Monday, July 4, 2022
I’m not ready to venture out farther because of my back so I’ve decided to make a quick stop in Taganga, a fishing village nearby Santa Marta. I took a taxi to the village and chatted with the driver in Spanish on the way.
I made it through the dirt roads to El Palohe hostel. I couldn’t check in yet so I stowed my bags and went in search of food. I went to La Morena because the menu said they had guacamole and Coca Cola, and that’s all I wanted. They didn’t have either. I got a traditional appetizer instead made out of fried yucca, which was pretty good. They were really busy so I think this is a decent option in Taganga.
I went back to the hostel to check in and it’s pretty nice. The dorms have air conditioning and the facilities are clean. I was only disappointed with the shower. I ran into my friend from Mexico (I met him in Cartagena and ran into him in Santa Marta and Minca as well). He was there with another friend so we hung out in the hammocks for the afternoon. Then we decided to get drinks.
We ended up at one of the huts on the beach across from La Morena. I got a sangria which was pretty good. Then we walked along the beach in search of some food. We stopped at a place called Love Bar where I got decent tacos for 25k pesos. We also got micheladas (my first one ever!). I think I need to acquire the taste of the michelada.
Lastly, we bought some beers from a stand on the beach and did some people watching.
I was originally worried about visiting here because I read that it’s a bit rough around the edges. A couple of years ago it was controlled by some sort of drug lord or something. It’s technically safe now, but after some interactions with locals I definitely won’t be staying longer. It’s nice here but as a solo female I don’t feel the safest. It was cool to see a more traditional Colombian village on the coast though.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
This morning I went to the chiropractor (hopefully for the last time, but my back isn’t completely back to normal yet, so who knows), and now I am venturing out to one of the places I was most excited to visit in the first place. I won’t actually be all that much farther than Minca, but I’m planning to do some hiking now so I really don’t want my back to go out again.
After the chiropractor I went to the mall to get some cash and also stopped at the food court. I went to a place called Freezall Frutall and got a yogurt parfait which was pretty decent. Then I took a taxi to the bus station for Palomino. It’s in the same place as the colectivos to Minca. These buses are much bigger and from what I can tell they leave on the top of the hour. My ticket was 10k pesos.
I told the bus driver I needed to get off at Journey Hostel, and they let me off right on the side of the road. Then I started my hike up to the hostel. It only takes a few minutes but with heavy bags it is humbling. When you reach the hostel, you are immediately rewarded with beautiful views.
I ordered a burrito which was pretty good and then relaxed by the pool during happy hour. I ate the communal dinner served by the hostel. The drink prices here are a bit high and there’s nowhere you can go to get your own. The happy hour deal is nice though.
Check Out My Guide to Taganga ⧉
My Google Maps Guides have all the important locations I mention in my blogs, and you can open them right in Google Maps to make it easy to plan your own trip!