Paradise found...again!

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If you are reading this, do not pass go, do not collect $200...GO DIRECTLY to Parque Tayrona!

Caplan and I hopped on an early morning bus to Santa Marta. If it weren't for my quick bathroom skills, I would still be somewhere in between! There was really no need to stop for much in Santa Marta. We just dropped our bags off, scarfed down some empenadas, and found the bus for Tayrona.

Parque Tayrona is a national park occupying a fairly large slice of Caribbean coastline. Infrastructure is pretty basic so one must hike or horseback into the park. Obviously, we chose the former. We must an Israeli girl named Noa on the journey over so the three of us began the hike together. She, however, was seriously more prepared than us as she was hiking with an extra bag full of water and food. After about an hour's walk through the jungle, we arrived at Arrecifes. No need for us to stop there because there is no swimming at the beach. Apparently, the extremely strong rip tides have taken the lives of more than 200 people. I do not have a death wish so we move on...

Following another hour of walking along the beach and in the jungle our party finally arrives to our destination, Cabo San Juan del Guis! THIS MUST BE THE PLACE because it is quite possibly the most beautiful beach I have ever seen!! The (other and better) Cabo is a campsite with hammocks and a small cafe situated around a picturesque bay with a cabana on the point. There are huge boulders dotting the shoreline looking like giants coming up from a dip in the sea. Just beyond the campsite lies dense jungle-covered mountains. I don't think I can do the description justice so Google it!

Caplan ends up bumping into Jess, an old friend of his from the dorm days of Vassar. It seems pretty bizarre running into someone you know on the ends of the earth. Anyway, I go for a quick dip before the sunset and, after dousing myself in some DEET, head to my hammock early, exhausted from my travels and hike in.

The next day is spent bumming around the park in various states of wet and dry. Caplan and I make our way out of Cabo and head towards (mainly) secluded beaches. It turns out the first beach we come to is the topless one. Hesitantly, we continue on as we have heard tales of great body surfing waves. I guess the beaches are separated based upon the specific piece of clothing you are not to wear because the next beach we got to was the bottomless one. And by bottomless I mean male bottomless! Regardless of our propensity for swim trunks, we push on pass the guys. I wish I could have taken a picture because one of the bottomless was sitting cross-legged with a huge pile of sand in his lap...a sand boner if you will! Not to mention he had the look of an 8 year old who has dipped his hand into the cookie jar a few too many times.

That night, Caplan and I befriend some Colombian girls and Israeli guys. We spend an hour or so drinking aguardiente with Luisa, the best English speaker of the group. Aguardiente is pretty much the national spirit and tastes more or less like Zambuca. Eventually, the rest of the group joins but the power is cut. So, there we are, all sitting in the dark, drinking aguardiente and listening to American pop songs from 5 years ago. The Israeli guys speak mostly hebrew, a little spanish, and even less english. The Colombian girls speak mainly spanish, (surprisingly) some hebrew, and even less english. Caplan and I speak some spanish and absolutely no hebrew. I guess all you need is a little booze and music to get along!

The next morning we reluctantly hike out among 2 kinds of monkeys, a whole lot of crabs, weird looking insects, and one very scary spider!

We board a plane for Bogota in Santa Marta...ready for another Adam to join the group...

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Comments

[Nancy Brereton]

Hola
I must be right in my perception, we can't go any wheere with meeting a connection! Not sure if you are receiving any of my comments but I will trust the 'force." ep the stories coming lyl mom