Tayrona National Park - Colombia

Tayrona National Park is on the northern coast of Colombia, full of dense jungle, big granite boulders, and crystal clear white Caribbean beaches. We made our way here by flying from Cuzsco to Lima, Lima to Quito, Quito to Medellin. We didn't really love Medellin like most people do, it does sit in a beautiful valley with big green mountains surrounding it but the city was nothing special, maybe we just didnt see what Medellin has to offer. From here we travelled by bus to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, and then to Taganga. Taganga is a small fishing village which recently has seen a massive influx of tourists, but the town can't cope with this and the beaches and town is littered with trash, such a shame. We got out and went back to Santa Marta and stayed at this cool hostel called Brisa Loca before leaving our packs there and heading to Tayrona National Park.

There are a few places that you can camp inside the park, the best being Cabo San Juan. It is the furthest to get to but the beaches there are sheltered so they allow you to swim. The beaches on the way in are guarded to stop people swimming as hundreds of people have drowned due to strong currents (maybe more like weak swimmers). We hired a tent for $25, not real cheap but we didn't realise that it was a few days before Easter, the only time of the year the park is busy with Colombians coming in swarms. After 2 days of swimming and chilaxing we headed back to Santa Marta, then up into the mountains nearby to a place called Minca to swim in the rivers, check out some wildlife including Toucans and Macaws. The town sits on the edge of a mountain range called the Sierra Nevada which has the highest coastal mountain range in the world at 5700m only 42km from the coast. It has only been in the last 7 years that it has been safe to travel to this region as it was a strong hold for Guerillas and Narco Trafficas.

After recovering from a bout of food poisoning I gained from eating at probably the most expensive restaurant we had paid during the trip so far, a sign that we should stick to the fresh inexpensive street food, we headed to Cartagena to hang out with thousands of police and security officers (Obama was coming to town along with his Americas President friends).

The colonial section of Cartagena is amazing! Surrounded by thick defence stone walls built by the Spanish in 1533, the buildings have all been renovated and turned into a classy neighbourhood with fine restaurants, bars, cafes and shops and is a nice place to just wander the streets. While in Cartagena I decided to head to Panama on one of the many sailing boats that do the voyage from Cartagena to Panama and stopping in the Caribbean San Blas Islands.

I had heard some good reviews about a boat called Fritz The Cat, a big catamaran that sleeps up to 20 people and the boat was due to leave in a few days time. After a couple of days I finally managed to meet the captain, an Austrian guy who has been sailing the route for the last 10 years. I said to him I want to join your boat leaving on Thursday, Fritz replied Super, give me you passport and some dough and I'll see you at 11am. So I handed over my passport and $500 and off he went... It all worked out fine and after loading up with some booze I headed to the boat, met the 15 others and off we sailed.