Fun in the Sun to Fun on the Bus

July 24, 2012 

We enjoyed a free morning poolside. 

We spent the afternoon at Taganga Beach. 

Arial view of Taganga

I had lunch with some friends at a very unusual establishment (restaurant & hostile). The bright colored tables caught our eye! There was a young girl at the bar acting as a DJ playing English music, which we were all familiar with. Kittens and dogs strolled the sand where our table was (they were all very cute!)

About ten minutes after we ordered we noticed one of the many workers go out on his dirt bike. He came back about ten minutes later with a bag of groceries. Twenty-five minutes later our food was served. Clearly the chef needed some ingredients to make our lunch and it was well worth the wait! 

Lunch: shrimp rice, plantains, salad, and a Club Colombia! 

We then took a very long bus ride to Cartagena! On the way out of Santa Marta we passed through many different neighborhoods. Many people were selling fish on the side of the road. 

Many of the areas seemed extremely poverty stricken. Although we have been staying in high end hotels and quite isolated from these types of areas, it's still important to remember that these neighborhoods exist. Most Colombians are not living in the areas where I've been staying. Just like any country, including the U.S., many people struggle yet make the best of what they have. The picture above shows a group of young boys playing soccer. This was a common scene I noticed as we drove out of Santa Marta into Cartagena. 

At one point the bus turned into a chivas bus (the party bus in Colombia) because most of us were up dancing and singing. Like I've said before, this isn't your typical Fulbright! We all began to get delirious from sitting down for so many hours that we had to make the best of it. Most of us have been teaching Jacques, our tour guide from Mexico, idioms and expressions. Like we taught him today, "When you have lemons- make lemonade."