Taganga aka "little Israel"

June 15

Today we grabbed a taxi. Our driver was named Franklin and he was really interested in what Utah was like and asked me to send him pictures of Utah. We also discussed the origens of regaton, Spanish rap with a latin twist. We then grabbed some empanadas and fruit juice and hopped on a bus. They played “Man on Fire” which is a film about kidnapping in Mexico with Denzel Washington and Marc Antony (J Lo’s Husband). We then got to Sa nta Marta and took a taxi to Taganga to our hostel Divaganga. We have a swimming pool, hammocks, and an awesome restaurant. Sherrie and I went to the beach while Scarlett hung out in the hostel because she wasn’t feeling well. This is an interesting town where many of the bars have signs in Spanish and in Hebrew. Lots of Israelis come to this town after serving their mandatory military service. So I fit right in. It isn’t the prettiest beach and it is more desert than tropical, but this place has a cool feel with laid back lifestyle. As you walk through the dirt streets there are houses with elaborate speaker systems in front of their small homes playing competing salsa and merengue songs at discotech volume while sitting around talking with friends and family. I am surprised that most people aren’t deaf here. I really like the afrocolombian culture here and they are incredibly kind. I am going to go listen to my lectures on my MP3 player on the hammock under the stars and by the swimming pool. I love Colombia