Colombia's Jewels: Taganga, Santa Marta

Colombia Rocks!

This past week I was able to visit one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen! 

My roommate and I traveled to the lovely town of Santa Marta. A dear friend of hers allowed us to stay with them so the trip was relatively, cheap. We took a bus to get there, which I would never recommend because you don't see a whole lot between Medellin and Barranquilla.

Our first stop was Barranquilla. Home of the inspiration of my blog name, SHAKIRA! It's a dry, hot, dusty city. There was an area with a very nice shopping mall, but not much more than that. We were only there for a few hours and then we took another bus to Santa Marta.

The trip from Barranquilla to Santa Marta is about an hour and a half. It's a beautiful trip because of the ocean and towns you pass on the way.


When we arrived, we were greeted like family. The one thing I truly love about this country is how welcoming and friendly Colombians can be.

Santa Marta Beach at night. There is music, dancing, and drinking!

The beach in Santa Marta is not the greatest, but it is a lot of fun. If you're looking to meet new people and dance, just hang out here for awhile.

View from the pier where you can shop for local crafts.

Santa Marta is a wonderful break from the busyness of Pereira.  The streets are not filled with people, it isn't consumed by traffic and obnoxious buses, and it's warm.  We walked around the city almost every night, just enjoying the weather and architecture. One of my favorite streets is covered in adorable restaurants. One even uses books for tables, it's very chic and quaint.

Restaurant Alley

Santa Marta is filled with gorgeous architecture. I love buildings. I am especially fond of the colorful themes the buildings have.

As beautiful as I thought Santa Marta was, I enjoyed Taganga and Parque Tayrona even more. I love small, quiet places, perhaps that is why it appealed to me so much.

 

 

The many views of Taganga Beach. My favorite is the man getting his yoga on. I love watching characters.

This is Jesus. Jesus and I have a goal to see as many cool things as possible before the world get crumpled like a giant wad of paper. I think Jesus found the climate quite familiar to home.

Parque Tayrona deserves it's own blog, so I'll continue the journey in Part 2.