Colombia’s Caribbean Coast and Cuidad Perdida

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So here we are in Colombia. I arrived just over three weeks ago and I am absolutely loving this amazing country and already wishing we had more time here. Six months in South America just isn’t enough. There is simply too much to get through. Anyway I thought I would write this blog to keep family and friends updated on our travels and to share some of our experiences. So here it is from the beginning.

After an enormous 50-something hours of traveling I finally made it to Colombia! My journey consisted of no less than four flights. A huge effort… and when I eventually landed in Cartagena Berni was there waiting. Relief. Berni had left Australia three weeks earlier and was traveling with a friend from Newcastle, Chris. Berni’s trip began in Panama where he met Chris on his way south from Mexico. They then sailed from Panama through the idyllic San Blas islands to Cartagena on a yacht captained by a crazy Norwegian ex NATO intelligence officer who had given himself his first tattoo at the age of sixteen. Needless to say I was relieved when I got an email from Berni saying he was alive and had made it to Cartagena where our trip would begin. The night I arrived in Cartagena I was shocked by the humidity. I had left home on a freezing August morning so the humidity when I arrived was overwhelming. For my first two nights in Cartagena Berni had organised for us to say at Casa Villa Colonial on Calle de la Media Luna in Getsemani. It was a slightly more expensive option for 120,000 pesos per night for a double with ensuite (approximately $65.00 AUS), but it had air conditioning! Clever boy… easing me into it slowly. Most of my first day I spent sleeping in the air conditioned bliss.

Most backpackers stay in Getsemani which on the surface it seems quite with it being where the hookers hustle and cocaine dealers do business. Instead because there are so many people around it actually feels surprisingly safe. We spent most of our time walking through Cartagena’s old town admiring the most beautiful city in Colombia. The inner suburbs of the old town are surrounded by Las Murallas, thick walls built in the early sixteenth century to protect the city from pirates and siege. I particularly enjoyed Café del Mar, an awesome bar out on a balustrade of Las Murallas overlooking the modern tourist destination of Bocagrande (think Gold Coast) and the stunning Caribbean. Drinks are more expensive but it’s worth it for the coolness factor. It is 6,000 pesos for a beer at Café del Mar versus 1,400 (…74 cents!) for a beer from the corner shop. When Berni discovered he could purchase a beer for 74 cents and drink it while cruising down the street he was stoked.

From Cartagena we then caught a bus to Taganga a tiny fishing village on the Caribbean Coast and where we were meeting up with Chris. It is where I had my first swim in the Caribbean ocean and it is also where I had my first real experience of Colombian driving. One thing I learnt quickly is that Colombians are impatient and drive rather recklessly often on the other side of the road… while overtaking the vehicle ahead of them… with an oncoming semi-trailer uncomfortably close. It is also not uncommon to jump into a taxi with a broken handbrake (…or a few in our case). All I have to say is I definitely surprised myself with my quick reflexes. We left Cartagena at 9.30am and made it to Taganga in 5 ½ hours. Not bad for Colombian standards. We were told it would be a direct 4 hour journey… and here is the second thing I have learnt about Colombia… direct means nada. Our driver stopped to pick up a friend and drop her to work. He then stopped randomly on the side of the highway and just disappeared. His un-bus-driver-uniformed friend… one of the many friends he had stopped to collect along the way taking over the job. Anyway, we made it and it was comfortable and quite entertaining.

Once in Taganga we found accommodation at Hotel Pelikan. Berni’s brother Joe and his girlfriend Fiona had stayed there and recommended it. It was clean, welcoming and close to the beachfront. It also had a leafy front balcony which offered a cool, shaded area to sit and chill in the heat of the day. For this we paid 55,000 pesos per night for a double with ensuite. Our first night in Taganga we ate at the much anticipated La Casa de Felipe, a really cool hostel with restaurant a short walk up the hill from Hotel Pelikan. We had heard the current chief was a Michelin-starred chief in a previous life. Not confirmed. The fillet mignon was rumoured to be the top pick. It didn’t disappoint either. I think we ate fillet mignon every night we were in Taganga but one and the night we ventured away from the mignon we wish we hadn’t. We tried Casa Holanda, recommended in our guidebook. Maybe had we not been spoiled by the mignon we may have enjoyed it. Anyway, there were other amazing things to do in Taganga besides eating fillet mignon. On our first night there after we met up with Chris and went to a club near the beachfront called Sensation. At the time I thought it was amazing but in actual fact it was just a darkened room lit with black light with an outdoor terrace playing reggaeton (Google reggaeton… you’ll understand)... Berni also just reminded me that it smelt like dog poo. We must have enjoyed a few to many.

