In Taganga, Colombia, the many small and intimate beaches offer that often-sought getaway from the hoi polloi. Much like Itacare in Bahia, Brazil, this fishing town serves also as a portal to smaller beaches and some fantastic dive sites. Emma and I arrived a week ago and since then have strived to perfect the art of doing nothing (with the welcome exceptions of our dives). Sometimes busy and loud at the weekends (NB – this is not just a Gringo haunt, Colombian people like to come and enjoy the vistas too), the town diminuendos into a more tranquil space during the week. Our mornings consist of a very lazy breakfast at Cafe Bonsai, where the señora prepares mouth-watering, freshly baked bread and homemade peanut butter (the peanuts are roasted in front of your very eyes). We take the pleasant hike over the brow of the cliff to the adjacent bay, and spoil ourselves with a hired deck chair (Caligula would blush at our extravagance). A ritual of sunbathing and swimming perpetuates, whilst the hours concern themselves with whittling themselves down. Upon our stroll back to the apartment, we stop to barter with the local fishermen, who trawl the warm waters for tuna. For the price of a pint of milk, you can leave with zinging-fresh tuna, ready for your skillet. The diving here has also been a great respite from the heat: Lobsters, squid, lionfish and our friends the green turtles have met us on the ocean floor, allowing us candid glimpses into their daily business. The days roll on, we contentedly repeat our physical mantra and the surrounding life, both above and below the depths of the ocean, continues on.
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