Caribbean Coast

Before and after the trip to the Ciudad Perdida we spent quite a while on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia and it was a really great time. First we went to Palomino, because everybody told me it is just sooo beautiful there with endless beaches and the perfect place to relax.

We really did enjoy it and the beach seemed to go on forever - it was just one street in Palomino connecting the main street with the beach, therefore 5 minutes each direction from that street there was just nothing. People told me that at some point you can just camp anywhere because nobody cares and very little people will go that far.

The only downside was that there were some hostels and nothing more, you had to walk back to the main street 20 minutes to get to the next store, and you couldn't swim in the sea for the strong currents which was really a pity. Once I even fell and got my leg bloody because of the sand. But for just relaxing it was great, sitting on the beach, listening to the waves and maybe reading a book.

After the Ciudad Perdida, we went to Taganga because a girl we met told us we will like it there. Taganga was really different from Palomino, it was a bight with a small city built around the beach, everyday some street musicians played in the evening, it had a promenade to walk down and buy stuff and lots of restaurants. Also, it was really close to the Parque Tayrona which we really wanted to visit. On this picture you can see Coxi, my travel companion, who decided to start a new life in Taganga.

Tayrona is a national park and one of the Jewels of Colombia. The beaches are perfect - just as you would imagine them on the caribbean coast anywhere. The water is turquise and you can only reach the beaches by walking an hour, which makes them mostly untouched and keeps the crowds away. You can stay there and camp but we only took one day there because after the Ciudad Perdida we didn't want to go into the wilderness again so soon.

Our last stop on the coast was Cartagena, the city with the most beautiful historic center I have seen here, that seemed to be more European, maybe spanish or portoguese, than South American. Almost every house had a different colour and all the balconies made it look so beautiful, just next to the sea. Also it was once a castle, therefore there was a fortress next to it protecting the inner city. They say the fortress was never taken from enemies.

Then we had to travel onward to the pacific coast, which was quite a pity because there was still so much to see in the Caribbean where we couldn't make it. Irina already plans to come back someday and visit all the other places, and I would like to go to Panama or Nicaragua or something, to see some more aspects of the Caribbean. No wonder everybody speaks of it, it is just so great!