On our second day in Taganga we booked our Cuidad Perdida trek. Chris had done some research before we had arrived and from the backpacker grapevine we heard positive things about Magic Tour and decided to book with them. All tour companies were offering the same price of 600,000 pesos non-negotiable, so $340.00 AUS including tax for using credit card. It made the decision easier. We also went with the 5 day trek. There was the option to do it in 6 days but we thought 6 days would be stretching the love. In hindsight we should have organised to do it in 4 days, combining the first and second day into one as they were fairly short days, plus you get quite a few breaks. That afternoon we walked around the rocky coastline to Playa Grande. It was a lot nicer than the main beachfront in Taganga with crystal clear water. The further you ventured around the coastline the nicer and more secluded the beaches. Once it was only the three of us and a crazy Bavarian German we’d met plus a mismatched group of fishermen hauling in catch after catch of barely big enough to eat fish.

After two days in Taganga we were packing our little backpacks with the bare essentials and heading off for our first trek. We organised to leave our big backpacks with Hotel Pelikan where we also organised accommodation for our return. We were picked up from our hostel and driven in a converted Toyota Landcruiser to the small village of El Mamey. There were 10 of us crammed into the back of the Landcruiser along with our guide Jesus. Comfortable for the first hour, but for the following hour of intense uphill four-wheel driving… not so much. We ate lunch in El Mamey which consisted of bread rolls with ham, cheese and tomato, then set off on foot after the mules laden with our supplies for the first camp. The first day we walked for 3 ½ hours mostly up hill. It rained in the afternoon making the way muddy and sometimes difficult to climb, but we were in good spirits. We stopped for two breaks along the way were we were fed oranges and watermelon and café tinto, extremely sweet coffee. At first camp we slept in hammocks under mosquito nets. It was the first time either of us had slept in a hammock. It’s not too bad, so long as the hammock is strung so it’s taut and not too curvy it’s quite comfortable. Dinner consisted of chicken cooked in a ragout with rice and a small salad. This was fairly consistent most nights on the trek. Most our meals on the trek were accompanied by patacon which is deep fried plantain (a green banana, but not as sweet). Day 2 of the trek upped the intensity of walking with more river crossings and more mud. At the second camp we got to swim in the river, jumping off rocks and cruising down rapids. Chris earnt the nickname saltar roca – rock jumper from our Bavarian German friend who could speak fluent Spanish. Chris and Berni were also carefully monitored by Jesus who was cautious of rain further up the mountain causing the river to rise suddenly. The swims along the trek were a welcome respite from the heat and we happily took the chance whenever we could. We slept in bunk beds with mosquito nets for the remaining 3 nights on the trek. These were more comfortable than the hammocks… if you were lucky enough to score a pillow. The third day we were up at 6.00am and walking by 7.00am. We walked for 4 hours to the third camp fitting in a swim before it absolutely poured. The nights we spend reading, learning Spanish or playing poker with sachets of sugar for money and we were almost always in bed by 9.00pm. The fourth day… Lost City day, we were up at 5.00am and walking by 6.00am. We walked alongside the river, crossing it once until we arrived at the base of the stairs. There were 1200 stairs! It was tough going after almost 4 days of walking, but also exciting. The urban centre of the Lost City is at 1300m above sea level and cleared of trees. The view is remarkable and well worth the climb. The ruins consist of 150 stone terraces that once served as foundations for the houses. It was once inhabited by the local indigenous people who were called the Tayrona. Their descendants, the Kogi people still live in the mountains. We were visited most nights on the trek by the Kogi children. One young Kogi dude (he wore a back-to-front cap) insisted on arm wrestling me. I won. From the rough English translation I got, the Tayrona people were forced out of their city by Spanish explorers who stole all their gold and treasures. The city lay untouched until 1960 when local farmers found it. Eventually the word got out and it was declared to the government in 1975. Day 5 we walked for 6 hours from the second camp back to El Mamey. Apart from a minor gruelling uphill section (which I remember walking down on the second day thinking to myself how much I would hate walking back up) it was mostly downhill. We ate lunch again in El Mamey before four-wheel driving it back to Taganga. Apart from a flat tire on the way back to Taganga, it was a really great experience which we are happy to have accomplished. If you are reading this and you are thinking of doing it it’s definitely worth it. We highly recommend Magic Tours. We were fed well, had a bit of fun with our guide and for Colombia it felt well organised.

