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Tayrona National Park
This my friends, was PARADISE! What a trip! Colombia really surprised me. I had an unforgettable experience traveling through this country. I will always cherish it. While in Ecuador, I met Ronia. An attractive English girl with an amazing mind, and an amazing talent for drawing. When we first met, we hit it off well. We realized we were traveling north around the same time and hitting the same areas, so we decided to travel together to a few places in Colombia. We moved around quite a bit, so I'm gonna give a brief summary of the places we visited and the adventures we had.
Popayan: This was the first town we visited when entering Colombia. It was a nice colonial town, but didn't really have much to offer in regards to activities. We visited their natural history musem which had an impressive collection of insects and stuffed birds (some endangered).
Bogota: (My older brother is gonna hate reading this one.) So, first day we arrived we realized it was Colombia's Labor Day holiday. What a better way to celebrate than to put on a street protest. After a half hour or so of peaceful marching, the riot police came out. Apparently, there was
a group of rowdies who fucked it up for everyone else. They started busting windows and breaking into businesses. Then the crowd-dispersing bombs and tear gas made an appearance. People were running everywhere! Bombs bursting, gas burning my eyes and throat, and riot police ready to strike anyone in their way. We had to run away from the cops a few times. Somehow the crowd kept sticking around us. Ronia and I finally separated ourselves from them and headed off to a different direction. Crazy shit! Besides that episode, Bogota turned out to be a cool city. It had plenty to offer to keep us busy for a few days.
San Gil: I decided to head out to San Gil. The town itself is not particularly nice, but it did have a beautiful park and beautiful waterfalls close by. I visited the Juan Curi waterfalls where I did a little trekking and swimming. It was beautiful! I had it all to myself.
Taganga: This was a small fishing village just outside of Santa Marta. The scene here is very chill. Unfortunately, the beaches were dissappointing. There was trash everywhere! Sad. Ronia and I met up again here, but
then headed off to Tayrona National Park.
Tayrona National Park: My FAVORITE place in Colombia. This place was paradise! We had to take a boat out to the park from Taganga. The boat trip took about an hour. Probably one of the scariest boat trips I have EVER been on. The trip to the park by boat is a little pricey, but Ronia was able to find a ridiculously cheap deal. It's nice to travel with a good looking girl. ha ha Anyway, the captain turned out to be a cool dude, but a bit of a nut. We hauled ass on the boat. The wind started picking up and we began hitting rough seas. Did the captain bother to slow down? Hell no! We were literally hitting about 10 foot swells and going airborne on those mofos. I seriously thought the boat was going to break in half and we would have to swim for shore, or someone would end up flying out of the boat. I have to admit, the trip was fun, but a little concerning. We did get to see flying fish taking flight. That was cool. Anyway, once we arrived our worries were gone.
The park had beautiful beaches. The water was Caribbean blue. Awesome awesome place! We visited all the beaches that were nearby. Did plenty of swimming and got plenty of sun. My face got burnt.
Cartagena: Last stop on our Colombian tour. This city has a beautiful historical center. It has impressive architecture and pretty balconies. Although the center did feel a bit touristy. It was freakin' hot here! On my last day, I took a trip to visit the Rosario Islands and Playa Blanca. Nice places for a swim, but Tayrona still beats them. Ronia and I separated in Cartagena. She headed off to Mexico and I to Panama. It was cool traveling with her. Good company. Gonna miss her.
I'm finally making it back to Central America and slowly continuing my northward return journey. I'll be eating Texas bar-b-que in no time!
stay tuned for more...
alex
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juan ureno
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