Day 15- Tayrona National Park (23/7/25)

 

Today is the day that I got a small taste of Tayrona, the jewel in Colombia’s crown. Covering 150 square kilometres, it is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Set in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains, it consists of rain forest, marshland, arid mountain peak, and white sandy beaches. Apparently, it is one of the few places on earth where rainforest meets the sea. Today, I got to go to one of these beaches: Bahia Conche, or shell bay.

My original booking was to get there by catamaran, but apparently the boat has been experiencing some engine problems. So, an alternative sail boat was laid on.

The day consisted of a one and a half hour sail around the coast, from where we could get an amazing view of the Sierra Nevada mountains, falling away to the sea. There were about 12 of us in total. I chose to sit on the front of the boat in both directions, giving me a fantastic view, but also subjecting me to a lot of splashing from the waves as they crashed against the side of the boat.

We moored up in the bay, just a short distance from the shore. We were given the option to go ashore either in a small motor boat, or we could swim. I chose the swim. The water was colder than expected at first, but it was lovely to cool down; the weather again was very hot, but also very humid.

Once ashore, I headed for a nice spot that I had picked out from the boat. It was in partial shade from a tree extending out from the forest that line the beach. My pitch marked, I went back into the sea for another swim, my first  proper swim in the Caribbean Sea. With that bucket list item ticked off, I proceeded to just relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.

We had been given a food choice before leaving port, and I opted for the grilled fish. All of the cooking was done on the boat and then transported to the beach by the motorboat. The fish was delicious and seemed to be the most appropriate meal for such a setting. I also bought a Pina Colada, to wash it down with. As with all of these types of places, there were a few vendors walking up and down the beach; there doesn’t seem to be any escape from them.

After lunch, and another swim in the sea, we were offered the chance to go snorkelling. I jumped at it. So, 8 of us climbed into the motorboat and were taken out to a reef that running along the side of the bay. From there we worked our way back to the beach. The reef had an incredible range of corals of all types and colours. There were red and blue round corals that had a maze type pattern on them; these were my favourites. Some were in the shape of fans, others stood up like tubes. Among them swan a variety of fish, but most notably were the Parrot fish, with there electric blue and red stripes. Other schools of yellow and red fish flitted in and around the corals. It was lovely to spend time in this subterranean world. I haven’t done this since the Maldives, some 14 years ago.

Back on the beach, it was time for one last dip in the sea before boarding the boat and returning to harbour. It was the most wonderful day, and one that will stay in my memory for a long time.

I had a couple of beers on the quay and watched an amazing sunset. Much better than yesterdays.

Tomorrow, I leave Santa Marta and return to Bogota. The change in climate is going to be a shock to the system. I just need to sort out my taxi to the airport; the Uber app is not playing ball this evening. If worst comes to worst, I will just get a local taxi, but this would be a more expensive option.