Santa Marta: March 2016
Viva Colombia
We had heard rumors of the beaches in Santa Marta, but we weren’t interested in beaches. We were interested in Tayrona National Park. I had read about Tayrona years ago, and it has been high on my list ever since, and it was our sole reason for flying to Santa Marta. I had an image in my head of what Santa Marta looked like, and as it so often happens, it was nothing like what I thought. Medellin was warm, but Santa Marta was hot! Overall, the food in Colombia leaves much to be desired, so after eating a sub-par local menu, we searched a little more for dinner. After spending a few days with Shannon and eating vegetarian, we decided to stick with it for a while, and found another veg place that was quite good.
Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
We prepared ourselves for a day hike and possible overnight in Tayrona National Park. Javier had done some research, and mapped our destination, Cabo. We left the rest of our stuff at the hotel, and took off with only small backpacks. The bus to Tayrona took about an hour. When we arrived, we all made our way to the ticket counter. There was a park safety talk going on when we arrived, but we just walked straight to the line. As we were waiting, the talk ended, and we saw the speaker giving out maps. I left the line and asked for a map. While I was walking back, I saw other people with a small paper. Turned out that after the talk, the speaker gave everyone this small slip of paper that was required to buy the ticket. Doh! Javier went and sweet-talked the guy.
Coconut water for sale. Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
Our plan was to walk the 1km or so to start the trail. After talking with the workers, they assured us that there was no trail to get us there. We’d have to walk on the road with the rest of the traffic. We weren’t sure if he was telling us the truth or not, but decided to believe him. As we rode along, we were both on the lookout for a trail, but sure enough, there was nothing. There were some people who chose to walk, and everytime a shuttle would drive by, they would cover their faces to try and keep the dust and dirt at bay. Good thing we didn’t walk!
Once dropped off, we followed the trail. It was hot and very sticky.
Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
We wandered over large rocks, through trees, dirt, sand and just about every type of trail you could imagine. We stopped to watch the monkeys play, spotted lizards, large termite nests, and loud colorful birds. We walked through a cluster of trees, to be rewarded with beautiful views from the top. At times it felt like we were in the middle of a jungle with its huge canopy trees and thick bush. Then the dirt would turn to sand, and we found ourselves on a tropical beach. The air stagnant and stifling one minute, with refreshing ocean breezes the next. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced so many different types of ecosystems in one hike.
I had dabbed repellent here and there before we set out, and good thing. There were mosquitos galore. Javier doesn’t typically wear repellent. If I’m around, the mosquitos will go for me, leaving him in peace. Well, Javier didn’t realize I had protected myself and when we finally arrived to Cabo San Juan, to Javier’s dismay, he had been attacked. The beach at Cabo San Juan is one of those famous “secret” beaches, if that makes any sense at all. We were both really sweaty by now, and decided to jump in and cool off.
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Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
We found a spot off to the side, and realized we had encroached in the “nude beach” portion. Although, no one was actually nude, just a girl topless. Javier felt bad because she soon put her top back on, but I’m convinced it wasn’t because of us, who were frolicking in the water, but rather the pair of horny toads who were also on this stretch of beach, clearly gawking at her. We talked about staying versus going back. The park offered small sleeping huts or hammocks for rent. There were so many people, and we spoke to some who said they drove most of the way, and only had to walk a short distance to get to the beach.
Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
In the end, the experience at Tayrona, while beautiful and definitely worth the trip, was a bit more commercial than we liked. I think we both imagined something different- more remote, and the difference was enough to keep us from staying the night. We had to be out of the park by 5pm, and we needed to give ourselves a few hours to get back, so we packed up our stuff, had lunch at the restaurant, and made our way back to the bus.
Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
Santa Marta is famous for its beaches, but other than the beach in Tayrona, we weren’t that interested. Back at the hotel, we returned to the veg place for dinner before calling it a night, and took the bus to Cartagena the following morning.
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