Tayrona National Park

Lush tropical forest beside the beach. Sounds so refreshing right? I thought so too until about 20 minutes into the 2.5 hour walk through it, up and down the side of mountains. By the end I was ready to dry off by jumping into the water.

It was a super gorgeous walk though when you got a moment to catch your breath and appreciate where you were.

The day starts very early when travelling from Cartagena. It is much smarter to start closer by beginning in Santa Marta. But that wasn't an option we had, so a 5 hour drive each way was what we were left with. I think we all slept most of that time anyway, especially in three morning since we were hungover.

The walk there takes you up and down over the terrain of forest and then along the beach side. The ultimate goal is to get all the way to Playa del Cabo because there is a restaurant there and more suited to spend a few hours then the other places that you could stop.

There the water was warm, above body temperature in some spots. Which did actually surprise me. We spent almost the entire available time in the water, apart from having lunch. Thankfully because we left a little earlier we had a few hours here, even after my slow walking took us longer then expected to arrive.

At the end of the day you have the option of walking back, as most people would, or take a horse. Considering how long I took us to get there, and now it was hotter, we chose to take horseback. I wish we could have taken pictures or video, because this was mountaineering horseback. Steep inclines and declines through rocky areas, mud, water. It was unlike any horseback riding I'd ever experienced. Thankfully we had some practice in Jardin coffee farm before we did this, or I don't know how I would have handled it. Alex and I had it lucky though, about 1/3 of the way through Juan's horse went rogue and completely ran off with him on it. Turning back, going through some farm, going along the beach. If it was a planned ride it would have been amazing, but it was an angry horse doing what he wanted with Juan on the back.

An unforgettable day that we will always remember.Read more