El Paraiso, The Luck Of The Horse Shoe
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
117
221
Trip End
Ongoing
Parque Tayrona,
Colombia
Sunday, June 15, 2008
At the entrance to the park we were greeted by a large, hairy and very orange monkey eating a mandarin then were stopped by a friendly military guy who did the most through check on our belongings that we have endured so far. The guy was nice enough but spent some time unzipping everything and looking fort drugs or weapons. We have neither. Nadine has no yellow fever certificate because it was stolen but the guy never asked to see it. Awhile ago, there was an outbreak of the disease amongst a particular species of monkey in the park and they had to kill more than one thousand little monkeys who were infected so as to contain the tellow fever. We have had our shots. We stocked up on water supplies before going in.
We were lucky enough to catch a nearly full jeep doing the run from El Zaino to Carnaveral and got a ride in the back for 2000 pesos each. We followed the donkeys and horses carrying heavy loads of supplies along a jungly track for about an hour until the path opened out onto some campgrounds and onto palm shaded coves, massive boulders, empty beaches, a little taste of tropical paradise and very few people were there.
cove
The area we stayed in was called Arrecifes, you can trek further along ro find better swimming waters where there are natural pools and a nude beach.The water is crystal clear and has healing qualities, itīs the perfect temperature and felt divine when we went swimming in it. There are coral reefs here too for snorkelling. The region was once the territory of Tayrona indians and there are some ruins here. We found it nice to just swing in a hammock, read our books and relax listening to the birdsong and waves after some hard travel days. The beach was a nice refreshment sor our energy after being in the mountains.
We stayed at a place called Finca El Paraiso run by a Colombian guy who likes to drink and watch the football. he has lockers there which were handy. We set up our new tent and it turned out to be a good one, a hexagonal three man style gig. There are long thatched spaces for hammocks and just when we thought it was going to be very peaceful there, a whole Colombian soccer team turned up. These guys were generally quiet even though they ran around in their skimpy hotpant undies all night. We had a basic dinner of vegetarian plate and a champignon pasta, i still donīt seem to be putting any weight on. Whilst having a shower i could hear someone calling out to me from above and whistling, later i looked up to see the resident green parrot perving on me in the shower. Naughty bird. There were some lovely dogs around too which we always like. Also loads of lizards. There were some cute squirrels running around that would scurry up the trees, i wasnīt fast enough to snap a picture though.
way to heaven
The weather could have been better but we werent complaining. At one point an army helicopter flew passed and reminded us we were in Colombia, we thought it was paradise.During the day we went for a walk along the beach on the way to Cabo San Juan. Turning each corner would bring a new surprise of a beach or little natural juice restautant where the local families would set up with their kids and squeeze juices to order, not a bad gig we say. We watched children laughing, playing and fishing. Lots of palm trees
We did the walk back to Carnaveral with a Colombian tour guide named Edwardo who spoke very good English due to the fact that he stowed away in a cargo ship and lived and worked in the United States for a few years. We spoke of Soccer politics, narco-tourism, cocaine production, Colombiaīs military and of the natural beauty. Edwardo had much passion for his country and was delighted to tell us all his stories. Fascinating guy. Edwardo was actually a Lost City guide and got us so excited about goung on the six day trek that we re-considered our travel plans and have booked in to go on Monday, not with him unfortunately. The trek is challenging but has spectacular rewards. Whilst walking with Edwardo and talking of the trek, i found an old, rusty, handmade horse shoe lodged in the mud so i decided that this was a sign of luck indeed and that we are definitely on the right path in doing the trek. I kept the horse shoe. Edwardo was leading a group of 32 Colombians who wanted to exit the national park so they could get back into Santa Marta to watch the soccer! They love it.
Colombia was playing Peru in the World Cup Qualifier game. Peru hasnīt qualified since 1982 so Colombia is most likely in with a grin and thank the higher powers for that because we donīt want to be stuck in a town full of angry Colombians whos pride and joy team just lost an important game.
We jumped a bus back to Sun City in Santa Marta, booked our Lost City trek with Turcol and took a tiny taxi with Nadineīs backpack strapped to the roof into the little fishing village of Taganga which is set into a beautiful horseshoe shaped bay. Horseshoe? Another sign perhaps? Only then did we realise that there is no ATM in town and Nadine had to go all the way back to Santa Marta for some cash for us. We stayed at the Divanga Hostel where we drank our first beers in a long time, Colombia Clubs and sang along to the ipod. Bring on the Lost Cuty.
