Parque Tayrona, Colombia

This is a great national park filled with monkeys, coconut trees, and plenty of Argentinian vactioners. I slept in a village of hammocks right on the beach for $20,000 pesos per night (12 bucks).  My main source of company was a group of three Australian travelers who were just at the tail end of their trip.  We shared stories and they gave me plenty of travel tips and preferred destinations all around the world.  I spent a descent amount of time trying to master the art of shedding the Husks of coconut...after many hours, soar hands and forearms, i think I have a solid technique.  Smash the heck out of them until you can peel back the husk :-)  On my way out, the friendly village black-howler monkey was walking down the trail and eventually hopped into the lap of the Australian girl, he was reluctant to leave haha.  Touristy, but Tayrona is a must see in Colombia!

Taganga, Colombia

This is a tiny beach village just outside Santa Marta.  There are 9 scuba dive centers and a host of beaches and crystal clear coral reefs.  I spent three days getting my open water certification and even was asked back for two free dives by the owner of the dive school (vida marina) :-) It was an amazing experience.  I saw three different colored Eels, went spear hunting with my instructor, and went 22meters deep for 41 minutes.  The colors were so foreign to me.  Bright and intoxicating, it was easy to get fixated on one piece of coral.  Two highligts...1) seeing a 5 foot wingspan ray uncloak itself from under the sand no more than two feet below my instructor, startled both of Us! 2) spear hunting and killing Lion fish (beautiful by the way) that escaped from aquariums during the Katrina hurricane. They have no natural predators in the Caribbean, propagate under all conditions and habitats, and are seen all over the Colombian coastline. Taganga is a special place and so far my favorite town on this trip!