Just came back from spending 2 nights in Tayrona National Park, sleeping in a hammock about 50m from the beach. Being the first time I am sleeping overnight in a hammock, it was a rather interesting experience, though it got a little chilly in the night and I had problems sleeping through till the next day.
Tayrona is said to have one of the nicer beaches in Colombia, however after spending the last 2 nights here, I have to say that I really miss the beaches of Asia, and look forward to my trip to Koh Lipe when I am back!
Getting into the beaches of Tayrona (Arrecife, La Piscina and Cabo de San Juan beaches), wasn´t just a bus ride away. First, I had to catch an infrequent shuttle that takes 45 minutes to travel from Santa Marta to Tayrona Park entrance, and subsequently walk for another 45 mins to Arrecife beach.
After the trek in Parque Iguaque, I was hoping to avoid more treks, but unfortunately this was not going to be the case. The only difference is that the trek to Tayrona is definitely much easier, though there were still some muddy terrains (no where as muddy as Iguaque) and some difficult to trek paths. I was also carrying clothes, food and water that would hopefully last me through the 2 nights in Tayrona, and being much hotter in climate as compared to Iguaque, I was completely drenched by the time I reached Arrecife, where I booked a hammock in Bukaru Campsite for the next 2 nights.
Arriving in the early afternoon, I decided to explore the beaches of La Piscina and Cabo de San Juan before evening falls. La Piscina was just a short walk of about 15 mins from Arrecife, while Cabo de San Juan was an additional half an hour trek. Wearing just a pair of slippers and carrying some water and a book, I made my way.
While climbing a difficult spot near Cabo de San Juan, I met a Colombian guy (James), who asked if I needed some help. We subsequently continued speaking and he asked where I was going, to which I replied that I was just exploring the beaches. Seeing that I was alone, he asked if he could accompany me, and so I said ok.
He led the way and in about 10 mins, we found ourselves 2 beaches further ahead from Cabo de San Juan which was rather peaceful and laidback and decided to sit down for a moment to catch a breather and enjoy the sound of the waves. While setting up my mat, I noticed at the corner of my eye that James seemed to have stripped down to his ¨birthday suit¨. Thinking that I must have been seeing things, I took another quick look and realised that my eyes had not been playing tricks with me the first time round!
I felt totally awkward - sitting next to me just barely inches away is a guy whom I just met a short while ago, stripped naked on the beach. Yet I can't say anything, as it could probably be normal behaviour for the other party. I made it an effort to keep my eyes from straying south, but that proved difficult on some occasions, especially when we were walking towards the sea to take a quick refreshing dip and he was just standing opposite me at a distance, with full frontal expose! AWKWARD!
Considering that James was staying at Cabo de San Juan beach, while I stayed at Arrecife, it will take me an additional 45 minutes to walk back to my base. So after spending about 45 mins at the beach, I decided to call it a day and make my way back before the sun sets. Before we parted ways, we agreed to meet at Cabo de San Juan the next morning at 9am and trek towards Pueblito, a place where the indigeneous people once resided.
The next day, I made my way back towards Cabo de San Juan to meet up with James and commence our 1.5 hours trek towards Pueblito. The trek was filled with a number of uphill climbs and though I was slightly exhausted, it was definitely no where as exhausting as that of Iguaque. When we finally reached Pueblito, I was expecting to meet some of the indigeneous people, but it seemed to have been totally deserted for some time.
So we took a short break and enjoy the tranquilness of the area, before heading back towards the beach we were at yesterday. There were some dangerous downhill sections, and we even came across a poisonous snake at one point. By the time we got to the beach, I was exhausted and glad to be able to rest for a while. Unfortunately the sun was hiding behind the clouds most of the time we were at the beach, so after a short nap and with the sun not expected to be peeping out anytime soon, we decided to make our way back at about 3.30pm.
I could feel myself dragging my feet in the next 45 mins trek back to Arrecife, after James and I parted at Cabo de San Juan. I was totally exhausted, and after taking a refreshing shower, I realised that 2 blisters have developed on the side of my 4th toe on each feet! Very strange, as never encountered this before!
There were a group of 6 people (3 guys from Spain, 2 girls from Argentina and 1 guy from Argentina) who were staying in the hammocks next to mine, and who had arrived shortly after I did on the 1st day I arrived at Arrecife. We had made small conversations on the 1st day we met, but never really spoke much until I came back from the Pueblito trek, whom were all extremely intrigued that I was travelling alone for a total of 9 months and mostly in South America!
They also mentioned to me that they had spotted a crocodile near the lagoon just metres from where we stayed that morning (and they showed me pics too!). And so after playing a few rounds of game (something like ¨Cluedo¨) and dinner, we decided to head out in the night, armed just with our headlights and see if we can spot the glistening eyes of the crocodile in the dark.
No such luck I am afraid, and so after a little more chatting about our travels and other conversations, we called it a night.
On the morning of my departure, I was woken up by the sounds of other groups on the campsite, who seemed to be up pretty early that day, and so after a light breakfast and packing of my gear, I said goodbye to the Spanish and Argentinian group and made my way, where I felt myself dragging my feet with the slight pain of the blisters irritating me.
When I got to the main road and while waiting for the bus back to Santa Marta to collect my luggage, a taxi who had just dropped off some passengers asked if I wanted to take a cab. Not wanting to spend extra, I told him that it will only cost me COP5,000 by bus, and to my surprise he agreed to bring me back to somewhere near my hostel (10 mins walk away) at COP5,000. I guess he either can make that little money, or have to end up going back on an empty cab!
I picked up my bags from the hostel and quickly made my way to the bus terminal to catch a bus towards Baranquilla!
*Photos to be uploaded at a later time. Having problems retrieving pics from camera for these few days... possible camera must have taken a shock from exposure too!!!
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