Paradise found

Days 16/17/18/19Dreamer hostel, palomino > Cabo San Juan, Tayrona > Costeño surf club, Costeño

I have managed to find a real computer, so can finlly upload some photos!!

Leaf cutter ants at Tayrona

After a day of relaxing, lounging and eating the most amazing langoustine at Dreamer hostel, we rid ourselves of our backpacks and headed off to Tayrona national park, an hour bus ride away along the coastal road. We had been told to stay at Cabo San Juan, a rural accommodation site offering hammocks, to be found after a two hour trek. Tayrona park stretches for a good portion of the north Carribbean sea coast, boasting a whole host of wildlife including monkeys, the highest number of birds species in the world (or some fact like that) and rainbows of butterflies and insects. Unfortunately we didnt get the pleasure of the monkeys but enjoyed observing the miniscule highways created by thousands upon thousands of leaf cutter ants carrying their hoards. 

Cabo san Juan - Tayrona

After typically taking the wrong route and extending our journey unnecessarily, we made a sweaty but happy arrival to Cabo San Juan. Again, pictures say it better, but it was a campsite based across two bays, offering hammocks either down in the camp or up on the rocks looking over the sea. We opted for the camp, choosing potential mossie bites over the cold sea breeze.

hammocks at C.S.Juan

Having been warned that the camp was quite expensive, we chose the cheapest tomato pasta on the menu, which tasted like 5* dining after not much food all day. My particular boast here will be the finding of a 30p homemade coconut flapjack thing, packed with sugar and pretty tasty! We chilled on the beach, checked out the views (sea as as far as you could see, jungle as far as you could jungle) and played cards with a couple of Aussies that we met; a very relaxed evening. I was a little nervous about taking on the hammocks for the night as they certainly had mixed reviews, however it was wide enough to sleep foetal (strange terminology, but you understand?!) so I actually slept ok, waking at about 7am. Bean being a sleeping machine managed to sleep on her front - her poor spine. 

We had an early morning swim in the fairly rough waters of the bay, and got going before 10 to miss the heat of the day while we trekked. The walk back was far more enjoyable due to our taking the correct route (along the flat, gorgeous beaches, not up the jungly hill as yesterday) and having coconut flapjacks in hand! 

Costeno beach surf club

We chose to stay another night at dreamer hostel, partly to rid ourselves of the accumulated sweat/sand/sea. Sadly, we parted from this the next morning (I was a particular fan of the pool/sea/ cocktail combination) and headed to Costeño beach, a 45 min bus ride, and home to an under-the-radar hostel, Costeño surf club, which purposefully keeps itself out of the lonely planet, relying on word of mouth - yes, that kind of alternative. I arrived in a foul mood after a seriously hot walk with backpacks down a never ending track, but soon perked up once I saw the beach - even more deserted than Palomino or Tayrona - dotted with 'cool surfer dudes' (I felt like I didn't contribute much to this demographic). I think even before I saw the beach, Bean had whipped on the bikini and was catching the rays, her true paradise! 

The familial atmosphere of the hostel was unlike others that we have stayed in. The staff are one with the guests and we all sat together in the evenings to eat and chat. On our first night, a friendly staff member, Santiago (santi), came to us, bottle of rum in hand and insisted we drink it straight, oddly dotting our serious conversation about the world with shots. It was surprisingly sweet and drinkable. Five shots later, we were sitting round the campfire on the beach, listening to a fellow traveller with his Peruvian ukulele (10 stringed, the name of which I can't remember but i might buy one). One amazing thing about Costeño, and one of our reasons for going, was the rumour that the sea lit up with florescent algae at night, similar to that scene in life of Pi if you have seen/ read it. We did not see it straight away and were thinking it was just rumour, when santi pointed to the sand after the waves crashed and you could see little dots of fluorescent light fleetingly before they died out. Not quite life of Pi, but exciting and beautiful for biologists and historians alike. We went to bed happy and sated.

The ´secret´waterfall near Costeno

The next day, we went on a trip to a 'secret' waterfall, in keeping with the exclusiveness of this hostel. We all crammed into the back of a truck, balancing precariously on the sides and were carted across the road. A 45 minute walk later revealed a beautiful lagoon with a fast flowing waterfall. Again, none of us mustered the courage to jump off the 5m rock (pictured on the right of the picture to the left) but the practised staff did, making it look easy. The afternoon was spent on the beach, relaxing and I joined in with a game of volleyball while the gals chilled out. I was on a team of Colombians, who called the team ´Colombia Cocaine´. Hilarious. We lost.

As it was a Friday night, the hostel was partying so we enjoyed a delicious home-cooked chili con carne with the crew and then spent the night dancing to Reggaeton and (attempting, me anyway) Salsa on the beach. We woke the next morning, again not feeling 100% fresh and, after a long paying saga (no cash points, no internet), got on our way to Cartegena which we originally termed the holy grail of the north coast, but now feel all of it has been amazing!

Long blog so, again, I`ll catch up soon!!