COCONUT TREES AND HAMMOCKS IN PARADISE

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The day had finally arrived for me to be sitting on a beach taking in the tranquility........a feat I had been trying to obtain for many months and had pretty much given up on as there are very few good beaches in the countries I had been in. Sharyn and I got ourselves organised and then got a lift into Santa Marta with Santiago to catch the bus out to the Parque Tayrona. In Santa Marta we had to grab some food and other necessities before finding the bus, this in itself proved to be a very fun experience and very Colombian. When we walked into the supermarket we found two men, one playing guitar and the other keyboards through an amp, and belting out a few salsa tracks for the shoppers who were enjoying the music and dancing down the aisles. Got to love this country and it really does make you smile when you hear music everywhere and see people enjoying it with no inhibitions. Once we had loaded ourselves up with as many crackers, tins of tuna and tomatoes as we could carry we headed off to find the bus. We squashed ourselves and our food on to the bus and we were off down the road for about 45 minutes. The start of the day had already made me smile and this bus ride just made it get bigger. We were in a typical Sth American bus that is very colourful, similar to the old school buses, full of ornaments hung inside and lots of glitter. The people on the bus were all really friendly and smiley and the bus conductor was very helpful. We also had our first encounter with some of the local Indian people who dress completely in white, something that I always find odd as they live up in the hills but manage to maintain very white and clean clothes! After about 45 minutes we were told this was our stop and were helped with all our stuff out the back door and as the bus left I could see the entrance and thought how that beach was getting ever closer. After getting through the front gates without even being searched, you are not allowed to take alcohol into the park and it is notorious for police to stop you and bribe you or to just take your alcohol, we jumped into one of the biggest cars I have ever seen. Some oversized petrol guzzling beast from America that had about 3 rows of seats in it and the seats were like arm chairs. The car took us to the path that we had to take to get into the park and the beach. I was thinking that it might be just a leisurely stroll for a hour or so but because it had been raining for sometime now the paths were pretty muddy. We started off by trying to avoid the mud but soon realised that this was fruitless when I fell in a puddle and had a blow out on my thong. Around this stage as well I was greated by some rather large mosquitos in numbers that proceed to enjoy biting me in ever area of skin, whether it was exposed or not. It was then that I remembered that I was meant to put some bug spray on before heading into the jungle, so with shoes off and lathered in bug spray we started our walk again. We seemed to walk for ages with our heavy bags full of water and food and signs along the way telling us we were only 40% there I was thinking that the idea of sitting on a beautiful beach seemed so far away. Finally we arrived at the first camping spot at Arrecifes and decided that we needed a half way break of maracua (passion fruit) juice and my first look at the beaches I had heard so much about. I was not disappointed in the beach or the surrounding palm trees and hills, in fact it was absolutely stunning and I was so happy that I had finally found a beautiful place on the ocean. After our juice we loaded up again and headed to the place were we would be staying, Cabo del Juan, which was apparantly another 45 minutes walking. We were walking on beautiful beaches and through some amazing vegetation but by this stage my bags were weighing me down and I sweating my weight out and all I wanted to be doing was relaxing on the beach - my day was some what different to what I had in mind. Finally after many muddy puddles we made it to Cabo San Juan and it felt like walking into paradise. I was so happy and excited to be there and thankful that we had finished the long and hard walk in. We decided to get a hammock each in the rotunda that is situated on top of a group of rocks, once we saw it there was no decision as to whether to stay there or down near the rest of the camp. After setting ourselves up in our hammocks and some food I was overcome with tiredness after sweating for numerous hours and getting too much sun. Lucky that I had fallen asleep up there because a few hours later a huge tropical storm came our way and I found out that we had the worst position in the whole rotunda as we were facing the weather. To start with it was nice to lie in the hammock and watch the rain and lightning but then things got wild and I had to grab all our belongings and move to protection as the floor started to flood. I also had to tie the hammocks up because at times the rain came into the rotunda at side angles. I was half asleep still and not able to go down to the restaurant where Sharyn was so I hid from the weather in the middle of the rotunda and waited for it to pass. After a spectacular storm that left me wondering why we were paying more to stay up in the rotunda that was open to the weather as opposed to down near the camp which was more protected, I headed down to the restaurant to find Sharyn and quite a few others that we had met over the last few weeks in Colombia. Blake and Lindsay (our Australian mates), an Irish couple and a Kiwi guy we had met in Iquitos were all there so it was perfect for a night of cards. Really the next couple of days went much the same and it included lots of lazing about whether it be on the beach or in the hammocks, lots of swimming, eating lots of fresh coconut which the boys happily collected and somehow opened, reading, eating lots of tuna, eating lots of great bakery treats, playing cards, hanging out and waiting for the rain to arrive. We were extremely lucky with the weather and managed to have the first two days full of sunshine and no sign of big rain clouds to very late in the day. We had heard of many people going to the national park and spending the whole time in the restuarant as it was raining. It was also wonderful to be in a beautiful place that wasn't full of rubbish and I felt comfortable swimming here and not afraid that some terrible piece of rubbish would rap itself around my leg.....really our greatest concern was that we would be in the way of a falling coconut. After a couple of nights Sharyn left with Blake and Lindsay back to Taganga as she was planning on doing a hike to the Lost City. I stayed on as walking for 6 days in a wet enviroment was really the furthest thing from what I wanted to be doing........that was relaxing near the ocean! It seemed as soon as they left they took the sunshine with them because for the next few days it was