After the trek we thought we would stick to the coast for a while longer. We thought it was well deserved. So after a night back at Hotel Pelikan we packed our small backpacks again and left for Parque Nacional Tayrona, Colombia’s most popular national park. We had organised to share a taxi with two hilarious Irish med students we had met on the trek, Donncha and Angus. The Irish boys had negotiated a taxi for 55,000 pesos which worked out cheaper than the bus and it delivered us to the park’s main entrance, El Zaino. After paying the 35,000 pesos each to enter the park (steep!) we decided to walk the 4km from El Zaino to Canaveral, the main campground and then for a further 45 minutes along the coastline to Arrecifes. Waves! Teeny tiny ones… but no swimming. There is apparently a deadly undertow which has claimed over 100 lives. Not being able to swim after walking for 2 hours in the heat was torture! There is an amazing view though, looking down Arrecifes beach where enormous boulders dot the coastline. After some more walking we found the swimming hotspots. La Aranilla and La Piscina. We devoured our packed lunch at La Piscina and finally got our swim. Another 20 minutes further along the coastline we arrived at Cabo san Juan de la Guis, a beautiful cape with the most amazing beaches so far. It was here Berni and I spent the night. Donncha and Angus were able to get the boat back to Taganga, I think for 40,000 pesos each. Anyway, it was quite spectacular…we completely lucked out at got accommodation in the Mirador. A 2 storey beach hut on stilts sitting high above an island in between the two bays of Cabo san Juan. It was the coolest thing I have ever done. There were hammocks on the first floor which could be hired for 30,000 pesos and 2 cabanas with verandas and hammocks on the second, where we stayed. We paid 100,000 pesos for a cabana for a night… expensive but definitely worth it. The cabanas themselves were fairly basic with just a double bed, no mosquito nets and a few plastic chairs but the location was stunning. Here, I might just point out… just so you don’t feel too jealous, during our night in the cabana we were eaten alive by mosquitos. Feeling better? The following day we had beautiful weather and we spent most our time lazing around on the beach and swimming in the brightest blue ocean I had ever seen. At 1.30pm, during the heat of the day (idiots!) we made the long journey back to El Zaino. On the walk back we passed Panaderia Vere, a bakery which makes the most amazing warm chocolate filled bread rolls. We started with one, then were greedy and had another. Once we reached El Zaino we shared another taxi with a couple from the Netherlands back to Taganga where we spent another night at Hostel Pelikan. Overall we had a great time at Parque Nacional Tayrona and really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere but if you are travelling on a budget it is fairly expensive. We stayed another night in Taganga at Hotel Pelikan before returning the next day to Cartagena. Stayed tuned for more of Cartagena, Playa Blanca and the beginning of our long journey to Bogota.

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Photos

Enjoying the sunset in Cartagena
Overlooking the Caribbean from Cafe del Mar

Plaza de los Coches
Inside the main gateway to the inner town

The Catedral
Within Catagena's old town at night

The tiny fishing village of Taganga
From the walk to Playa Grande

Spending the night in hammocks
At the first camp on the trek to Cuidad Perdida

The first of many stone steps
At the base of the 1200 stairs up to the Lost City

Cuidad Perdida
Overlooking the urban centre and spectacular views from the Lost City

The Mirador
Where we spent the night at Cabo san Juan de la Guis

The coastline of Parque Nacional Tayrona
The view from our cabana at Cabo san Juan de la Guis

Comments

[Bianca]

cute
Claire, that was epic!!!! Loved it though and keep them coming. You know it actually was a lot like Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries minus all the motorcycle drama and helping lepers etc but the descriptions of the countryside and what you ate etc was very similar lol. xx b

[Fadman]

enjoyed reading of your adventures .. sounds like a great adventure ... speak to you soon the pic's look great