From Cartagena we took a private minibus four hours out to Tayrona National Park, a series of beaches and protected campsites on the north coast of Colombia.
At the park our bags went on ahead on horseback whilst we hiked the 90 minutes necessary to reach the best beaches, away from the casual day-trippers who frequented the busier but still beautiful sweeping arcs a shorter 30 minute walk from the entrance.
We stayed at the Cabo site, which was in a natural bay between two rocky headlands, one of which was topped by a circular hammock hut, our home for the next three nights.
From the site it was possible to hike to other beaches and small villages, but we mostly stayed on the beach and bought massively expensive (by Colombian standards) cocktails, only moving for the occasional paddle to cool down. Swimming was prohibited more than 10m from the shore as riptides were capable of pulling the unwary swimmer out towards the reef that had formed between the two headlands.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner was a simple choice of freshly BBQ’d meat or fish, again rather expensive as most of the ingredients had to be brought in by horseback. A quiet bar kept us occupied until bedtime, when we tried to sleep in the hammocks, but a combination of wind, the sea and other people creeping about unsuccessfully made this a little tricky so the second night we just slept on the beach, which was far more fun and 12 pence cheaper.
