Thanks to the damned mosquitoes, I could hardly sleep and eventually gave up trying to at about 4.30 in the morning. It was still too dark to venture out too far. We were close to a rather dense forest and I didn’t want to risk running into any dangerous creatures. So I thought I’d simply go to the restroom in peace. But there was disappointment in store for me. The hostel staff had not bothered to replace the empty toilet paper rolls - on the bright side, I discovered this before going about my business. Staff at this hostel were also quite unfriendly (I found this jarring because over the past several weeks, I had only met really nice people in Colombia).

At the break of dawn, I started walking west along the sea shore. I had neither a plan nor a specific destination in mind. There were many beaches west of Arrecifes, separated from each other by short stretches of forest. As I walked, I came across some really beautiful places made extra special by being completely devoid of tourists at this early hour. The pictures I took don’t do justice to how exquisitely mesmerizing the sights were.

Walking west along the coast

A crane looking for fish

Random beach along the way

The entire coastline is studded with volcanic rocks

In a while I came to Cabo del San Guia which was yet another stunningly beautiful spot. It had a small hillock that stretched from the beach out into sea. On top of the hillock was a hut, and inside the hut were hammocks you could rent. From up in the hut, you could get great views not only of the sea, but also of the forest. The best part was the sound of the waves crashing all around you. How I wished I’d known about this place earlier. I would’ve come here directly the previous day and rented a hammock here rather than at Arrecifes. Here is where that hut is located. (The coordinates are 11°19’47.2”N, 73°57’51.8”W just in case that link stops working.)

First look at Cabo del San Guia

Hut on the hillock

Me on the hillock

View from the hut

After clicking a lot of pictures, I continued my westward walk. In one of the green sections separating the beaches, I had another amazing experience with nature. I was just walking when I suddenly heard a lot of sudden movement. The sounds seemed to have come from all around me, but I didn’t see anything move. I froze, partly in fear. This section of the forest wasn’t so dense, but owing to the early hour, I was all by myself. After about 30 seconds or so, there were small movements all around me. They were crabs. Red and white crabs of all sizes hiding behind trees and shrubs, inside empty coconut shells, between rocks, anywhere they could remain unseen. If I didn’t move, they would slowly start crawling out, but if I made the slightest movement, they would all go back into their hiding places. When they would suddenly go back into hiding, their hard-shells would hit whatever they were hiding behind/in, and that was the cause of the sudden sounds all around me. Judging by the sounds, I could tell there were hundreds of crabs and they were all around me. It was fun to become completely still and wait for them to come out and then make a sudden movement to send them all back into hiding. The rapid sounds they made when they hid was actually also kind of unsettling. I “played” with them this way for a good 10 to 15 minutes before continuing my walk.

The crabs are there in this picture, they're just well-hidden

A small pyramid on one of the beaches. Imagine if this is just the top of a giant pyramid buried underground. I didn't feel like digging so I left it alone.

Vegetation between the beaches

After walking for about 30 minutes more, I came to another forested section. I had this strange feeling there that it wouldn’t be a good idea to enter. I decided to do what my sixth sense told me to, so I didn’t go any further. Instead I found myself a nice spot to chill and continue reading my book. The beach here had a gentle slope and the waves were gentle so it was actually perfect for wading in the water. I don’t swim well, so swimming was out of the question for me. Moreover, my tattoo had still not healed completely, so I couldn’t go too far out into the water anyway.

Shady reading spot

When I got hungry, I started walking back towards Arrecifes. It was close to noon now so the human traffic had picked up, which meant I didn’t encounter my crab buddies on the way back. As I was having lunch at one of the beach shacks, somebody tapped me on my shoulder and called me by name. It was a Peruvian girl I had met a few days ago on the way to Santa Marta. We had begun talking while we were both waiting for the big bus accident site to be cleared. She said she had come straight to Tayrona instead of spending time in Santa Marta and would stay for a few more days before heading south and going back home to Peru. I told her I’d be going to Cartagena next and then flying to the US. After chatting for some more time, we wished each other luck and bade goodbye.

A strange-looking barkless tree with leaves only at the top

When I came back to Cabo del San Guia, I seriously considered spending another night at Tayrona - mainly to be in the hut on the hillock, but I knew I would go insane if I had to deal with the mosquitoes again. So with a heavy heart and many “last looks”, I said farewell to one of the most stunning places I’ve even been to and made my way back - first to Arrecifes, then through the jungle, then the bus ride to the main entrance of Tayrona, then another bus to Santa Marta and finally to my dorm room in Hostel La Luna. It was close to midnight by the time I got back and to my surprise, the dorm room was locked from the inside. I had to knock loudly a few times until an older lady opened the door - serves her right I suppose for locking a shared dormitory.