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*Taganga is a little fishing village North East of Santa Marta and right beside Pargue National Tyronne - the place is famous for its diving in the Caribbean and its fresh fish.

• Headed up to Taganga solely to do my 4 day open water dive course. Found a reputable place that offerred the course for approx $230 US.

• The first day of the diving course was little difficult - just convincing myself to breath underwater was a bit of a hurdle to start with - but once i got my head round it it was great - dived to 10m on the first day.

• 2nd day, more diving, fantastic reefs, warm water. Had some trouble with my bouyency - which meant I shot up to the surface from 30 feet a couple of times - no real danger because it is not deep enough but the thought crossed my mind that a boat might shoot over my head.

• Completed my course, did the test at the end and now have my license to dive to 18m. Looking forward to diving in Sydney or somewhere else in Oz.

• Plenty of good fish to eat at night, whole snapper etc - very cheap a large meal cost $5 US.

• The hostel was good, set back from the beach and up in the hills, it had hammocks which were perfect for kicking back with a beer in the hand, a book and a view over the bay.

• Referred to as the jewel in the Sth American crown. This place is impressive. An old Spanish Colonial town this place has retained its architecture and history.

• Nestled on the coast of the Caribbean, its a little hard to believe you are in Colombia.

• Checked out the old town, saw the churches and cathedrals, got a bit of a history lesson and checked out the night life.

• Cartgena is famous for being a port that the Sapniards used to store the gold and resources they extracted from the rest of sth america and then send it back to Spain. The British attacked it several times and eventually the Spaniards built huge defensive walls and a fort on top of the mountain to safeguard it from attack.

• It was also a port where black slaves where delivered and sold by the Portugese and to the Spaniards. The Jesuits led by Priest Clevar were intrumental in freeing many and giving them a better option than slavery (they were converted into Cristians and given rights).

• I was staying in the old town but in a bit of bad area, we were warned not to travel alone at night. After 10pm this place changes, dealers and prostitutes take over the streets and shops etc lock their doors. I went down the street to pick up a some drinks and found it amusing when a young bloke at the corner store asked the shop owner for some coke (the snorting kind) and was handed a small bag in full view me - welcome to Colombia where coke is sold at the corner store!