Parque Tayrona is famed for its beautiful beaches, and we went here intending to relax on the sands for a couple of days. Maybe splash around in the clear blue Caribbean seas a bit...nothing more strenuous than that. Somehow we ended up clambering uphill over treacherous mountain paths that had me fearing for my life. How did that happen??
The beaches in Parque Tayrona are gorgeous, there's no question about that. We rented a hammock on Arrecifes, the first big beach you come to. The sands back straight onto sheer jungle, so if you are scared of insects you will be terrified by some of the sights and sounds here. As night falls you will see and hear unimaginably strange things...try not to dwell too much on what they might be!
With only one full day here, we decided to try and fit in a trek up to some ancient ruins in the mountains. Informed that it was a walk of 'about an hour and a half' , off we went, with me in my skirt and flip flops. Oops. This wasn't so much a walk as an assault course through armies of biting ants, across death-defying bridges, up through the hot sticky forest for what seemed like 10 hours but was probably about two. The ruins at the top are interesting but understated, and there's a small settlement of Kogi Indians, whose over-confident donkey was frighteningly relentless in his pursuit of our last bit of food - two crumbled crackers.
Deprived of even this meagre sustenance, we faced a race against time to get back down the mountain and out of the park (a long, long walk from Arrecifes) before night fell. We made it, but only just. Allow yourself a few days here to have time to truly appreciate the gorgeous beaches and sunsets, relax and get back to nature.