Allans trip to Morocco and Sth America

*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!

*Arrived in Panama City after flying from London to Madrid to Costa Rica and then Panama City.

• My plan was to take some Spanish Language lessons while in Panama and waiting for a sail boat to leave for Cartagena ,Colombia. That plan changed however when I found a boat leaving the next morning from Portobello in the North of the Country(Panama City is located in the Sth on the other side). So I packed up my gear and raced across this small country which is only about 80km wide.

• In Portobello they were holding a religious festival. This meant extra military security and check points. There were plenty of soldiers with guns and soldiers on the back of motorbikes with automatic weapons. The bus got stopped a couple of times, searched and I had to show identification and explain where I was going etc. I must admit I got a little nervous when we were ordered of the bus and I saw the locals pulling out money and offering it to the soldiers - I was carrying a little over 300 hundred US dollars with me and hadn´t planned on donating it the soldiers. Thankfully I had no issues and was able to pass through without a problem.

• I arrived in Portobello late in the afternoon to find the place jumping with street music and a real party atmosphere. All the hotels were booked out so I had the joy of asking the locals (in my limited Spanish tongue) for a place to stay for the night. Managed to score a room in someones house for about $20 US for the night.

• Found some of the other travellers who were going on the same boat down at the dock, one of them was a Japanise dude who was riding his motorbike from LA in the states to the bottom of Argentina. We helped load his bike onto the boat and then settled down for local cuisine and a few cervesa´s.

• Up early and onto the boat. First stop the San Blas Islands on the coast of Panama. The San Blas islands are a group of a couple hundred small islands that are inhabited by the Kuna people (Indigenous people). They are picturesque, with coconut trees and surrounded by blue clear water - great for snorkelling and kicking back.

• Stayed at the San Blas Islands for a few days, paid a visit to the biggest island which has about 2000 kunanites / kunamanians or whatever they are called living there. I ran into a couple of local kids playing a game of baseball in the street - decided to join in - was a good laugh - check out the photo which I got a little kid about 7 years old to take - this could should be a photographer.

• While snorkelling around one of the small islands, a Kuna family tuned up on a wooden canoe and asked if we wanted to buy coconuts, lobster etc. The little kids were running around naked - very natural - check out the photo.

• Left the beauty of the San Blas islands for the 2 day and 1 night leg across the caribbean to Cartagena in Colombia. Ran into some dolphins along the way (check out the photo). We also experienced some rough seas and rain for most of the night - I didnt get any sleep all night - stayed in the cockpit and got drenched. The stupid Captain decided to pack more people onto the boat this time so there was a lack of beds on his boat.

• Arrived in Cartagena, a little weathered and ready for a shower and a chnage of clothes.

*Last day

• Drove up the road to a coastal town
• Home of Hercules cave. Apparently Hercules created the cave for somwhere to rest, whilst he was tunneling between the African and European Continents.
• Had a game of beach soccer and a swim.
• Last night - Party night, bonfire and BBQ.Lots of drink and food - I was on cook duty so had the pleasure with one of the tour guides of working the BBQ which consisted of a grill over the top of the bon fire - damn hot - im missing the hairs on my arm.
• Up early, off to the Port in Tangier - along the way we had some dudes trying to jump on the back of the truck thinking they could hitch a ride to Spàin.

* Big drive from the South Coast to the North Coast today.

• This place is stunning, one of the prettiest places I have seen in Morocco, very Greece like, beautiful murals on the walls (check out the photos).