Posts Tagged ‘beach’

It’s a funny little place, Uruguay. It has a population of 3 million people in an area the size of Wales, England and Northern Ireland combined, half of which live in one city. I’m told people often get it confused with Paraguay, although I don’t think I’ve ever been guilty of that. In fact I know very little about Uruguay, which is a little strange given that I’ve been there more than 10 times, usually on a Visa Run (a 70 mile daytrip by ferry to Colonia to renew my 90 tourist stamp). Needing to renew my visa again, this time I decided to do things a little more in depth and spent a couple of days in Montevideo and even took a side trip to Punta del Este.

Punta del Este (or simply Punta if you’re in the know) is famous for one thing – attracting hordes of rich and famous Argentinians every summer. From January until April the magazine stands in Buenos Aires are full of glossy covers showing the beautiful people at play across the river in Punta. Sort of like a high-class Benidorm, but with fewer Germans, it didn’t strike me as the sort of place I would like very much.

However, in the spirit of discovery, coupled with the realisation that there was no way I was going to be able to stretch out a 3rd day looking round Montevideo, I hopped on a bus and headed east to the sea.

As the bus rounded the corner at the top of the cliff overlooking the sweep of the bay and Punta del Este appeared in the distance, a row of skyscrapers several miles long, my heart sank. I had visions of crowds with sunburned shoulders walking down the street with plastic mugs of beer stumbling from amusement arcade to bar.

It just goes to show however, that you must always travel with an open mind, because I actually found myself very pleasantly surprised by Punta del Este. Firstly it was clean. As in spotless. Maybe it was simply ready for the long summer season to come but the streets were tidy and empty. Wandering away from the centre past some seriously fancy summer homes, there was not a soul around and the clear skies and sea breezes both helped to create a relaxed sense of well-being.

I can believe that in the middle of February when half of Buenos Aires is crammed onto the beach it becomes a much less attractive place, but I thoroughly enjoyed strolling around the half-empty streets. In a strange way it was like leaving South America for a few hours and visiting a fantasy land where everything is clean and bright and every day is a holiday.

My latest guest post on Tayrona has just gone up on Medellin Living. Its sister post with more practical info can be found here.

Three weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend some time in the Parque Natural Nacional de Tayrona on Colombia’s Carribbean coast. I first heard of it when it was featured in a Top 10 Beaches list in the Guardian a few years back, and within hours of arriving in Colombia, fellow travellers began talking about it as one of the places to see whilst here.

And, of course, they were dead right – it’s a wonderful place; wild, beautiful, unspoilt, unique and utterly charming. If you are in Colombia it should definitely be on your list and to help you here are some tips based on our experiences there to help you get the most from your visit:

• a bus from Santa Marta to the park entrance costs 5000COP – if you are staying at the wonderful Dreamer Hostel, you can pick the bus up from the main road a couple of blocks away
• entrance to the park costs 34000COP for non-Colombians, 12000COP for the locals
• from the entrance a minibus to the start of the trail costs 2000COP
• there are 3 official places to stay – Canaveral, El Paraiso (Arrecifes) and Cabo San Juan plus a private campsite about 10 minutes walk from Arrecifes
• only Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan are actually on a beach, and it’s only safe to swim at Cabo San Juan (a sign at Arrecifes reminds you of this by telling you over 200 people have drowned there!)
• Arrecifes is roughly an hour from the start of the trail, Cabo San Juan another 45 mins from there – both trails are rough and involves a fair bit of scrambling and clambering
• prices for Cabo San Juan are 15000COP with your own tent or hammock, 20000COP to rent a tent or hammock, 25000COP to rent a hammock in the outlook, 50000COP in a room in the outlook (all per person, per night)

• having spoken to 3 people who slept in the outlook it can get very windy and cold at night, take a sleeping bag if you can or just try it for one night and see how you get on!
• food is available at both Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan, but is expensive – 8000COP for a breakfast, 20000-30000COP for a lunch or dinner
• the best swimming is at La Piscina between Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan
• the sun is STRONG – wear sunblock at all times – especially when swimming / snorkelling (this is from painful personal experience!!)
• keep an eye out for the blue landcrabs in the last 200 metres before getting to Cabo San Juan
• bring a torch / flashlight and mosquito repellent
• there is a boat to Taganga which leaves at 2pm and costs 40000COP, otherwise you have to walk back and get either a taxi or the bus back to Santa Marta

I think that’s about it – the most important thing is plenty of money – it was more expensive than we were expecting (and we’d been told it was not cheap) and we had to leave a day earlier than planned because of this. These tips are all personal opinions and the prices are correct as of March 2010 when we visited. I really cannot recommend Tayrona enough, it is absolutely amazing and unspoilt place and a highlight of any trip to Colombia!

What’s This?

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill can hold more than his belican,
He can take in his beak,
Food enough for a week,
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.

Dixon Lanier Merritt

After the big city bustle of Lima we jumped onto a nice big comfortable bus and scooted 18 hours up the Peruvian coast to Mancora, which despite being Peru’s premier beach resort is infact little more than a main road lined with restaurants and bus offices, a few sunburned dazed looking gringos and a beach with big waves that totally disappears at high tide.

It does however, have pelicans and some very nice beachfront hotels, one of which we’re staying in. So I’ve spent the last few days watching the pelicans gliding gracefully past the hotel just inches from the waves in squadrons of 5 or 6 in perfect synchronisation. Beautiful.

And then yesterday we discovered the hotel’s little gang of resident iguanas. The gang is little, the iguanas are not, the biggest one is easily 3 feet long. They sprawl themselves next to the pool and occasionally venture down to have a drink from a puddle. Similar to what we’re doing in a way.

Back from Uruguay, only to find that the internet in the flat no longer worked. Was fixed today hence the delay in updating my exciting adventures. It was a amazing trip, if you’re not on Facebook you can see the pics here, The beaches were empty, weather amazing if a little windy and generally full of great people. The Uruguayans we met were a very relaxed yet open lot. Friendly in the way you just never seem to get in Europe. No agenda whatsoever, just happy to chat. Loved em.

Been back here since Wednesday, vaguely aware it’s Christmas in 3 days but doesn’t feel like it. It’s very hot and I haven’t heard Slade once. Although I was walking home the other night at around 5ish and saw a lady sitting on a chair outside an open hairdressers shop having her hair styled. Not something you see every day, but somehow doesn’t seem out of place here.

Got my Yellow Fever jab today, complete with very exciting certificate to show I’m disease (that one at least) free. Apparently most countries round here won’t let you in without it. Which is kind of a relief. Am going to Brazil on Friday and then Paraguay on Sunday for New Year. Will be staying with a guy I met in Uruguay and I’m told the family he lives with will kill a chicken in my honour. I’ll make sure I get a photo..

After 5 days of nothing but beer and steak, I’ve managed to get myself into some sort of organisational order and am off to Uruguay tomorrow. There’s 3 of us and we’re heading across the River Plate on a boat to Colonia first of all then on Thursday onto Punta del Diablo, a small port town with miles of empty beaches up towards the Brazilian border. Not sure how long I’ll be away but I’m not taking the computer and there ain’t much up there in the way of anything so I’ll report back here when I return.