Spring Break in Parque Nacional Tayrona

After my Spring Break visitor arrived in Colombia, we were off to the Caribbean Coast to one of my favorite places in Colombia! Despite only spending one night there in early 2010, I knew that I had to return to Parque Nacional Tayrona before leaving Colombia. Spring Break provided us with ample time to fly to the coastal city of Santa Marta and spend some time in the city before heading to the park for two nights.

Michael and I traveled with Kelsi and our friend Lauren, who also teaches third grade with Kelsi, and I think everyone enjoyed the week of beach time together! Even Kelsi, who before this time had not found anything comparison-worthy to the beaches of her Southern California home admitted that it was impressive.

On Monday we flew to Santa Marta, via a layover in Bogota at Juan Valdez in the Bogota airport, and spent the night there. Kelsi led us to an amazing coffee/juice cafe appropriately named Lulo after one of Colombia's most unique fruits. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner at Bistro that involved dos por uno (2 x 1) copas de vino (glasses of wine). Overall several wins for a city that doesn't always look as cute as its more famous coastal neighbor of Cartagena.

Oh Lulo, how I wish you existed in Cali.

On Tuesday we headed back to Lulo for breakfast (it's that good!) then took a cab out to Parque Nacional Tayrona. We could have taken a public bus, but with four of us to split cab fare we figured it was worth the time saved. Once in Tayrona the check-in process went super fast since we had purchased our park entrance fees and paid for our reserved hammocks in advance.

Since Tayrona is one of Colombia's most famous and beautiful national parks, we knew it would be super busy during Semana Santa (Holy Week) and we weren't about to wait in line to get to the beach. After checking in, we trekked into the park (about one hour hiking) with our all our possessions for three days (essentially swimsuits and snacks) in our backpacks. The trail had been remodeled since my last time there and about 30 minutes in we were greeted with stunning views of the beaches I remembered. THIS was what I came back for.

Happy (and apparently hydrated) hikers. 

First sights of the beaches, which extend one after another as far as the eye can see.

We finally arrived at our campsite at Arrecifes Beach and had no trouble checking into the Aviatur campsite. Thanks to tips from some friends who went last year, we knew this site had the most comfortable hammocks, individual lockers, and its own restaurant/bathrooms. This became super important as the week continued and Colombians seemed to be pouring into the park from all directions. We dropped our stuff in lockers and headed for the beach! 

Michael walking along the beach in front of our campsite - gorgeous but not for swimming due to the strong riptide. Signs everywhere warned people not to go swimming and become "part of the statistic" of people who have died here.  

Michael, Kelsi and Lauren headed down the beach. 

Happy to be in Tayrona! 

The first day we didn't get too far since it was a bit cloudy and we left all the snacks at the campsite, so we only made it one beach past our camp. However, after a night spent sleeping in hammocks and a typical breakfast of eggs & arepas, we armed ourselves with (not enough) sunscreen, books, and snacks for a full day of beaching. We ended up exploring four beaches during the day and running into a variety of friends who also happened to be in Tayrona along the way. We even spotted our friend Hana  swimming at Cabo San Juan.

La Piscina, the first swimmable beach in Tayrona. 

Sunburnt by late afternoon - oops. 

 Group photo at Cabo San Juan beach. 

At the end of the day we realized we all got a little bit pinker than intended and back the trek back to our campsite to find dinner...and aloe. One more night in the hammocks and some early morning beach time the next day were in order before we made the hike out of the park. The steady stream of people headed into the park made us very glad to be leaving, despite our sadness at saying goodbye to the beach. Back in Santa Marta, we enjoyed some (real) food at the Mexican restaurant, Agave Azul before heading back to Cali the following day.

Kelsi in her hammock withe the mosquito netting cover.

One last morning on the beach... 

 Obligatory jump shot - it wouldn't be a vacation without it :)

Out for Mexican food at Agave Azul. 

One last group shot - sunburnt and happy. 

I loved this vacation so much, mostly because of the excellent company, but also because it was my last long vacation in Colombia. As the weeks are starting to tick by fairly quickly in anticipation of my move back to Minnesota, I am growing very aware of how difficult it will be to leave a place I have called home for three years. I am extremely happy and excited to be back in Minnesota, but there is always something sad about leaving a place that has been so important to one's life. While there are still things I don't love about Colombia, for me it will always be a place of beautiful landscapes, friendly people and some of my very best friends.

Landslide Schmanslide - Let's Go to Los Termales!

Amidst rampant reports of landslides, washed out roads, and inoperable hot springs pools, Katie, Stetson and I made the executive decision to stay in Salento for one more night and forgo our previously planned trip to los termales (hot springs) in the nearby town of Santa Rosa. I called on Saturday morning to cancel the reservation after not being able to reach anyone at the lodge for the previous 12 hours and we resolved to make the best of one more day exploring Salento!

Around 1 PM on Saturday we found ourselves sitting in one of so many cute cafes in Salento, enjoying a lazy day exploring town, when my friend Samantha called to say that someone from the termales had personally called her to ask when she was arriving. Sam also had a friend in town and we were all supposed to meet up at the termales that night. The woman on the phone assured her that all was fine and she could indeed come to the termales. After I called the termales again and received the same information, we figured why not and set off for Santa Rosa ourselves.

Two 45 minute bus rides from Salento later and I knew we made the right decision. After catching a cab in Santa Rosa we were rolling along the lush, green hills of the countryside, climbing further into the mountains near the hot springs. The scenery on the way there did show us a bit of washed out road, but nothing in comparison to the somewhat falsified news reports we had been hearing in Salento. And the gorgeous river and looming San Miguel waterfall more than made up for the road.

On the phone in a Salento cafe discussing the possibility of going to Santa Rosa.

