Taganga - what's going on here?

I don't know how people can travel and not be affected by the starving people and animals! On the drive from Cartagena to Taganga we passed sections of the road where hundreds of people were lined up begging on the "highway". It was strange because they had rope stretched across the road, but I have no idea how it would have stopped a car moving so quickly along the road. We were in a 10 passenger van that was not only locked from the outside, but we were also locked in. As we traveled the road the shacks along the road were soaked in the recent rainwater and floating amongst piles of trash. A cholera village waiting to happen.

As we drive up to Santa Marta we are instantly reminded of Santa Cruz and the local junk markets lining the streets. We drop off a couple and the rest of us headed for the beach town of Taganga. We had google earthed and searched about Taganga and of course had some expectations in our heads... The problem with that, is the expectations are hardly ever met when you are traveling in a third world country. In the pouring rain we arrived to Ballena Azul which is listed as the nicest place here. Upon check in we realize that it's ok, but nice isn't the adjective that I would have chosen to describe this place. Adequate, but not nice.

Now, what to do in a very small town? We head out and instantly see that this place is where hippies come to hip it up. Street performers, beggers, starving dogs, and lots of booze. A fair description of Taganga. We pick a table along the "strip" and the people watching begins...

Like a magnet, the starving dogs and children slowly move towards Laura and I. A young boy begs from us and when he has no luck we notice that he is siting in the dirt eating plant material that has fallen on the ground. Serioulsy, eating pieces of leaves... A few minutes earlier I had contimplated buying a hot dog for one of the really skinny mama dogs and now decide that I'm buying a hot dog for this boy.

I use my broken Spanish to talk to him and we walk over to the hot dog stand and proceed to get a grande perro caliente. For 3,000 pesos, about $1.50 I gave the boy his meal and he follows me over to where Laura is waiting and eats on the ground in front of us. Laura decides to buy him a juice and his meal is complete.

The hot dog is huge and I can tell he's slowing down so I asked if he was full and he nods and throws the rest to some doggies near by. A starving boy with a good heart.

He scurries off and Laura and I continue to watch the scene. This place is a mess. We wonder if the local crack head has gotten stuck here by will or not. We watch male dogs chase the females with the persistance of a child. Some moments are funny and some very sad.

The rest on our beds of boards and no a/c was not as challenging as I would have thought.

Breakfast is good, but too much, so we pack up some eggs into a napkin and go in search of some hungry dogs. Oh, good, there are 15 hungry dogs right in front of us.

We head out to the front of our hotel and sit in the shade of a palm tree. Now that the rains have stopped you can see how really beautiful the bay is. In the Lonely Planet we read that there was a hike to a nearby beach and decide to check it out. Wait until you see the photos. Hundreds of people along the short beach. Hundreds. More people watching and then back to our side of Taganga.

While we are sitting in front of the hotel one of the mama dogs comes over looking for some food and we give her some love instead. While we are relaxing a young boy, around 10, comes over with a creepy looking finger puppet and starts talking to us with his puppet. He's nuts. Behind me is the snow cone man, so I decide to buy this little boy a snow cone. He's delighted, even more so when I let him keep the 50 cents change.

So far in Taganga I feel like a social worker. We'll see what the next few days bring.

View of beach next to Taganga.

One of the street dogs that we gave lots of love and food to.