Parque Tayrona

To get to Tayrona National Park you can either hike or take a boat from Taganga.  Our plan was to hike the two hours in then take the boat back before heading to Medellin.  Meredith and I left some unessential items at the hostel in Taganga so our packs wouldn’t be too heavy.  They were still by no means small.  Overall it was a very manageable hike especially under the coverage of the jungle.  Things started to get a little more difficult when the trail took us along the beach with no protection from the noon sun.  Plus sand makes for difficult hiking conditions.  Despite the challenge the scenery was beautiful and I had a great time climbing the boulders along the way.  

After a quick stop for lunch we arrived in Cabo San Juan de la Guia, the most popular of the sleeping options in Parque Tayrona.  The set up is very similar to a summer camp with tents on the lawn, collections of hammocks under mosquito nets (where we slept), set hours for the dining hall, and lights out at midnight.   

Meredith and I spent the first day on the beach after the morning hike.  While the beaches are beautiful the strong currents and rip tides make them dangerous to swim in.  As I’m not the best of swimmers I opted to stay on the beach while Meredith played in the water.

Since we didn’t have time to do the Lost City trek (a six day hike), the next day we did the hike up to El Pueblito (only three hours).  LP warned that it was difficult, but worthwhile.  They weren’t lying.  The ascent was an almost two hour scramble over boulders.  Some were large enough that we had to boost and pull each other over them.  When we finally arrived we were covered in sweat and well worn from back to back days of hiking.  As for El Pueblito, it was not worth the trek.  There is very little evidence that 2,000 people used to live there other than a clearing in the jungle and a few carvings in rocks.  As we stood atop the hill Meredith looked down and her only response was “Pathetic.”   

 

In the end we had a good laugh with another girl from Canada who had finished the hike with us.  Our hard work climbing up meant the walk down was very easy and we got to enjoy the scenery.

The rest of the day and following morning were fairly quiet.  Meredith was starting to get sick so she retired to the hammock early each night.  I imagine being sick in a hammock is not fun, but our upcoming accommodations weren’t very promising either; fifteen hours on a night bus to Medellin.