We were greeted by an adorable old style lodge, friendly staff and the place practically to ourselves because so many people were scared off by the news reports. Stetson, Katie and I settled into our barely large enough room with a definitely not-large-enough bathroom and waited for Sam to arrive with her friend Lisa. They arrived shortly after us and we wasted no time jumping into the warm hot springs. After that bone-chilling hike in the rain the day before, the hot water felt absolutely perfect! After that we enjoyed dinner in the main dining room and an epic game of Uno in which I had half the deck and still came back to win. 

 Stetson and Katie make their way down the stairs from our room into the main dining room.

Hot springs! 

 An aerial view of the hot springs and lodge.

 Katie and I soaking up the warm water.

The next morning we enjoyed a typical breakfast of eggs with arepas and bread before heading for massages! Katie and I both got a half hour massage, which was fun and felt so good on our sore hiking muscles. We also had some time to walk up a short path to the base of the San Miguel waterfall for a photo shoot. 

At the base of the San Miguel waterfall.

 Katie jump shot!

My jump shot!

We enjoyed some more time in the termales, took showers (outdoors! overlooking the waterfall!), ate lunch and began the long journey back to Cali. I am so glad that Katie got to see this beautiful part of Colombia and that we were able to share it with good friends! I will most certainly be back in the not-so-distant-future....

A Day Trip to San Cipriano

Without any of those long weekends we teachers love so much happening in September, I was feeling the itch to travel a bit. Thankfully, others felt the same! In the past two years, Kelsi and I have attempted to go to a place named San Cipriano on a variety of occasions, yet never successfully for a variety of reasons. Most of these reasons related back to us feeling like the process of getting there was just too much to deal with (2.5 hours on a city bus one-way, then hailing a passing bus for the ride home) and we had no desire to stay overnight in a place that had only been described to us as "rustic". 

This time around we managed to get 11 coworkers on board for the day trip, so I organized a charter bus to take us there and back. Miracle of miracles, the whole thing went off without a hitch and only ended up costing about $10,000 pesos ($5 USD) more per person than if we had taken the public bus. WIN! 

On the bus and ready to go with a great mix of old and new co-workers!

Next we piled out of the van and onto the brujitas. What is a brujita? Possibly the most ridiculous/ingenious form of transportation ever, but then again nothing in Colombia really surprises me anymore. Basically it is a motorcycle hooked up to a wooden platform with benches on it for riders to sit on. If there are more than about 5 riders a second platform is put in front of the first and the motorcycle just pushes that one along in front. I don't think words will do it justice, but hopefully you get an idea from the picture.

Boarding the brujita...

A brujita without an extra platform in front...you get the idea. 

All aboard!

Looking ahead down the tracks! This part was scenic, but going over the bridges made me a bit nervous!

Once we were actually in San Cipriano we paid a small fee to get into the area where the river is and then found ourselves a place to rent tubes as well as order lunch for post-floating nourishment. We grabbed our tubes, loaded up the cooler and walked upstream about 45 minutes. From there we put in our tubes and off we went! The sun was shining, the river was clean and clear and the company was great! We took our time floating down river, taking time to talk, explore natural pools, ride down some of the rapids and just enjoy the day. At one point we took a serious pit-stop near a rope swing! I love rope swings into rivers and this one did not disappoint! Since the rope itself was located high above the river I found it easy to stay well above the water - long enough for Kelsi to snap a sweet picture!

Ready to go and waiting for the boys to get the cooler situation under control. 

The boys finish packing the cooler...

Por fin! They are ready to go!

Into the river!

Loving it already :) 

Naturally the cooler needed its own tube. 

Nowhere to be, nothing to do, a simple little kind of free.

Rope swings are the best things ever!

 After the river we enjoyed a traditional lunch of rice, platanos (smashed plantains), fish and salad before getting back on the bus to Cali. Shockingly, both the man to take us on the brujita and the man driving our bus were waiting for us at the designated places/times. Which worked out great for us, but as I told Kelsi later, probably wasn't the most accurate introduction for the new people to what travel in Colombia is actually like! We were home by 7:30 PM, in time to watch some TV and go to bed exhausted by 9 PM after a day of sun and adventures...

Cannot wait to go again soon!!

Kayaking Adventures with Anna

To finish up Anna's visit to Colombia we did one of my FAVORITE things in Colombia - kayak along the Pacific Coast. With Julio Perez and his Bicivan adventures company we set out for three days of sunshine, paddling and friends. Kelsi had two friends visiting, Tara and Varun, and our friend Stetson came along as well!

The six of us had a great three days of fabulous weather and excellent kayaking. This trip was one that Kelsi and I have done a few times before, so we were familiar with the area and we knew we wanted to share this unique part of Colombia with our friends.

The trip included three days of kayaking around some islands a short distance from the mainland of Juanchaco, Colombia as well as a short walk to the neighboring town of Ladrilleros. Here is a sneak peek into our adventures:

Kelsi and I on the boat from Buenaventura, the only town you can drive to on the Pacific Coast, to the coastal town of Juanchaco.

Kayaking around one of the islands on the first day. Anna and I are in the green kayak.

Lunch break on the first island! We didn't get very far before indulging in some cervezas and ceviche to keep our energy up for the afternoon.

Gorgeous :)

Thinking about how much I love the Pacific Coast :)

Obviously I made everyone pose for jump shots on our walk.

Co-workers jump shot! LOVE.

A view from one of the little caves looking out to the ocean.

Walking from Juanchaco to Ladrilleros, from left to right, Kelsi, Anna, me, and Julio, our guide.

Post-walk chatting over Coco Locos.

Sunset over the Pacific Coast - there really is nothing like it!

Sunset beers with friends is the best thing.

Varun and Tara enjoying the sunset :)