Unemployed & Unimpeded: Taganga & Playa Grande

We left Cartagena to escape the heat and traveled up the coast to a city called Santa Marta for five days. It is a small but busy city filled with fewer tourists and less humidity. Since finding the best beach around was top of mind, we planned to take a short day trip to nearby Taganga and Playa Grande. We ran into Phill's friend, Will, from Nueva Lengua and the three of us decided to share a taxi to the small fishing village. Immediately, we regretted not staying in this town since it had a more authentic Colombian beach vibe. We heard that it took only 20 minutes to hike to nearby Playa Grande so we tightened our laces and began hiking. Unfortunately for Will, his sandals didn't prove to be the best hiking shoes. Once we made it to the beach, we quickly laid out our towels and dove in. The water was the clearest we've seen on this trip and the temperature was perfect. We spent the day swimming, reading, and fending off beach hagglers. Just after sunset, we made our way back into town and stopped for mango smoothies before hailing a taxi home. Even though the ride was only supposed to be 15 minutes, locals managed to block off the roadway in protest of a city-wide water shortage. We had to get out of the taxi, walk through the roadblock while Colombians yelled at us, and finally hop in a taxi on the other side to take us home. Interesting to see local politics at work.