Adventures in Paradise
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2010
1
17
18
Trip End
Mar 23, 2010
Parque Tayrona, Magdalena, Colombia
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The next day we made our way back to Santa Marta to the market to stock up on supplies and to catch the bus to the park. The bus only took only 45 minutes, but it felt much longer when factoring in the heat and lack of space. We were dropped off, along with about ten others, at the side of the road in front of the park gates where we proceeded to pay the entrance fee and made our way to the beginning of the trail. Parque Tayrona is one of Colombia's biggest national parks, about 45 times larger than Central Park. To get to the camping area required a hike in.
The weather was hot and humid as we prepared ourselves for the muddy hike that was advertised to take 45 minutes. We had our full packs plus food and water so we probably had close to 16 kgs each on our backs. As we slogged through the mud and up and over rocks we had a feeling this was going to take a little longer than advertised. We began to suspect that the 45 minute benchmark was set by a Kenyan marathon runner with no backpack during the dry season. Or maybe we're just getting old. Regardless, the hike took well over an hour and we were hot and sweaty but we eventually arrived to our lodging - two hammocks in an open air, thatch roof hut about 50 meters away from the beach.
After a light lunch we decided a refreshing dip in the Caribbean was well deserved. So we set off to explore this tropical paradise that had been described to us as "jungle meets white sandy beaches". It didn't take us long to agree that this place is spectacular.
Night came surprisingly early (6:30pm) and being in a park where electricity is scarce meant that lighting was kept to a minimum and also kept very dim (only walkways and bathrooms). Unable to do much, most people went to bed early and we were no exception. However, being hammock rookies we were a little nervous about how we would fair for an entire night. To Mike's surprise he didn't have that bad of a sleep but Shannon was a little less chipper than usual the next morning. The entire night Shannon felt itchy, which kept her tossing and turning.
Being a little light on sleep and in a tropical paradise we made the easy decision to spend the day on the beach, relaxing, reading and swimming. That afternoon at about three thirty the sky started looking grey so we headed back to the campsite for some food and shelter. What happened next was unexpected yet consistent with our travel track record. The sky opened up and for about three hours it rained cats and dogs until half a foot of water covered the entire campsite. Apparently a rare weather phenomenon was occurring off the coast - an unusually cold current was interacting with the warm air to produce a giant rain cloud. We were told this system could produce rain for days. Not wanting to push our luck we decided it was best to leave the next morning. Besides, whats the point of a beach when it's raining.
It continued to rain all night and into the next morning. We were definitely getting "the hang" of sleeping in hammocks (despite the noise of branches falling and horses roaming around the grounds). We managed to stay cozy and dry in our hammocks while many of the guests in tents had to lay out their things to dry. But we decided it was time to move on so we packed up and prepared for the hike out. A very muddy hour later we caught the bus on the side of the road and headed for Santa Marta. Not knowing what our next move was going to be, we got a recommendation from a nice couple we had met the night before, El Rodedero which was a smaller beach town outside of Santa Marta. We liked the sound of something a little smaller and more peaceful than Santa Marta.
We decided to take a cab and find accommodation when we arrived. The second we got out of the cab we were pounced on by guys trying to get commission for setting you up with a room. We looked at a few, but were not feeling any of the options. We managed to lose the sales guys who were driving us nuts, and we walked by a condo where a guy called out the window to check out the condos. We agreed, and it was perfect! A two bedroom condo with a kick ass view of the sea, a great balcony, kitchen and cable TV. All for $50 per night. Well worth it after roughing it for a few days! We decided to stay for 2 nights since it was such a nice setting, and cheaper than accommodation in Cartagena.
Our first priority was to get our laundry washed as it was absolutely filthy from our previous adventures. Mike particularly had an issue with odour in his whole bag so literally washed everything. We had a relaxing evening watching a beautiful sunset from our balcony and getting take-out pizza while watching American sit-coms (sometimes you just need a little taste of home!). The next day we relaxed on the beach, reading our books and frequently cooling off from the 38 degree heat. We enjoyed another stunning sunset, sipping wine and eating munchies from the supermarket (2.5 months of eating out really gets to you...we can't wait to cook again).
After 2 nights in the fabulous sea-side condo, we headed back to Cartagena to prepare for our flight out to Quito, our last stop on this amazing South American tour!
Comments
You got lots of bad information prior to get there and now in your post. to get there is not easy and the buses are everything but comfortable. Tayrona is far from being one of the biggest national natural parks of Colombia and rather is one of the smallest. The heavy rain is normal in the wet season because of the geography of the region.