Ok, so as you might have guess, I am in Colombia now for the next few months and what better way to relax than to head off to the Caribbean coast of Colombia. I will travel by coach from the capital city Bogota because the flights are expensive at this time of year. The only problem with this is that the drive is a complete 24 hours and therefore this is not the most comforting journey.
So the plan is to always take a bus at the night-time to avoid any rush hour traffic plus you can sleep a good 10 hours of the journey if the driver is not Carlos Montoya. The main terminal for the area I live is in Salitre so I will go there along with my Colombian girlfriend Alejandra and take the 7pm bus. We will first stock up on all the usual ‘munchies’ here so that we are not hungry on the road and don’t have to rely on the driver stopping when they feel like it.
As we have completed this journey a couple of times before we are braced for the roads ahead. The first stop on our journey is the city of Santa Marta
Santa Marta
This coast city is a relaxed place where the ‘costeños’ are relaxed, fun-loving people and enjoy themselves in the 365 day heat. As a gringo it is only right that I head to Taganga, a small village 10 minutes in bus from the centre of Santa Marta that is made up of hostels and hotels for mainly foreign tourists.
The first time I came here was 5 years ago and much has changed since then with a better local infrastructure, better hostels etc.
So the plan is to stay in Taganga for several days and then go to the National Park of Tyrona.
Parque Tayrona
The national park is stunningly beautiful witb probably the best beaches on the caribbean coast of Colombia. It is quite difficult to describe how beautiful this place is in words so a picture should do it.
Rather than stay in the expensive hotels in the park we will stay in hammocks at the side of the beach and enjoy the sea breeze and natural wildlife. As long as we are inside the mosquito nets we will be OK i’m sure. As this is a national reserve there are no motor vehicles allowed inside, with this one has to trek at least one hour from the main entrance to the famous beaches. The views once you arrive make the whole journey worthwhile.
Cartegena
Whilst there is not much to do in the city of Santa Marta apart form the usual beach holiday activities and Scuba diving that cannot be said for the beautiful city of Cartagena. The city of Cartagena is probably the most beautiful city in Latin America, with the Old town, old Spanish buildings and beautiful beaches with 5 * resorts. The picture below illustrates the beauty of this place. The beaches and the old town make this a popular tourist destination with visitors from around the world coming for enjoyment. Our plan is to stay for 3 nights and enjoy the activities that Cartagena has to offer.
After exploring rapidly the Colombian coast we will return to the mild climate of Bogota to concentrate on our own projects. We have many places to visit but the trip we wait for is to Mexico, we cannot wait for that. In the meantime, I may write a blog post on this actual trip with some more detail but for now Hasta Luego!!.
