Felipe had been telling us about the Tayrona National Park and said it was really nice and all. But, it wasn’t until we actually got there that I realized that it’s a totally awesome place — with gorgeous dramatic scenery, pristine beaches, and good hiking trails. The place is a national treasure.

We visited three gorgeous beaches. Hiked about two hours. (Too bad that the hiking trails are the same as the horse trails.) Saw lots of lizards and some monkeys. Ate yummy fried chicken for lunch at the backpacker’s beach restaurant. Enjoyed delicious fresh fruit juices — tomate de arbol, passion fruit, coconut/limeade, papaya and more. (The guys were less adventurous and stuck to beer.)

Felipe would like to note that there is fantastic snorkelling at 11°19.775′ N and 73° 57.895′ W. He and Pete took masks and snorkels while the rest of us bobbed in the sea or sat on the beach. They saw barracuda and huge blue parrot fish and other cool creatures.

Rather than hike back — not everyone in our group enjoyed the hike — we took a boat to Taganga — a nearby town and from Taganga a taxi back to the marina in Santa Marta. The boat ride was fun and gave us a great view of the shoreline of the park.

Postscript: In the evening, team On Delay dined at a local fish restaurant. Because the following day was an election, the selling of alcohol was banned. The group managed to convince the owner that it would be okay to serve them beer and wine in coffee cups so that the local constabulary walking by would not notice the violation.