overcast and windy and not your best beach weather. I was also happy with this as it meant that I could just hang in my hammock and read my book and still take in the amazing view around me. I did met a heap of Australians that arrived not long after the others had left, we basically took over the whole rotunda and I had never seen so many Aussies in the one place in the whole of South America. Funny how you can always find plenty of us heading to the coast. They were good fun and I hung out with a couple from Adelaide and this freakishly tall and skinny guy from Sydney after most of their group left after the first day. We laughed a lot and I found it really amusing to hear all the Australian slang again. On my last day there I also met an Irish girl we had be hanging out with in Cartagena who had come to the park alone as her boyfriend had gone on the trek to the Lost City. So even if I was thinking of having a bit of time out to myself it was not possible here. After four nights and four days out in the park I decided it was time to head back and take on the long walk out of there. Other than the fact that I didn't want to leave the ocean I also was put off leaving because of the thought of having to walk out on that track. We decided to leave early so we could take our time and as we took off we decided just to go barefoot as it had rained pretty heavy the night before and we were expecting lots of mud. We were right with the mud factor but the walk out was actually quite pleasant and we were out in no time at all. After stopping for some fresh chocolate bread and a drink at Arrecifes and then watching the many monkeys running a mok in the trees we arrived at the entry point. Timing was on our side as well as there was a truck leaving with some members of staff in it and they offered us a ride to the gate. So my time in paradise had finished but I had plans to head off to a nearby waterfall and stay there for a few days. I said goodbye to Sinead and jumped on a bus heading north and with my very vague directions on how to get to this place I was off on another adventure. I asked to be dropped off near this waterfall and had been told that all that would be there was a bridge and from there you walk. So when I was told it was my stop I was confident when I saw a bridge, but since it was sunday there was quite a few people, mainly men, drinking and playing pool at a bar right where I stepped off the bus. Thinking that I was going to be extremely obvious to them I did a quick scan of the area and where I thought I had to walk......which on first glance was right through the middle of the bar. After a minute or so one of them came to ask where I wanted to go. I am sure that he was looking at me as if I was out of my head but he pointed me in the right direction and when I tried to confirm his directions he decided to send me with a young girl who was walking the same way. She was heading home and took me with her and I tried my hardest to speak with her but I am sure she thought I was thick. We then came to the river where I had to cross to get to this camp I had been told about, so the young girl pointed me in the right direction and waved me goodbye. At my first glance I was unsure if I had understood her correctly but I then saw a sign to confirm what she had said, so I took off through the river and was happy that day to have long legs as the water was high. I made it to the other side and found myself standing around a house with no obvious person there. I could hear music up further so I walked up there and found two Indian people there in a hammock. The Indian people are very shy and with my lack on spanish it was hard to communicate and explain to them who I was looking for. They pointed me in what I thought was the right direction but after walking around for another ten minutes realised that either I or them didn't understand. I went back up there and asked again and they then told me that the guy I was looking for should be down at the camp but maybe he had gone somewhere and he might not be back until tomorrow. At this point the rain clouds were coming in fast and it was starting to get dark and if this guy did come back I would be the only one at his camp and I wasn't sure I could be bothered with having to make chit chat, so I decided to head back to the road and back to Santa Marta. I was on the path back to the road when three men were coming my way and I started to have a reality check as to where I was.......walking alone in the jungle in Colombia being an obvious gringa and was wanting to be back on the bus fast, but as these guys approached they stopped and said hello and asked me the usual questions along with what I was doing and then sent me on my way with big smiles....no need to worry here! Back on the bus and heading to Santa Marta I was happy to be inside and not out as it had really started to pour now, I was just hoping that it might stop before I had to get off. No luck there and I was then wandering around Santa Marta in my poncho and knee deep in water trying to get back to the road to catch the bus back to Taganga. After a while of thinking that I was going to get stuck there a mini bus arrived and I piled in saturated and headed back to Taganga in the hope that they would have a spare bed for me. Finally I wandered into the hostel to find just about ever person that I had met out in the national park along with Sharyn who had decided it was best not to go on the hike after having a rather large night in town with Blake and Lindsay when they returned. So yet another great day and adventure but I was happy to have a shower and some good food before a long night sleep in a bed.

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Photos

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Sharyn taking a dip in front of our rotunda.....ahh this is paradise!

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Rocks at Arrecifes beach

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Our rotunda where we slept in hammocks at Cabo del Juan

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Looking down from the rotunda to the beach at the south of Cabo San Juan

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
An oversized grass hoper that landed on Sharyn's knee

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Blake working hard to bring coconut to the group

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Looking out to the north from the rotunda

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Another view from the rotunda, this is the north bay

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
The beach again

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Sharyn on the beach

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
Our home for a few days......hammocks in the rotunda

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
The track out.....Sinead getting stuck in the mud

TAYRONA NATIONAL PARK
The track out through the jungle