So no, I haven't be kidnapped by Guerrillas in Columbia. I've arrived in Taganga, a small hamlet on the Caribbean coast about 10km from Santa Marta. It's absolutely beautiful here but I haven't had much time to enjoy it. Before I even settled on a place to stay, I headed straight down to the only PADI affiliated dive center to talk to them about starting a dive master class/internship. I liked what I saw immediately. It's run by a fully tattooed German guy named Max and the place runs like clockwork. I headed away from the beach along the road that passes the football field to find my hostel. It's a 5 minute walk but much cheaper than staying at Casa Blanca on the beach. It also has everything a backpacker could want, a clean kitchen, communal TV, Internet access (although its never free) and lots of tables, chairs and hammocks for lounging. Considering I'm planning on being here for a month, I couldn't ask for a better setup.
I headed into Santa Marta, the big city, by bus the next day to pick up groceries and take out money for the course so i could receive all my supplies. A manual, a workbook, a diver's encyclopedia and a few manuals, charts and other thingamajigs to get me started. Great. I headed back to the hostel and dove right into the manual which I finished studying 24 hours later so I could take my first quiz. Max was so impressed by all my work that he gave me the quizzes to take home a finish and he apent his time giving me a full on tour of the dive shop, helping me pick out the equipment I'd be using and scheduling me to dive the next day! I spent the night chatting with Yoomi and her boyfriend, Alex, who are both also doing dive master training in Taganga before hitting the sack. The next five days were pretty much the same. Up at 6:45, throw on my bathing suit and some clothes and grab an oatmeal drink out of the fridge to drink on my 5 minute walk to the dive center. Put my gear together and and hang around the shop helping them loadthe boat with tanks and greeting the customers as they stroll in between 8 and 8:30am. We head out to the reef amd I watch and help Max or Gerd with their training of newbies for 2 dive sessions before heading back and then help clear all the equipment. I run home to make lunch before I faint from hunger and then hit the books for a few hours until I have to head back down to the shop to check in on what's going on the next day. Back home for more food, studying and finally bed. Exciting I know!
I decided to change things up and track down a Spanish tutor (like I need more stuff to do). I left a message for a girl visiting from Cali and she got in touch with me the next day and we organized a time to meet. She's really nice and patient and costs less than $2 an hour. She given me a lot of good tips on how to use the language that differs from what I read in my books which is excellent. She offered to take me into Santa Marta the next day which was fun. She pointed out buildings and monuments as we drove through the city on our the bus and then we walked around a big new shopping mall as she pumped more vocabulary into my brain. I thought she was heading back to Cali on Thursday but I just saw her and found out her little brother was shot dead last night. She wanted to go on with the lesson but there was just no way. I mean, I couldn't stand it. I can't even imaging how she's feeling. So I'm off to do more studying. Sorry to be so boring but I hate stuff like that hanging over my head so I'd rather just plow through while I have the energy. Only two more exams to go. I've done six already. Then I've got other practical requirement to meet but at least I don't have to study for them. Wish me luck.
Keep living it up!
Posted by: bill | July 25, 2006 at 02:16 PM