My love hate relationship with Taganga

​So, Leo is now day 2 into his PADI course and loving it, so at least we can say that Taganga wasn’t a complete failure. I spent yesterday eating, working and napping while Leo has a full-on day of learning. I really enjoyed my day especially going to Hestia for lunch – check it out, it’s yummy and pretty well priced…and most importantly they do good coffee AND smoothie bowls! The owners actually work there which is also lovely so you can tell they take a lot of pride in what they serve, I really loved mine. Leo got an Arepa which was too small for him but then banana bread afterwards and that made it a solid 8/10. 

​We even managed a pretty sweet sunset in the afternoon and an incredible cake from a little bakery near our hostel. That was all I can report about the day though as I just ate for the full day, which is never bad, I guess?
Today on the other hand, different ball game. I hate this bed, it swings far too much and as weird as it sounds when I’m reading or typing I get motion sickness. It truly sucks. However, Leo came home from lunch today and we checked out Café Bonsai. It’s really nice and it does great coffee and has A/C so is already my fav place in this town.

After lunch we made the brave move to tackle the walk round the cliff edge to Playa Grande, the ‘nice’ beach in Taganga. It’s still hot but I was desperate to walk after being stuck inside this morning so off we went. It takes about 30 minutes from the town and when we got to the beach, MY GOD it was packed, so it was an instant NO from me to stay there. We continued on for about another 15 minutes and found a very small bay with only 1 other couple sitting so this is where we parked up for a couple of hours and I managed a refreshing dip.

​I have to say though…Taganga and the surrounding areas are gross. Like, disgusting. There is trash EVERYWHERE and no bins. The lack of care or education is very apparent, and litter is literally piled up on the walkways and beaches. On Leo’s dive this morning, his instructors literally dropped their trash…THEY ARE THE INSTRUCTORS OF A DIVING COURSE and they have not a single care about littering. As much as we are trying hard to not use single plastic bags and straws…this is the least of our worries when there is literal meters of garbage everywhere here.

I’m stoked to head out for dinner tonight, even though we are still undecided as Leo has his exam tomorrow so he is currently studying hard out for that. During my hours this morning of ‘me time’ I also booked a hotel in Santa Marta that has blown the pants off our budget…and I don’t care. I want to stay somewhere with A/C, a pool, safety and nice food, just for 1 night! So I booked us a suite at this fancy Boutique Hotel Cactus in Santa Marta for when we return from staying in our tent in Palomino for 5 nights. I think as much as my bank account hates me now, I will love my previous self when we get there. ​