After the ruggedness of the peninsula I was ready for a little more tranquil environment in the form of Tayrona National Park. Situated on the Caribbean coastline this pristine park is only accessible by foot or horse. This is where we made our first mistake.
As we were heading south anyway, we decided to bring all our gear with us and get a horse to the campsite. We were slightly concerned to note upon arrival at the gate that no one else was carrying bags the size of ours. They had all smartly packed day packs with everything they needed. No worries, we would be fine on our horses. After our short journey into the park we were deposited on the side of these road with no horses in sight. Excellent, a 5km walk with a 20kg backpack and day bag….
(What NOT to bring into the national park…ignorance is currently bliss)
Despite climbing up and down hills in the heat AND in flip flops, we made it almost 2 hours later.
(Rest stop – don’t bring this much crap on a 5km walk!!)
(Clearly fitter than I)
Our campsite was 5 minutes from the beach (Arrecifes) that unfortunately we couldn’t swim at. The currents were hideous and more than 100 people have died there over the years, so we decided not to take our chances.
(Open air dining)
With a full day to spend in the park we headed to Cabo San Juan, a beautiful bay around a 45min walk from our campsite.
(Getting supplies into Cabo San Juan)
(Collecting coconuts…obviously for Piña Coladas)
That walk was easy…we then headed to Pueblito, an old indigenous community in the mountains. The walk itself was stunning, even though it was 2.5km UPHILL over boulders and massive rocks. This was were we made our second mistake. We only saw the sign that says ‘wear proper walking shoes’ after we were more than an hour from home. We decided to brave it anyway. We were the only ones in flip flops….
(This sign says ‘wear good walking shoes’….)
(…and this is why)
After almost 3 hours of bouldering we relaxed on the beaches of Cabo San Juan and La Piscina.
(It’s a dogs life)
Upon returning to our campsite we discovered that we had been invaded by 64 school girls…and they all made it to the shower just before me! Waiting for 64 10-12 year olds to shower while you are hot and sweaty can definitely test your patience. But we got to know them at dinner when they told us how much they love One Direction (Justin Bieber is apparently out) and bombarded us with questions about where we were from and our favourite colour/animal/city etc.
It was during my never ending wait for a shower that the snake incident occurred. Two Bulgarian girls had seen a snake up the tree above their tent and went to get someone to get it out as they were concerned about it falling on top of them (rightly so). What followed was a hilarious episode of let’s get the snake out of the tree by any means possible including 1) poking at it with a giant stick, 2) shaking the tree and 3) finally throwing coconuts at it. When none of these methods (surprisingly) worked, they suggested the girls move their tent.
(It was one of these trees…)
It was only on the way out that I managed to get a horse – Alfredo – which was awesome! Very glad I got to ride a horse in Colombia given it is such a big part of their culture.
