From Tyrona, me, Derek and Marvin headed to Palamino, a small coastal village, where we stayed at Dreamer Hostel.
Sunset in palamino
From Palamino, we went tubing down the river whilst drinking beers! To get there we had to take moto taxis, whilst carrying the tube! On the way down the river we stopped
From the hostel in Palamino, you could (if there was no cloud) see the snow capped tops of the Seirra Nevada mountain range. It is possible to see them from the beach, which is slightly strange, to see snowy mountains from a carribean beach! A local described the tallest one in the range as the “highest mountain in the world” by the definition of its height compared to the surrounding land. Even though everest is the highest above sea level (8,800m), it is surrounded by other mountains over 6000m and is not as promiment in comparison to the local area.
None of us had our phones with us, as we were going swimming, but at the beach we saw locals pulling in a huge fishing net, with 2 groups of people around 150m apart on the beach pulling in each side. We helped breifly. After it was pulled in, the fisherman gave each of the locals who had helped a couple of fish for doing so. As the net approached the shore, filled with fish, you could see some jumping out over the sides of the net, as the shore approached. On the northern coast of colombia the most common meal by far is fish, accompanied with coconut rice, salad and fried plantain. Fried snapper is very common.
I stayed in palamino for 4 or 5 days, much longer than i had intended, but i was wanting to visit the Guajira desert, that i could go to from palamino. The desert borders venezuela and you can visit the most northern point in south america. The dunes of the desert flow straight into the sea, which would have been really cool to see. Although it is a desert, the rainy season in this region had begun, and i was not able to go because a river on the way was too high to cross.
I met back up with Niels, and we went to Camarones, where you are sometimes able to see flamingoes. We took moto taxis (taking around 1hr 20, not too comortable!) from palamino to Camarones and had lunch.
Our drivers said this was an exciting/fun day out for them, as they only come 2 or 3 times a year. A lot of people who visit take tours, and most of the time the people that take moto taxis from palamino just want to go to the ATM, or neighbouring towns. Palamino does not have an ATM, the nearest one being a 20min moto taxi away. It is a small village that only in the last few years has started getting tourists, for its beautiful beach and two neighbouring rivers, where you can see wildlife and go tubing. 6 Years ago palamino had 1 hostel, now it has well over 10. Although this growth is good for the locals and gives them work, i think it is also disliked as it is changing the area from a quiet rural village to a tourist destination.
Camarones is spanish for shrimp. This area is separated from the sea by a small dune, but large waves bring water and fish. Twice a year, the tides bring billions of shrimp into the area, which the flamingos feed on. We visited out of season and there were supposedly 300 or so flamingos in the area, which we didnt manage to see. When the shrimp arrive there is supposedly 4,000-5,000 flamingos. The water in this area ranges from around 0.6 to 1.2m high throughout the year. We didnt see flamingos but saw pelicans, red ibis, white ibis and a big group of some black birds that i dont remember the name of. These birds apparently kill the trees, as their poo is too warm and acidic. We also saw lots of fish that jump out of the water.
Back at palamino, i spoke to someone from bogota who advised me on the best football games that were coming up in medellin and bogota that i could go to. I made friends with Amy and Matt, two nurses from Southampton, as well as two aussies, Jay and i cant remember the others name! After drinking in the hostel, me and the two aussies went to a “party” on the beach around a fire. The stray dogs of the area (there are lots and lots in south america!) also joined the party! Jay was from melbourne, and the other aussie guy was from queensland and travelled round with a caravan. He wore a green buttoned crocodile dundee style vest and was very stereotypically “from the outback”. He got absolutely hammered, passed out on the beach, and was wrestling with a stray dog. Yes you read that right!
After leaving Palamino, i headed to El Rio for a couple of days. It is a hostel in the jungle that is rated as the 2nd best in south america. It has no wifi and is consequently very social. The day after i arrived they were having a big party. Every month they have one huge party, with everyone from the hostel aswell as a couple hundred people that arent staying there. In the afternoon 70 of us went tubing, starting the drinking for the party at 2pm…
One of the hostels 3 dogs followed and joined us for the tubing (as it apparently does every day), walking along the riverbank, and swimming at the points it knew it needed to.
Made many friends at El Rio, some who I’ve seen a couple of times since. To name a few, Matt and Fran from Milton Keynes. Lena, Sarah and Stefan from Graz, Austria. Saw Nani again, and Amy that i met in Palamino. Max and Thilo from london. Adam from Canada. Danny from ireland who id met in Tayrona (and have bumped into in Medellin aswell). Hania who i met diving in Taganga. Blaize, Alex and Sam from Melbourne. Max from germany (who i met again in Cartagena and Medellin).
Stefan, Me, Lena and Sarah 
Met Nani again (and im wearing a tshirt Blaize leant me as all mine were dirty, it says “Smashing tins” which would apparently make any aussies that saw it think i was also an aussie!).
El Rio was on the river, where we went swimming, and had table tennis, pool and beach volleyball. Played quite a few games of each whilst staying there.
I left El Rio and headed to Cartagena, via santa marta, welcomed in to the rainy season.
I was in Cartagena for a day before leaving to San Andres, and did a walking tour of the old town and learnt more about the history of the city.
This stray supposedly follows all of the tour groups 
On the walking tour met a guy called Danny from Taiwan, who travels round the world doing the lighting for Cique du Soleil shows (Acrobatics circus kind of shows – no animals). We met up with Max who i met at El Rio, and Niels who I’d been to Minca and Palamino with and had a few beers in a local square where there were street performers who danced and rapped.
The next day I departed to San Andres, blog post coming soon (™)
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