Parque Tayrona

I had to tear myself away from Cartagena because I heard that Parque Tayrona was worth a visit. It's a national park along the Caribbean coast. The rumors are true; it's gorgeous.

Once I got to Santa Marta (the jumping off point for the park), I was taking my time making plans and packing. When I was finally ready to go, I heard that Osvaldo, a taxi driver, was already taking Tim, Nico, and Paola to the park, so I eagerly joined them, and it's a good thing I did. Osvaldo's 30-year-old taxi made it to the park where we hiked to a campsite that rented hammocks and had a restaurant, because needless to say I had some clothes and a candy bar and that was it. Well, once we arrived at Cabo (the campsite on the beach), the authorities informed us it was full. It was getting dark and the camps were filling up, so Tim lead us to a beach he had seen a few days earlier. We were the only ones and it was beautiful. Luckily Tim had a seemingly bottomless bag with unlimited camping supplies and Nico and Paola had actually prepared and had some food. After dinner, which consisted of a few bites of tuna and crackers, it was so nice to be able to jump into the Caribbean. I slept on the sand under a mosquito net gazing at the stars. It was a very magical (and cold) experience. The next morning, the first thing I did was go for another swim. It's such a luxury to wake up on the beach 5 feet from the warm, clear ocean. After a swim we searched out food. I found myself at a bakery on the beach eating pan de chocolate. Yum. Nico and Paola stayed at a beach nearby while Tim and I hiked to Playa Brava. What an adventure! First we hiked out of the park and took a taxi to another entrance. Then we hiked 3 hours in the blazing sun up and over a small mountain. Luckily Tim is a more positive person than most and we arrived exhausted but happy. Playa Brava was worth the hike. It's an ecological reserve without electricity but with running spring water. It has about six cabanas and a private beach. So actually even though sleeping on the sand next to the beach is nice, sleeping in a hammock in a cabana next to the beach is even better. There were four people from Spain staying there when we arrived. They were so sweet and very fun. Tim and I stayed longer than planned but he kept pulling food out of his bottomless bag. Finally when it ran out, we ate fresh fish from the sea and coconuts from the trees. We had a blast on the beach and also hiking to the waterfall nearby, which was supposedly started when 2 indigenous people, a man and a woman, clicked two rocks together. Actually, Jorge, who runs the place, is buying up land along the coast to eventually give it back to the indigenous people who lived there before it was a national park. I was amazed at the altruism of Jorge. I guess if you want something done right, you really do have to do it yourself.

After our arduous hike to Playa Brava, we returned on horseback. Well, really I was on a mule, a really stubborn one. Even though I'm more sore from riding the mule than hiking, it was worth it. Coming back to Santa Marta was like coming back to reality. Playa Brava and Parque Tayrona really were a paradise. Even though as a vagabond, I'm always coming and going, this time it really felt like I had been away from the world.