Near Death By Horse, Tayrona National Park And An Irishman On Acid

4th of July

Tayrona National Park is a popular park along the Caribbean coast near Santa Marta and Taganga in Colombia.  Housing some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, unscathed by construction and posh hotels or resorts.  You have the choice of renting a hammock or tent on the beach for the night or as many as you please.  The hammocks are about $7 a night and the tents are $12.  There are a total of seven beaches the further you hike the more gorgeous and secluded they get, as it’s impossible to get there by any type of land based vehicle.  There is the possibility of getting dropped/picked off by boat but its expensive and you miss out on the incredible beach/jungle hike.  The hike takes about 3-4 hours depending on your ability.  Entering the park we decided to take the horses as it had rained recently and the trail could be as much as 2 feet deep of mud at some parts.  Well lets just say this was my first and probably last experience riding any type of animal where you are near cliffs that plunge 40+ feet into a jungle ravine at numerous points toward my destination.  There were 4 of us riding the horses and I guess these horses all wanted to be number 1.   That did not work so well with my horse as he attempted not once but upwards of 7 times to pass on a very slippery ledge where I saw my life flash before my eyes periodically for the 2 hours it took for the to get to the beach.  It was not just my horse either Flip kept trying to control his horse and when Dennis’ horse tried to pass it got pissed off and kicked, hitting Dennis.  After that we tried our best to stay away from Flip’s rouge abusive horse.   Upon making it to the beach I was excited to not be smashed in a jungle ravine on huge boulders.  There is only one restaurant so they were able to charge whatever they wanted and had specific hours.  I suggest when going to Park Tayrona you bring plenty of snacks.  The next two days were spent exploring the jungle and beaches deeper up the coast of the jungle.  It took us around 3 hours but Dennis and I randomly found the nude beach which just so happened to have around seven 6 foot model looking Brazilians sunbathing and dancing.  We’ll it was obvious we set up somewhat close to them clearly like another group of guys our age did.  The riptides at park Tayrona are really bad so unless you are an amazing swimmer I would not recommend going out to deep as one almost pulled Dennis out when he was body boarding.  At night there is only one lighted area and its where the restaurant is so we sat around and socialized with some English kids, another lone American and an out of control Irishman.  It made sense why he was so out of control when we were told he was on an acid trip.  So for about an hour we watched him have his own dance party and brush his teeth at the same time, it was quite entertaining.  We decided to do the hike back instead of attempt another near death experience by horse.  It was an amazing hike going through wildlife reserves, 7 different beaches and lastly going through the jungle like Mowgli.  Overall I would say Tayrona National Park was the most beautiful place I have ever been on earth and I definitely need to get back there.