Parque Tayrona in Santa Marta, Bolivia 2014

We wanted to spend our first week in South America being absolute beach bums. It was suggested to visit Parque Tayrona which was promised to be absolute paradise. So, we made our way from Cartagena to Santa Marta (a task which seemed easy enough). From there, we were told it would be an hour drive to the park's entrance and a 2 hour hike to get to our final destination. If you are looking for an example of a Series of Misadventures, then please read further! 

Getting from Cartagena to Santa Marta
We booked with the company Marsol which offered a point to point service. Based on everything we had read and heard, it was suppose to be a super easy 4 hour trip from city to city. Little did we know, Colombian highways do not deal with heavy rain very well and our "quick drive" became a 6 hour turbulent and wet ride from hell. 


Yes, your eyes are not fooling you - that is indeed a pad on the top right. The heavy rain not only created mini floods here & there which caused a screeching halt to traffic (thus the 6 hour instead of 4 hour journey) but the quality of our van soon became questionable as the water began seeping through the cracks. Not only were our bags getting drenched in the back but it quickly became annoying having droplets of water hitting your face every 2-3 seconds. One of our girls decided to take matters into her own hands and attempted to cover the cracks with her readily available pads - desperate times calls for desperate matters?

Getting from Santa Marta to Parque Tayrona

Thinking that the worse was over, we were excited to get our move on to Parque Tayrona the next morning. It was suppose to be a 1 hour drive & 2 hour hike to get to the camp base. 15 minutes into the drive, the driver whom we booked through the hostel was stopped by police and was later taken away (vehicle included). Apparently, he was illegal. When in Colombia.

Byebye Van!

Luckily for us we had 2 other travelers who had decided to join us and were  fluent in Spanish. We were told we'd have to hop onto a city bus to continue our journey but the thing about the Colombian bus system is that they do not leave until the 30-40 person bus is absolutely filled up. Fast forward, the bus finally fills up and we leave..only to be shuffled to another bus 5 minutes into the drive. We were extremely confused and were crossing our fingers that we were indeed heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, we were hit with another streak of bad luck whereby the highway decided to close down for 3-4 hours. Some say it was a bike race while other locals say there was an accident. I guess we will never know the truth ;)

 

Park Entrance 
Getting into Parque Tayrona is more difficult than going through Colombian customs. Not only do you have to go through a security screening where the security guards go through each bag quite meticulously but you also have to go through a painfully slow paying process where passports and other support documentations are required. If you are student, you get a pretty generous discount but give yourself an extra 30-40 minutes while they do their due diligence to ensure your student card is absolutely authentic. We were the second group to arrive and by the time we wrapped up, the line was backed up by 20-30 people. 

Welcome to Parque Tayrona 
So at this point, we finally made it into Parque Tayrona (woohoo!) after 1 illegal driver, 3 buses, 1 highway closure and a 1 hour payment process.  It only took 6 hours longer than we had anticipated!! Excitement quickly dwindled as we soon realize that we still had the 2 hour hike ahead of us. By this time it was reaching dusk (we left at 8AM) and the idea of wandering in the jungle for 2+ hours in a yellow fever zone did not sit too well with us. 

So, with our great handy translators we were able to negotiate a price to rent horses. I forget the price (maybe $20 CAD?) but at this point we were all so exhausted that money was truly no issue. 

Having never ridden a horse, I was both excited and terrified. Thankfully a couple of the workers stay with you during the 1 hour trek as some horses become unruly or decide to go rogue. Despite a little rainfall during our ride, the journey was pretty enjoyable. The only thing that didn't sit too well with us were the conditions of the horses. Although I am no horse doctor, the poor horses looked extremely overworked and malnourished. The thought came across our minds that we may be equally guilty for supporting the mistreatment of the horses through renting their services. Thoughts to consider when traveling - do you assimilate with local cultures or take a stand?

EL CABO SAN JUAN BEACH

There are many beaches/camp bases to choose from in Parque Tayrona but we decided to head to El Cabo which is apparently the largest among the 3 available. In terms of lodging, you have the option between hammocks & tents. Our group was divided between the 2 options as some were deathly afraid of potential mosquito bites (hence the tents) while others wanted the cool ocean breeze while sleeping (hence the hammocks). 

The bathroom & shower systems are obviously not ideal but for 1 night, this city girl was able to tough it out. There is also an open eating area which soon became our Kings Cup table for the rest of the night. We were soon taught that Canadian girls say "like" way too often. Although the day started out pretty disastrous, we were able to enjoy the rest of the night with the sound of crashing waves and the company of new faces from varying countries. 

 

The next morning we were able to enjoy a bit of the beach but had to leave quite early to make our way back to Santa Marta. It took less than 30 minutes to get back. Yea. If I ever get the opportunity to visit Parque Tayrona again I would allow for more time to visit the surrounding areas. Supposedly there is an awesome Beach Surf Camp nearby (owned by 2 Canadian brothers), a boat that'll take you to Panama and other hidden gems. 

Although this part of the trip was the absolute definition of a misadventure, it was definitely an amazing experience that I would not trade. Adios Colombia!