Tayrona National Park

The main reason for staying at the Journey hostel is that it is very close to the entrance to Tayrona National Park. This national park, like many others in colombia, is renowned for its biodiversity and much to Sarah's excitement, for its quantity of monkeys. It didn't take long until we found some very cute capuchin monkeys sitting in the trees and eating fruits. They were playful, and the babies were so cute and curious. As we continued, we didn't see much else, but we could hear Howler monkeys very close to the path. Although wanting to go looking for them, I wasn't sure what other critters may lie in these bushes (jaguars, snakes, etc.), so I used my better judgement and hoped to see them at a later date. As we continued, we were incredibly lucky to see the tiny tamarin monkey. We did not expect to see these, but their cute little squeals gave away their location. Getting a photo wasn't easy, but Sarah's camera does a pretty good job. The walk was great and very luscious in greenery and biodiversity. Yet, as we approached the final beach of the journey, it changed drastically from rainforest to carribean coastline. Palm trees, coconuts, and sand now laid the path for our journey, and it was cool to see it change. I guess we were on the carribean coast, and it felt like it suddenly. The final result, a beautiful cove that has beaches on either end, was easily the most picturesque part of the day. The water was beautifully blue, and with the forested mountains rolling into the palm trees that then rolled into the beautiful sands of the beach, it was a sight to behold. Although slightly busy, it was manageable. The long 4 to 5 hour walk means that most don't make it to the furthest beach, and we could enjoy the shade without having to battle too hard. We laid for about an hour to regain energy before packing up and heading off. This is when we saw people looking into the water about 10m from where we were lying. I inspected myself and couldn't see anything before a lady pointed out a camen sitting right beneath my nose, his snout sticking out of the river bank. Once you see it, it's hard to believe you couldn't see it at first, but it was really cool to see. I really wanted to see one but didn't expect to find one on our jungle walk, nor did I expect to get so close. The journey back was quicker, it was cooler, and we didn't need to stop as often. Though, we did still stop for the occasional monkey photo. We caught the motos back for a few dollars and were delivered right to the front door of the hostel. We once again ordered dinner and had a couple of drinks. We met another British couple and chatted most of the evening while we had some drinks and ate. We both headed to bed for an early night, eventually.Read more