Taganga

Eager for something calmer, I moved on to the quiet beach town of Taganga, which in my head I keep pronouncing ''Topanga.'' Thanks a lot, Boy Meets World.

The bay faces east west, so immediately upon arrival I indulged in a fruity, blended cocktail and watched the sun set. The next day's greatest hardship would be the 20-foot walk from my towel to the Caribbean, as the sand was quite hot.

After a couple days of lounging around, I joined a group of four Brits, two Canadians, an Aussie, and a Swede, to rent a cabaña two hours east of Taganga. To get there, we took a colectivo to Santa Marta, a 1 1/2-hour bus playing loud kung-fu movies to a town called Palomino, where we bought all our groceries for the two days, and then an ancient Rambo jeep -- the kind with benches bolted to wooden sides in the back, and a tarp roof -- to the cabaña. With 12 people, all our stuff, and all our groceries, it was a bit crowded in the Rambo jeep:

And outside the jeep:

Our accommodations:

That night Spencer (Canadian), María (Swedish), and I cooked dinner, and it turn out AMAZING. First let me say that there was no electricity or running water; we had a jug of "cooking water," which we took to mean okay for boiling but not for drinking. The stovetop consisted of these little mud volcanos, under which you light a wood fire. Some serious old-school shit.

Spencer and María.

With this equipment, we made a delicious pasta primavera with fresh prawns, managing to time everything perfectly. The pasta was al dente, the onions, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes cooked down in their own juices and flavored with saffron salt, and the prawns bought on the beach earlier that day, then sautéed in citrus juices and garlic. Oh, and María's fried plantains as an appetizer. Booya.

A nearly full moon bathed us in a pleasant light as we sat around after dinner talking and playing games like the Pirate Game. Example:

What's a pirate's favorite kind of sock?
Arrrrrrrrrgyle.

Some of the questions had a distinctly British flavor:

What's a pirate's favorite football team?
Arrrrrrrrrsenal.

We slept in hammocks in the cabaña, which was 10 feet up off the sand on stilts. I was concerned that sleeping in a hammock would be uncomfortable, but I just balled up a shirt for a pillow and slept diagonally, and it was super comfy.

The next day involved more lounging around. We'd planned an elaborate Beach Olympics, but it was too hot for any exertion greater than a walk on the beach.

Not a bad way to pass the time.