Ahhh Taganga- we planned to stay a few days and have been here over a week...I am now a fully certified open water diver and there are few better places to learn than the coral reefs of the carribean coast! Even as shallow as 12 metres, the marine life was spectacular- fluroscent purple, pink coral and hundreds of different fish species of varying colours and shapes. Electric purple Moray eels, Puffer fish, angel fish and a hundred others I cant name all filled the surrounding waters of Taganga as we swam by- exploring their territory in awe.. We had met one of the Divemasters- Marco- previously in Cali and he was very professional and thourough in covering the fundamentals of scuba safety. As an added bonus, day 1 of the course dropped us into the ocean at 8m rather than going through the motions in a swimming pool as many courses do..

We befriended a great mix of travellers through the Open water dive course- Shane & Tim the Irish boys, Simon & Elka from Malta, Nesca and Pauline from Amsterdam, Crystal from Trinidad, Ash from wales..and the dive crew, Marco, Junior, Chopper- we partied long and hard with the group as a celebration for finishing the course.. and spent days between enjoying gourmet pizzas at sunset ( see picture), maracuya juices, Marias baquettes and laughing ourselves stupid at Nesca & Tims twisted jokes about lucky blue suits..

Towards the end of our taganga stay, we journeyed along to Parque Tayrona Nacional - which houses a string of Cabanas and hammocks along a flawless coastline of jungle leading onto white sandy beaches.. We camped at El cabo, a beach about 2 hours walk from the parks entrance and our labourious efforts were rewarded 10fold- the place was magnificent!! It was dark by the time we set off for the walk to El Cabo and at the start of the trek we aquainted ourselves with a young Colombian girl with her 1 and 4 year old children- soon to be labelled "mother of the year" as she had opted to trek through 2 hours of a muddy jungle path with no light, water or food for her children and  carrying a large rucksack on her back...the poor single mum soon realised that she could not see the path in the pitch dark, nor keep track of her crying infants so we took it in turns carrying her kids, feeding them cookies and falling over in the mud, holding the kids up out of harms way..quite an experience! Anyway, the beaches were amazing, lined with palm trees and fallen coconuts and accidentally stumbling on a nudist colony was fairly amusing..

Ahh yes..and I proposed to nicki in Cartagena! We had been out for a day boattrip to Isla Grande, one of the Islas del Rosario- we discovered a small patch of paradise on the far end of the island, a secluded little bay with pure white sand, transluscent aqua water and set beyond a green jungle coast..we spent the day there swimming and basking in the warm carribean sun.. That night we splurged and went out to Pelikanos near Santa Domingo square, a romantic candlelit restaurant with a gourmet 4 course menu...so, after dessert, some live tableside Spanish melodies and a few Chilean vinos I popped the question on one knee and she said yes!

Ok, so Jumping back in time to post-coffee region, we returned to cali for the Shakira concert which was awesome to experience in her home country- she pumped out all the tunes in Spanish and varied dances from rock, to pop, to ballet, to belly dancing... very vivacious and entertaining! A short stop in Santa Rosa en route back up North was worthwile where we visited their famous hot springs - a series of different thermal pools of varying sizes and temperatures, set in a plush jungle resort at the base of a large waterfall- beautiful.. Medellin was our next brief stop where highlights included evening cable car ride over the lit city, Botero sculptures and a unique daytrip to Guatape. Guatape boasted one of the most stunningly unique views I have ever seen...a view ontop of el piedre lookout revealed a horizon of semi submerged islands, amidst hundreds of steely blue lakes..the 2 hour bus/boat trip was a bit of a mission but it was well worth it!

Very sad to leave taganga eventually yesterday but we flew into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil thismorning so hopefully more adventures yet to come!