On our last 10 days in Colombia we decided what we needed the most was a bit of sun, sea and relax. And lucky for us, we got it.
We looked up flights to head to Santa Marta and then fly back from Baranquilla.
We headed to the centre of Santa Marta but it was pretty much dead. It seems that the people that live here wake up early so in the evening there are not many people about. But we did head towards the beach and saw a group of old men singing and playing Cumbia music. It was great entertainment as we sat on the sand drinking beers and watching a stray dog play with a crab. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to captivate this moment on film or photography as I would loved to of shared this moment.
We sat for a while and as it was Andy's birthday we sang him the happy birthday and then him and I shared a dance of Cumbia. It is quite an easy one to do so I did enjoy it.
The next day we travelled to Taganga. There we sun bathed for a while and had some breakfast, after a rest we got a boat to another beach called playa Grande. You can only get there via this method of transport. We paid the boat driver and he took us for 30 minutes so a corral reef part where we snorkeled and saw many exotic fish I had never seen before. I was gutted as I had forgotten my waterproof camera case!! How annoying as I was waiting for a moment like this to make proper use of it! Dam! Unfortunately 30 minutes does go fast so after that we headed to the new beach....
We were hungry and decided to eat there on the beach some fresh fish. A lady set us up a table and came with a tray of fresh fish to chose from, (below you will see the selection).
We chose 3 for the lady to prepare for us....
Fresh fish we chose from for our tastey lunch.
The end result...
After our very fresh lunch and a little dip in the sea we headed back to Tacanga to get a boat to Santa Marta....
Beautiful sunset....
The next day was pretty much the same, chilling but this time by the pool. We bought food to do a BBQ on the beach that night and ate some more lovely fresh fish.Chilling by the pool....
Santa Marta is a lovely coast with nice beaches although the sand isn't as clean as I expected. The water was beautifully clear though, you could see the tiny sardines swimming around you and we even got to see them jump across the water, that it looked like a wave of fishes, it was memorable....The next morning we woke very early (5 am CRINGE!) To head to Tayrona....It is a national park with a beautiful coast line of beaches. I do feel like a true backpacker after this adventure....We caught a bus to Tayrona which took just over an hour, after that we got to the entry and had our bags searched for any alcohol or drugs. We had to pay an entry fee to enter the park which was rahter ridiuclous as tourists had to pay triple the price that Colombians pay, it is inexpensive but a joke.We then got a mini bus to the parking entrance and then had to leave our bags with a horse to take it to the campsite while we made our way walking.
It was over an hour walk but was well worth it when we landed right at a campsite next to the beach. It was a lovely small beach with a little amount of people so it was almost paradise...
We stayed in two different campsites and adventured to different beaches and different paths inside the jungle. It was full of crabs and other creatures...It was a nice break to indulge in while many people I know are at work, (sorry guys)...
A city we created on the beach....
While strolling along the beach you can bump into horses...
The beaches were almost empty and we got to see horses swim in the sea due to the intense heat. It was amazing to see this as I have always seen horses in stables, or in farms but never let loose the way they were.
Eating breakfast with a parrot.
After four days of camping and enjoying the sun we headed towards Baranquilla. Baranquilla is the third largest city in Colombia and is very well known for it's Carnival also the singer Shakira is from there.
On the first night we met some friends family and headed to a very nice pub for cocktails, it ended up being a fairly night (3am).
The next day we got to know the city of Baranquilla. It is a big city and very nice with its different almond and mango tree's. As we arrived on the sunday evening we missed out on going to any of the pre carnival parties as the "real" carnival begins on the 13th of Febuary. But we got to go to the museum which is an interactive one where we got to see a virtual carnival party, so we got into the dancing and happy mood.
Apart from that there is not much else to see in Baranquilla, which was a shame as we were expecting a PARTY or at least something to visit...It was nice to visit but if you are to go anywhere I think go to Cartagena instead, although I didn't have time to go there too.
Typical decoration around the city for Carnival.
A "monigote"
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