After leaving Cartagena we headed to the northeast to the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. We found a wonderful campground in the forest with a good restaurant and small hotel on the property. The place is owned by a nice French woman (Paula) who moved from Ivory Coast to Colombia. The chef was a person from Holland who had enough of Europe and found his paradise in Colombia. We also met some very nice people there, particularly Dana, a retired fireman from Minneapolis. The last night at the campground, Christian and Simone from Switzerland showed up. I had met them at the Overland Embassy campground in Panama City. They shipped their van at the same time we did. It was great visiting with them. Nice couple.
Near the campground was a great swimming hole. Very refreshing. On the second day, I went on a long, very hot, hike at Tayrona National Park. Beautiful beaches, mountains, and forests.
Next we headed a further down the coast to a beautiful seaside campground near the town of Palomino. Palomino is a funky town full of backpacker tourists (and maybe a few long-term hippies).
We then decided to start heading south and drove to the city of Valledupar (skipping the desert and dunes of La Guajira at the northern tip of South America 😒due to time). On the way we visited the Kankuamo indigenous village of Atanquez. A pretty little town in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. We visited a small shop where they were selling mochilas. The bags are beautiful and very traditional for that part of Colombia. We bought a couple as well as a beautiful basket. The artist (mother of the shopkeeper) was featured in a book of folk art.
And not to be missed, on the way along the Caribbean Coast we stopped in Barranquilla and took a picture next to the statue of Shakira. "Hips don't lie."
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