Taganga is a small town on a beautiful bay a 10 minute drive from Santa Marta. Some people we met said it reminded them of Koh Tao in Thailand. We say, “No way!” It’s still a nice change of pace from Santa Marta and you can stay at a hostel on the beach and sit in the sun and drink for no mucho dinero. Our favourite experience in Taganga was Babaganoush! It’s an open air restaurant located on the top floor of a building. It has an amazing view of the bay which is perfect at sunset. The food is beyond amazing! The beef carpaccio was delicious and a generous serving. The Fillet Mignon was perfect and also a good size. It was so damn good, we went back for more a few days later. There are several options on the menu which I’m sure are also delicious. You will thank yourself for finding Babaganoush!
In Santa Marta, we ate at a tasty Mexican restaurante next to La Brisa Loca and drank at Charlie’s Bar (say Hi to Charlie for me) and La Brisa Loca.
Breakfast and Olympic hockey wins for these Canadians!Watching Olympic hockey at the Dropbear. Found the inscriptions on the wall pretty amusing too.Beer bonging at the Full Moon Party!Met Janine at Dropbear. Turns out she knows a good friend of mine from Salmon Arm. Let’s drink to that!So funny!Old boats on the beach make an interesting statement, don’t you think?Let’s hit the high seas . . .Blue sky and warm sand. (View from my beach chair.)Taganga at dusk from Babaganoush. Eat there!
On one of our first days in Santa Marta, we decided to dig into the local culture. For a reasonable fee, a local guide agreed to show us a secluded swimming spot near Bahia Concha, the beach itself, and include a typical Colombian lunch with his family in a suburb of Santa Marta. The lunch might have been the most interesting part of the day. There were 11 people, including 6 kids, living in a 600 square foot, 3 room house, with concrete floors. They had electricity and running water, albeit they said it hadn’t been installed for their neighbourhood until 10 years ago. Very welcoming and friendly folks! This little guy was full of smiles and assigned to be our server.
King del CasaOur jokes are pretty funny in Spanish 😉The kids were all lined up on the floor in the hall while they ate. Nice & quiet 🙂Cove for swimming a short walk from Bahia Concha.This is a hidden cove where we swam with some Colombian kids and watched them jump off the 7m cliff.Clear blue sky at Bahia Concha. Had some fresh pineapple and napped in hammocks in the shade.Yes, shade is necessary if you’re on the beach longer than an hour.This was the first old abandoned boat I saw, but not the last.White sand, white guy! It was the first beach day!
Carson crashed his scooter on some loose sand. Couldn’t be happier!Davitch applies aloe vera to Carson’s road rash.Look closely and you’ll see rock carvings. These were found on a hike in a park on Koh Phangan.Petroglyph (rock carvings) near a creek in the jungle on Koh Phangan. Worth the hike!
Waiting to board the ferry from Koh Samui to Haad Rin.
Arriving at Haad Rin pier. Sure, we could have fit a few more tourists.
Accommodations on the water
It’s alright to look at.
Beach where the Full Moon Party happens.
Thirsty?
Sun is setting on the water.
People are still arriving.
The sun sets and the energy in the streets rises.
We arrived to Haad Rin on Koh Phangan with the masses for the two biggest celebrations of the year; the last Full Moon Beach Party of the year followed by New Years Eve a couple days later.
