The annoying touts and the humidity saw me only stay in Cartagena a few days before moving further north to Santa Marta which is about 5 hours by bus. Not even venturing into the centre of Santa Marta after hearing not the best things, I based myself in a hostel on the outskirts of town to visit Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona.

As always the hostel offers an overpriced shuttle to get to the entrance, convenience for some but I always try, where possible (and safe) to use public transport and travel as the locals do. I headed out onto the main road where I was expecting to catch the bus, however after about a 40 minute wait I still had not managed to flag down the correct bus. Just as I was about to find a new spot to wait as the sun was bearing down at just above 30°, my luck changed and a local guy stopped and said ‘Tayrona Tayrona – $10,000, direct now, no need to wait!’ Gut instinct kicked in and I said ‘yes, thank you, let’s go!’ He stopped for petrol, he stopped for some cooked sausage thing, he stopped to talk to his mate in the middle of the road, he stopped to go to the toilet all within the 30 minute journey but eventually we arrived at the entrance, so yes I suppose more or less direct.

Grateful to arrive at the entrance, I paid for my ticket and continued to walk for another 45 minutes to the start of the track instead of taking the shuttle to save myself $1. I followed the lush, tropical, jungle path to visit 3 different beaches and ending at the most picturesque mirrored beaches. At a humid 32° it was quite the adventure with monkeys in the trees, lizards scuttling away under your feet, a fresh orange juice stand, and finishing off with a refreshing swim in the aqua blue water.

Some people stay in the park overnight, but considering the humidity and the mosquitoes I decided to just make it a day trip and head back to the comfort of the hostel. Next day was onward to Minca, a tiny magical town set high in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, overlooking Santa Marta.  After a windy 45 minute journey, I jumped out of the colectivo and asked for directions to Casa Loma – a hostel that had been highly recommended. Navigating the confusing directions I find a sign and follow it for about 10 minutes straight up some steep stairs. Arriving sweaty and out of breath I was welcomed with a cold glass of water and help with my backpack. I was super happy with my choice as I looked back out to the view towards the Caribbean.

Casa Loma has a nice chilled family vibe and once you’ve climbed the stairs after a day of activities it is unlikely you will want to go back down in the evenings so they offer a delicious family style dinner and even invite local artists to play music during sunset.

Surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains an obvious activity is to go hiking. So after a little research I set off the next day on a 6-7 hour loop track. I had a few snacks to keep me going but along the way there were sweet sticky mangoes freshly fallen from the trees and avocados to eat.

The day started off fairly clear but as I got higher the misty clouds set in and there wasn’t much to see at all except for friendly locals and this bug. The track was hard to follow at times and just when I thought I was truly lost a small hand painted sign would pop up and encourage me that I was on the right path.

The next day was more relaxing, swinging in my hammock reading and enjoying a few games of cards with some fellow travellers. I ventured down to the town in search of a cheap lunch and found a local place right beside the river, where people were almost eating in the river.

Back to the hostel for another incredible sunset and to take some time to catch up on some writing and a bit of research for the next part of my trip.

Next stop was back to the beach to small but popular backpacker town called Palomino, just north of the Tayrona National Park. I stayed at a hostel that had a beautiful pool, buffet breakfast, cheap beer and great food, didn’t even need to leave pool side to eat and drink.

I meet a solid crew here to spend the next few days, swimming, drinking, laughing, dancing and one of my favourite things day time drinking in the sun! Let’s just say there are stories but what happens in Palomino, stays in Palomino haha.

My last night in Palomino was quite the party but somehow the next day I managed to make the decision to finally leave and pack my things to continue my adventure to the far north.