A little bit of Ali Heaven in Colombia

If there is a heaven and if indeed I am allowed to come in, then for me I think it would look very similar to Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona in Colombia.

The best way to start a day. Caribbean Beach Paradise.

The park is a protected area that lies on the Caribbean sea in the north of Colombia. Access to it lies behind a 45 minute walk through a jungle filled with wildlife (you can get a horse to carry your bag for you if you want! ) and as the trees open up, beach paradise will ensue. These are some of my favourite things, all in one place!

A day in the life of a Parque Tayrona Traveller

Having flopped out of the hammock, my days started with a pan de chocolate from the panaderia next to our campsite – very different to the French pain au chocolate – bigger and with a lot more chocolate! Why these don‘t exist in other places? I am going to have to learn how to bake, just so that I can work out how to make them, along with the many other foods I‘m otherwise not going to be able to eat in London (list currently including Pupusas, Balleadas and now Arepas!)

Chocolate Bread. I need to find out how to make this? Why don’t we have this in the UK?

I then began strolling down the path, past the gaze of the Caiman that lived in the small lake, and through a jungle filled with crazy looking multi-coloured lizards and at least 3 types of monkey. The only other person I encountered, was the other girl hiding behind a tree also trying to take photos of the residents in the trees. We had a mutual respect of silence for our photography exhibition.

The jungle walk towards the beach, a way to escape the sun for a stroll. Full of lizards, cheeky monkeys, crabs and green.

Multi-coloured lizards are everywhere, throughout the jungle. I managed to catch this one before he scuttled away.

My new favourite type of monkey is this crazy little fella with a super hairdo. Spotted just near the campsite waiting for his gang.

The punk monkeys, as I like to call them, are the smallest I’ve seen so far on my travels. They live in a group and when one of them notices you trying to take a sneaky photograph, it tells all the others by making a squeak and then they all stare at you and scream until you go away. Clever monkey in some ways… although not so clever as the staring and screaming makes for a great photo opportunity.

Punk monkey. Cute, but possibly plotting my downfall…

I had the choice of several different paradise beaches at the end of my walk all lined with palm trees on one side and the beautiful, blue Caribbean sea on the other. The sand is bright white, clean, and free from any tourist tat.