20 Feb – 9 March, Cartagena, Taganga, Colombia, Bomb the Bass – Beat Dis
Colombia has a bad rap. I think that is great. The scarier it seems the less people will come here. In all honesty it is a fantastic place and the people are incredibly friendly and welcoming.
Cartagena
I arrived in Cartagena, which is one of the most beautiful towns in the world. Colonised by the Spanish as a stronghold for gold exports it is surrounded by a 30 meter thick stone wall. All the houses are colourful, sprouting flowers and balconies. It is also featured in one of my favourite movies…Romancing the Stone
The city founded in 1533, was plundered many times before the grand defences were built. Most notoriously by the Englishman Sir Francis Drake in 1586. He managed to take the city quickly and negotiated a ransom of 107,000 Spanish Eight Reales, or around 200 million in today's US dollars (wikipedia…) nice work if you can get it.
 One of the many spanish courtyards |  Men playing chess in the park |
 Narrow streetways, you can spend days just wandering around |  Chilling in one of the many parks |
 My little ponies |  More of the same stunning architecture |
A very nice place indeed, really quite romantic if you are in the mood.
Santa Marta, Taganga Beach
A brief 4 hour bus ride east of Cartagena takes you to the city of Santa Marta, and a further 5 minutes more you will end up in a relaxing fishing village named Taganga.
I originally went to Colombia with the idea of settling up for a month, getting off the backpacker trail and studying Español. How naive I was. Taganga is a mecca for hedonism, There is a party every night, everyone seems to think I am Charlie Sheen and the dance clubs play the worst music ever. Chill by day, party by night. A very nice mix, but only for a short while.
 It’s carnival season in Colombia! |  All those people are passed out… |
 Taganga beach, that way |  The best hostel I have stayed at, Casa de Filepe. They have a restaurant serving fillet mignon for 10us, and it is more than you can eat. numnumnun |
And so, the party continues in Colombia. It is a great place, but beware, sleep does not come easy.
x.brad.
