The flight to Peru provided some incredible views of both the Amazon basin and The Cordillera Blanca of the Peruvian Andes...
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Palomino
Only recently discovered by the Gringo Trail, Palomino is a fairly typical (and dusty) Colombian village. What makes it very special is the fact that it is not yet overrun by tourists and all the madness that comes with a bustling tourist trade.
Set on a long beach, fringed by coconut palms and dotted with the odd hostel and camping area, Palomino offers what Taganga couldn't - clean space and a beach that we could walk down for kilometers. Fred found fish (and a Caiman that almost nibbled his toes while fishing) in the lagoons and rivers while Bron enjoyed some down time with SA friends Jade and Sarah. The sun, sea and sand was a welcome way to finish our time in Colombia. Loads of backgammon, chess and card games were played and the competition for best overall player was stiff! Fresh fish and prawns were eaten and life was generally relaxed.
Palomino reminded us very much of Mozambique and haggling deals for fresh prawns (Langostenos) brought back many memories. Its an area with lots of potential and we really hope that it does not go the way that Taganga has gone.
Set on a long beach, fringed by coconut palms and dotted with the odd hostel and camping area, Palomino offers what Taganga couldn't - clean space and a beach that we could walk down for kilometers. Fred found fish (and a Caiman that almost nibbled his toes while fishing) in the lagoons and rivers while Bron enjoyed some down time with SA friends Jade and Sarah. The sun, sea and sand was a welcome way to finish our time in Colombia. Loads of backgammon, chess and card games were played and the competition for best overall player was stiff! Fresh fish and prawns were eaten and life was generally relaxed.
Palomino reminded us very much of Mozambique and haggling deals for fresh prawns (Langostenos) brought back many memories. Its an area with lots of potential and we really hope that it does not go the way that Taganga has gone.
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| Caribbean Sunrise |
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| Trussed and ready for dinner. We weren't too impressed by the treatment of these poor chaps! |
Tayrona National Park
The reports we'd received about the more accessible beaches - Cabo San Juan and Arrecife - of Tayrona National Park were mixed at best. However, everyone we had spoken to who has made it to Playa Brava had referred to it in a way that made it sound like paradise. One South African we found in Cartegena said it was better than ¨The Beach¨! Big call!
We had to find out...
So, together with our new Dutch mates, we filled our backpacks with camp food (much to Bron´s consternation), water and a bottle of the local a bottle of the local fire-water; Aquardiente. We hopped on a local bus and headed for the lesser known Calabazo gate.
There is only one path to Playa Brava. No roads and the sea is generally too rough for easy boat launching. It is not easy to get to. I swear that this path was designed to punish those adventurous enough to try and find the beach. The 5 hour hike hurt. The path was steep, muddy and did not follow one single contour line!
Our first glimpse of Playa Brava from high up the coastal mountain was of a coconut palm lined beach with breakers rolling in and no human habitation in sight. Truly spectacular.
We set up camp amongst the coconuts, making sure we weren´t in the line of falling nuts, a settled in for a few days good old relaxation. We got so lazy that we barely swam, dished and explored the area. We shared the beach with a maximum of 10 other people and really enjoyed the solitude and beaty of this unspowilt beach. Long may it stay so!
Taganga
Taganga is a dirty version of Oudshoorn at the sea. Advertised as a tropical paradise, our unfortunate experience was of a deep, cliff-lined bay oozing with natural beauty painted in plastic bags, dead fish and a constant sewage smell in the background.
The landscape itself was not tropical but rather a dry little Karoo scene with acacia-type trees and prickly pear bushes.
It is really sad to see the total disregard of nature and its beauty that is shown locals. The rubbish lies all over and we witnessed on more than one occasion garbage just being tossed from a second story window.
We did however meet some great people at our backpackers, namely Tycho and Sured - two dutch boys boys who joined us for Tayrona - and Klara and Leif, a relaxed German couple who we will be meeting in Palomino.
Our stay in Taganga was luckily short we were soon off Tayrona National Park.
The landscape itself was not tropical but rather a dry little Karoo scene with acacia-type trees and prickly pear bushes.
It is really sad to see the total disregard of nature and its beauty that is shown locals. The rubbish lies all over and we witnessed on more than one occasion garbage just being tossed from a second story window.
We did however meet some great people at our backpackers, namely Tycho and Sured - two dutch boys boys who joined us for Tayrona - and Klara and Leif, a relaxed German couple who we will be meeting in Palomino.
Our stay in Taganga was luckily short we were soon off Tayrona National Park.
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| Lunch with the Europeans. |
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Cartegena
Dripping with old world culture, Cartegena is a city with a long and colourful history. From the days of the Spanish colonialists, pirates and privateers to its modern day resurgence as a tourist destination, it remains enchanting.
If Bogota was getting the facelift, Cartegena is being reborn. Restoration projects on parks, attractions and buildings are endless. The architecture has Bronwyn in a state of over excitement and she is continuously peering through cracks in doors and pretending to be a customer and the expensive boutique hotels and restaurants. We were invited into a home in the old city and were absolutely blown away by the other world inside the buildings. \most buildings have beautiful inner courtyards that are surprisingly cool in the tropical humidity.
The charming city comes alive in the evening as locals and tourists alike take to the town for the party which seems to spill into the streets and seethes with a life of its own. The continuous offers of coceena reminds one that is indeed Colombia and that the white powder market here is one of the biggest illegal economies in the world.
If Bogota was getting the facelift, Cartegena is being reborn. Restoration projects on parks, attractions and buildings are endless. The architecture has Bronwyn in a state of over excitement and she is continuously peering through cracks in doors and pretending to be a customer and the expensive boutique hotels and restaurants. We were invited into a home in the old city and were absolutely blown away by the other world inside the buildings. \most buildings have beautiful inner courtyards that are surprisingly cool in the tropical humidity.
The charming city comes alive in the evening as locals and tourists alike take to the town for the party which seems to spill into the streets and seethes with a life of its own. The continuous offers of coceena reminds one that is indeed Colombia and that the white powder market here is one of the biggest illegal economies in the world.
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