Parque Nacional Tyrona

Up early as a busy day ahead. Initially an “interesting” hour spent at the post office in Santa Marta but in the end we successfully (hopefully!) sent off our letters to the UK. We negotiated leaving our large packs at the Hostel and made our way to Santa Marta market with day packs, camping equipment and dry rations. The market was chaotic and it was a case of head down and walk ignoring the numerous shouts of “El Gringo!” as it seemed everyone had some service or goods they thought we'd like to buy. Fortunately we found the local bus to El Zaino – the gate to Parque Nacional Tayrona. We set of with a full bus including a group of Argentinian troubadours..or so they seemed. Dropping us off at El Zaino with little instruction, we found a jeep to take us into the park and drop us at Canaveral – the furthest point any vehicle could go, from here on it is by feet or donkey. We trekked almost 2 hours in sweltering sunshine & humidity through a jungle path negotiating large boulders & millions of red ants. We finally made it to the campsite 'El Cabo' & pitched our tent, our home for the next few nights. The park is simply stunning, with an incredible coast line, empty beaches, coral reefs & very diverse wildlife hiding in the jungle.

We up at first light on our first full day (5:15am) having gained 4 hours sleep each as a result of the unrelenting heat, continuous animal noises and mosquitoes sensing fresh UK meat! As we were up and the weather was slightly overcast, we decided to undertake the 3.5 hours hike to and from 'La Peublito', an ancient indigenous tribal village. Between 450-1600 BC this village was inhabited by 2000 inhabitants, but it now lies empty with the ruins hidden on top of one of the mountains in the jungle. We were slightly concerned to see we were the only people on the path, especially considering the 'path' was more of an assault course,crouching through caves, scaling boulders and a continuous uphill gradient. To add to our nervousness, we were accompanied on route by a range of wildlife including, multi-coloured snakes, black & yellow frogs, geckos, lizards, bats, monkeys,blue crabs, many coloured butterflies and dragonflies the size of birds (of which landed in David's hair on the descent). It was worth it in the end to see such a rare sight nestled within the breathtaking jungle backdrop. We relaxed there for a short while and had some food, but our return to the camp site was hastened by what sounded to us like incredible growls and roars coming from the mountainside opposite our path. Initially thinking it was some kind of large cat, we found out it was probably some kind of large ape fight between two dominant males...if that's so, then the nature programmes you see on BBC do not give justice to just how loud and impressive the roars are. After such a taxing morning, we opted for the beach in the afternoon, which is not as easy as it sounds, due to the extremely strong currents and waves you can only swim at one beach 'La Piscina', another 20 minute trek through the jungle. The bay there is cut off by a coral reef, making the snorkeling there fantastic with a large area to explore.

We decided to treat ourselves to dinner and beers at the campsite 'restaurant' and a game of chess....Lynne is getting better every game!

The next morning, after a much better sleep we decide to spend the day at La Piscina and then to head back to Santa Marta to pick up our bags and travel onto Taganga – apparently a beautiful little bay area 5km from Santa Marta. Again, the weather is slightly overcast but it allows a day of comfortable rest on the beach and snorkeling in the reef. The afternoon is less fun as we pack up and begin the hike back to the entrance, during which the heavens opened...wow, it was some rain!! Even with the jungle shelter we arrive at Canaveral drenched, but it is surprisingly refreshing considering the heat. We find a jeep back to the gates and then take the local bus back to Santa Marta. To rejuvenate ourselves, we decide to head back to the same fish restaurant in Santa Marta we enjoyed a few nights earlier for some more grilled fish .again it was delicious.

Afterwards we took a cab to Taganga and checked into Techos Azules (Blue Roofs). The place is awesome, overlooking the beach with rocking chairs, hammocks (chess set!) among it's other facilities not forgetting the most comfortable mattress we have slept on so far!