South America,  Colombia,  Travel

Tayrona National Park

November 28, 2019 /

In fact, before I came to Colombia, I didn’t know about other cities except Bogota, Medellin and Cali. If it wasn’t for the Argentinian friend I met in Beijing a year and a half ago who strongly recommended me to go hiking in Tayrona National Park, I wouldn’t know about San Francisco at all. Marta is a city in the north of Colombia.

This morning, the sofa owner’s neighbor who drove a taxi volunteered to take me to the long-distance station to Tayrona National Park. Because he didn't charge me no matter what yesterday, I bought him some breakfast today, and I saw him eating happily. When I arrived at the station, he asked me to wait for the minibus, saying that the ticket should be 8k Colombian pesos. While waiting for the bus, a bus driver next to me came over and tried to persuade me to get in his car, and the price was the same. I didn't pay much attention to him. After a while, a taxi stopped and said that it would take me there for only 7k. It was so cheap because he was going to pick up people in the park anyway, otherwise he would drive there empty. Thanks to taking this taxi, I arrived at the park soon, catching up with the first wave of people entering the park when there were few people. And the taxi driver reminded me that I must buy mosquito repellent spray, otherwise there will be a lot of powerful mosquitoes inside. Before entering the park, I bought a small bottle at the canteen at the entrance, took the shuttle bus into the park, got off the bus and before I could spray it, I was bitten by two packs of mosquitoes. When I stopped to spray, the large troops passing by on the same shuttle bus disappeared immediately. At this moment, an uncle came from behind, also alone, so we walked together with our companions.

This Argentine uncle can only speak Spanish. I have come to Columbia for nearly two weeks and realized the importance of being able to speak Spanish. Fortunately, I learned some basics in college, and then picked up some last year. I have improved a lot these days. There are too few English-speaking locals in Colombia, and almost none of the popular tourist attractions can speak English. Therefore, it is recommended that friends who want to come here for independent travel learn some basic Spanish in advance, otherwise the experience will be great. discount. This uncle is a pharmacist, and his two sons are about to graduate from college. Because he has worked in the same company for more than 20 years, he has more than 40 days of annual leave, so he came to Colombia for about 20 days. envious!

Because I plan to stay in the national park for one night, I was told by the locals that eating and drinking in the park is super expensive, so I suggest you bring enough water and dry food. I hiked for an hour to the first camp, the cheapest one, with three liters of water, fruit, nuts and biscuits. You can rent tents or hammocks here. Hammocks are cheaper, but you still rent tents because you are afraid of being bitten badly by mosquitoes. Finally, I can put down the big bag and change to the small bag and continue on foot to the beach.

Because it often rains here, the hike in the jungle is very muddy. The mud is mixed with various horse manures, and it is super hot and humid. Luckily I wore hiking boots for this hike. There are three beaches along the way, the first one is very close to our camp, and then hike for an hour or two to reach the third beach. The Caribbean beaches are super beautiful, and the water is especially blue. When I arrived, I found out that I forgot my swimsuit, but I was terribly sticky, no matter how much it was, I still went into the sea.

On the way back to the camp, Uncle Argentina suddenly found that he had left his shirt on the beach, so he asked me to walk back by myself first. There was a fork on the way, the sky was dark, there was no one around, I was on the verge of getting lost, when a dog ran from a distance, followed by a local aunt, walking the dog in sandals. My hiking boots were full of mud, but her sandals were quite clean, and she was really familiar with the road. The kind aunt took me back to the camp.

It got dark after five o'clock in the evening, and the camp had no electricity, no internet, and no signal. After taking a shower and eating the dry food I brought, I really didn't know what to do. Not to mention the conditions for taking a shower, I was shocked when I went in. The entire open-air bathhouse is opened with a curtain on one side and you can go in. Are men and women mixed! ? Then I found out that there was only one green plastic pipe that could be washed with water. The wall on the other side is so low that people passing by outside may be able to see inside without stepping on their feet. I was changing my clothes to do the laundry, and there were people coming in to do the washing. Fortunately, he first asked if there was anyone inside. I took a quick shower and came out in less than five minutes. Fortunately, no one directly opened the curtain to wash in. When I first came to Colombia, I hoped to have hot water when I took a shower, but now I can have water!

I went to sleep in the tent after 8 o'clock in the evening, and then woke up every two or three hours, my whole body was wet, and I could still hear the wind in the woods and the sound of the sea wearing earplugs. Fortunately, there were no mosquitoes. I remember the first real hike since the fracture of my little toe in New Zealand at the end of March, and I have to slowly recover.

Back from the national park, went downtown with a local couch-surfer I just met. He is from Medellin, but he works here. He is a hiking tour guide. The group around is the kind of group that walks with a tent for four or five days, and it happens to rest for two days. Today I took the first air-conditioned bus since I came to Colombia.

The next morning the sofa owner’s neighbor, the rental brother, took me to the airport. Unexpectedly, the sofa owner himself and his wife, who had never met before, came out of his car downstairs! The taxi guy happened to pick them up from vacation! I was so happy to finally see them in person, and left them some snacks from California before leaving his house. The last photo was taken from the toilet at the airport. I feel that I can squat for a long time in the toilet next to the Caribbean Sea. This is the last day in Colombia, and I really can't stay enough. I want to go back to learn Spanish, and I will definitely come to South America next year!

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