One of the main reasons I headed up to Taganga was to visit Tayrona National Park, which I’d heard was really beautiful: palm-fringed beaches scattered with huge boulders, bordered by the jungle. You could also stay the night there in a hammock, which sounded pretty cool.
At the entrance I got talking to an Argentinian girl called Viviana, who was also travelling alone. We ended up hanging out together for the rest of the day, which was really nice.
It was a 45-minute walk through the jungle to get to the first beach, Arrecifes. You’re not allowed to swim here as there’s a dangerous under-tow, so we just stopped briefly to admire the scenery, before heading on a further 20 minutes to a tiny bay called La Aranilla. I think this was my favourite of the beaches we saw: it was just a tiny cove really, with very few people, and the water was clear and warm. The swim was just what was needed after a sweaty, one-hour walk through the jungle!
Another 15 minutes brought us to the next beach, La Piscina, where we enjoyed another swim and a spot of lunch. Finally we arrived at the last beach, Cabo San Juan, where we’d decided to spend the night.
I’d never slept in a hammock before and was quite excited to give it a try here. There were two locations to choose from: one spot next to the campsite, with no view, and a second spot on top of a look-out point, with stunning views of the Caribbean. You can guess where I wanted to stay! And we were lucky to get the last two hammocks at the viewpoint.
As we handed over our money the owner said “The only downside of that location is that you don't have any protection if it rains”. I looked up at the clear, blue sky and uttered the fateful words “That’s fine, it’s not going to rain”.
Within an hour there were big, black clouds looming on the horizon and I was starting to feel a little concerned. Viviana and I took a final swim, and were just checking out our hammocks, when the first raindrops started. In the 20-minutes it took us to walk back down to the main campsite area, it had turned into torrential downpour, accompanied by one of the biggest electrical storms I’ve ever seen.
We were still in our swimsuits and covered in sand so had to hurry through the storm to the communal, outdoor showers. This “shower” was basically a cold-water tap, placed high up on a wall under a flimsy tin roof. Naturally there were no lights, and night had fallen by this point. This was definitely one of the most random experiences of my life: standing outside in my swim-suit and flip-flops, alongside four other people, trying to wash my hair in ice-cold water, in the pitch black, with flashes of lightning and huge claps of thunder overhead, and rain pelting down on the tin roof. Needless to say there wasn’t much point in trying to get dried off before we ran back through the campsite to the main communal area and quickly got dressed in a locker room!
By this point I was feeling a bit stressed about the outdoor hammock situation! However we spent a couple more hours having dinner and chatting to people, and at some point there the rain finally stopped. When we decided to call it a night, and clambered up the side of the cliff to the look-out point, I was relieved to find my hammock was just a bit damp, rather than soaked through as I’d feared!
I won’t pretend it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had, but it was certainly one of the most amazing ones. We were surrounded on three sides by the ocean and on the other side by jungle. I fell asleep to the sounds of the jungle, and the waves crashing on the shore, swaying in my hammock, with the occasional dim flash of lightning out on the horizon. And smiling.
Viviana woke me up at 5:30am, which I was a bit disgruntled about... until I saw the sunrise. It was the most incredible sunrise I’ve ever seen in my life: every single colour of the rainbow was in the sky. A few of us got out of our hammocks and just stood there in silence, watching. It was such a special moment and one that I hope I'll always remember. Frustratingly, my camera was in a locker in a locked room down at the campsite so I’ll have to try to keep this image in my head for as long as I can, with no photos to jog my memory.
My intention was always to leave Tayrona that day as I wanted to head to the nearby village of Minca, but that sunrise actually made me want to stay another day, so that I could see it again (with camera this time!). I sat there in a quandary for about an hour, before finally deciding that moments like that are unique and can’t be re-created no matter how hard you try. If I had stayed the sunrise probably wouldn’t have been as good the next day. So I reluctantly trekked back through the jungle to the entrance, and caught a bus and a taxi up to Minca...
At the entrance I got talking to an Argentinian girl called Viviana, who was also travelling alone. We ended up hanging out together for the rest of the day, which was really nice.
It was a 45-minute walk through the jungle to get to the first beach, Arrecifes. You’re not allowed to swim here as there’s a dangerous under-tow, so we just stopped briefly to admire the scenery, before heading on a further 20 minutes to a tiny bay called La Aranilla. I think this was my favourite of the beaches we saw: it was just a tiny cove really, with very few people, and the water was clear and warm. The swim was just what was needed after a sweaty, one-hour walk through the jungle!
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| La Aranilla beach |
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| The walk to the beaches... |
I’d never slept in a hammock before and was quite excited to give it a try here. There were two locations to choose from: one spot next to the campsite, with no view, and a second spot on top of a look-out point, with stunning views of the Caribbean. You can guess where I wanted to stay! And we were lucky to get the last two hammocks at the viewpoint.
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| The location of our hammocks! |
Within an hour there were big, black clouds looming on the horizon and I was starting to feel a little concerned. Viviana and I took a final swim, and were just checking out our hammocks, when the first raindrops started. In the 20-minutes it took us to walk back down to the main campsite area, it had turned into torrential downpour, accompanied by one of the biggest electrical storms I’ve ever seen.
We were still in our swimsuits and covered in sand so had to hurry through the storm to the communal, outdoor showers. This “shower” was basically a cold-water tap, placed high up on a wall under a flimsy tin roof. Naturally there were no lights, and night had fallen by this point. This was definitely one of the most random experiences of my life: standing outside in my swim-suit and flip-flops, alongside four other people, trying to wash my hair in ice-cold water, in the pitch black, with flashes of lightning and huge claps of thunder overhead, and rain pelting down on the tin roof. Needless to say there wasn’t much point in trying to get dried off before we ran back through the campsite to the main communal area and quickly got dressed in a locker room!
By this point I was feeling a bit stressed about the outdoor hammock situation! However we spent a couple more hours having dinner and chatting to people, and at some point there the rain finally stopped. When we decided to call it a night, and clambered up the side of the cliff to the look-out point, I was relieved to find my hammock was just a bit damp, rather than soaked through as I’d feared!
I won’t pretend it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had, but it was certainly one of the most amazing ones. We were surrounded on three sides by the ocean and on the other side by jungle. I fell asleep to the sounds of the jungle, and the waves crashing on the shore, swaying in my hammock, with the occasional dim flash of lightning out on the horizon. And smiling.
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| Hammocks! |
My intention was always to leave Tayrona that day as I wanted to head to the nearby village of Minca, but that sunrise actually made me want to stay another day, so that I could see it again (with camera this time!). I sat there in a quandary for about an hour, before finally deciding that moments like that are unique and can’t be re-created no matter how hard you try. If I had stayed the sunrise probably wouldn’t have been as good the next day. So I reluctantly trekked back through the jungle to the entrance, and caught a bus and a taxi up to Minca...
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| Walking back the next morning... |
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| Lizard |
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| Catch of the Day! |
Enjoy those moments where you don't have a camera - those will be your strongest memories no matter where you are in life. Glad you're enjoying traveling on your own - it does bring a whole other incredible aspect to travel. Stay healthy and safe : )
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