Noche Buena in Taganga

My dear family, I truly miss you!

Nevertheless, I had a great time being part of a Colombian family in Taganga during Christmas Eve! This how my day went: 

Took a long siesta after lunch (as always), got active after sunset, took a cold shower and put on a nice dress. For this

 occasion, I have invested in a colorful dress, after bringing the price down to 20.000 COP (quick calculation: 8 EUR). Around midnight we started with a delicious meal. My favourite part was the desert called Natilla, made of milk, maizena, a lot of sugar and on top of it some kind of raspberry coulis. We ended the evening in a local discoteca "El Mirador", different beats on a outdoor dancefloor with the best view over Taganga.

What have I done so far?
-Biked from Santa Marta to Taganga, which took me only 30 min, but the sweat was dripping of me.
-Enjoying the beaches. My favourite is La Playa Grande, only accessible via a little hike up in the mountains or a small boat. Very remote beach nevertheless full with Colombian people! My white skin has been noticed by everyone. Swimming, eating, drinking and receiving a massage are the main activites. I can higlhy recommend the full-body coconut oil massage for 10.000 COP (probably you can try it even cheaper!), it made my skin suave for several days.
-Watching sunset every day. I can't take enough pictures of it...

Thank you, Luis.

-Cooked for my hosts Andres and his mom Nohra. Made them a very traditional dish "tomaten in de oven". A dish I will try to make in every country, so simple but will taste differently every time depending on the food resources.
-Sleeping in a hammock under the open sky. Sometimes I even wake up because of the very bright moonlight
-Taking courses of scubadiving! How amazing. I finished my last class yesterday and once I have studied for my theoritical exam (which I should be doing at this very moment), I'll be a PADI open water diver. 



Few tips on how to survive in Taganga:
* Bring earplugs with you. Possessing a set of speakers is as important as water. Everyone should know which songs you're listening to. The louder, the better. Either you listen to it either you hate it.
* Don't trust a map of Taganga and don't expect an indication of streetnames. It looks like there is no civilization here as streets are not paved, but really people do live here. Wander around! And in case you speak Spanish, just ask what you're looking for. Anyone would love to help you.
* Stay hydrated! Certainly when the wind picks up and spreads a huge amount of dust from the unpaved streets.

Me and my instructor

A sea horse!

Trying to follow the fish

Look, without oxygen mask!

Me and Luis hiking towards La Playa Grande

Crazy wind...

Me and Karin with coconut oily skin

Hilarious!

Crazy ride on a local bus

Something is missing here...

Not drinking Rum.

Andres and me (got his hat as a Christmas present!)

My open air hammock!

Very proud of this one!

Siesta

Christmas dinner

Nohra and me.

Modern Christmas tree

 Merry Christmas!