humid which I’m not used to. Like a typical tourist beach there were numerous vendors walking up and down the playa selling everything from ceviche to beach clothing.
Next time I will kindly ask them no azucar.
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