Taganga - the advantage of getting to know somewhere

After the amazing Galapagos snorkelling experience that we both thoroughly enjoyed we thought that, with our impending move to Australia, learning to scuba dive would be something we'd both like to do. With this in mind one of the cheapest places in the world to get an open water qualification is Taganga, near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast.

We booked in and then read in the Lonely Planet that the food here was not great, this was a slight disappointment but there were plenty of other attractions in the area to keep us occupied, including the beautiful Tayrona national park which you can walk in (camping overnight if you want), as well as diving in the sea on its coast line. We spent a great day in Tayrona, walking in the jungle and on the beaches, the scenery is very dramatic and impressive, however when we were there it was a touch over cast and a bit cold to swim on the great beaches (be careful some of the beaches have strong currents and are not suitable for swimming, these are clearly marked!)