After my time in the mountain jungle around Minca, I headed to the beach. I chose a relatively deserted stretch of beach between Santa Marta and Palimino, just outside the Tayrona Parque Nacional and near the village of Guachaca. I stayed at the Blue Mango Hotel, on the advice of a couple I met in Bogotá. It was a good choice. I stayed in a tiny little rustic cabana, right next to the pool and shaded outside dining area, just 30 yards/meters from the sandy beach. I’m familiar with the beaches in this part of the world, having sailed quite a bit off the coast of nearby Panama and its offshore islands. The beaches are nice, but not among the nicest, in my opinion. For me, the sand seems a bit dull and grey, the low-lying jungle foilage a bit scrubby looking and the ocean cloudy from sediment from the many rivers and streams that flow into it. That’s my snooty beach-connoisseur take. From an environmental perspective, the beaches are mostly undeveloped, there are very few people and quite a bit of wildlife. That more than makes up for any aesthetic shortcomings in my book, a nice enough place to […]