Tyrona National Park, Colombia

In search of something a little more rustic, we got on a bus and rode north of Cartegena to go camping in Tyrona National Park.

Tyrona is near the boarder of Venezuela with miles of pristine beaches and tucked away alcoves. We had to hike about an hour into the park to get to the campsites. It's a huge pain in the ass when you're carrying 5 liters of water and all your food. 

After the hike in, we parked ourselves in some hammocks overlooking the water…

…then took a walk down the beach. The current is extremely strong on all the beaches and you aren’t allowed in the water past your knees. 

We were traveling with Max, who we met on the sailboat, and his friend Jessie, who flew into Cartagena a few days before. 

The park is visited mainly by South Americans - lots of Colombians and Argentinians. We were definitely a minority... not many gringos. Lots of families come and hang out at the beaches. There are tents and hammocks that you could rent for around $7 a night. Each beach has a little family run restaurant that sells fish and arepas - flour pastries filled with meats and cheeses.

We picked a campsite away from the crowdedness of the beaches, hidden under the palm trees.

On the second day we met up with our friend from back home, who was traveling with about 10 other people. We hiked about 5 hours within the dense forest…

After a long hike we walked along the beaches toward our campsite, stopping at various food stalls along the way.

We’ve been told that there was a baker on the beach that sells the worlds best chocolate bread…

…and we found him a a little shack pulling out a batch of rolls. It was, in fact, the best chocolate bread I’ve ever had… the bread was warm and chewy and the dark cacao had hints of cinnamon.

As we made our way back to the beach, we tasted more things along the way, cheesy arepas and freshly pressed juice.

The long day was welcomed by a pinkish orange sunset. We watched it spiraled out on the warm sand.

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