Monday, March 13, 2023: Cartagena to Los Naranjos (Author: J)
(photo: Casa Tayrona Los Naranjos)
Day 4 of our trip was the start of the tour package that I had booked through Wild About Colombia. Our pickup time was 9 am, so we headed down to breakfast at about 8:25. As we were sitting down to eat, a member of the hotel staff let us know that our driver had arrived. He was able to let the driver know that we would not be ready until closer to 9. We then ate a final breakfast at Hotel Bantu and went back to the room to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything.
We were back in the lobby before 9. We did run into a slight issue at checkout. Housekeeping reported that we had taken some items from the minibar. The total cost for the missing items was just a few dollars, so I told the clerk that I would pay the bill but that I was not pleased. This led to a second inspection of our room whereupon the missing items were located. The minibar in Hotel Bantu is in the wardrobe, which is also the only place you can hang clothing. Apparently, we had knocked some items down while packing the dinner clothing from the wardrobe. We appreciated the hotel staff fixing this issue on the spot.
Once we were checked out, the hotel called our driver, Goyo. (As a note, I am not great at remembering names and I always forget to bring a journal along to jot them down. The fact that Goyo is the only driver whose name I can remember is in no way a reflection on the other drivers, who were all excellent.) Goyo pulled up out front and helped us load our suitcases in the trunk and then we were on our way to Los Naranjos.
If you are not familiar with Los Naranjos, it is a little beach town on the edge of Tayrona National Park. It’s about a 5-hour drive from Cartagena to Los Naranjos, primarily on well-paved highway. Our drive took us past the city walls of Cartagena and an area of high rises along the beach. As we left the outskirts of Cartagena, a police officer flagged us down. Goyo got out of the car and my brain went to an unhappy place. But, after a few minutes, Goyo and the officer hugged one another, and we were back on the road. I did not ask.
The rest of the drive passed uneventfully. We made a restroom break at a rest stop, where I was intrigued to see a group of people gathered to watch a soccer game. We ate snacks that we had purchased at our beloved Exito. We drove past fancy condo buildings and cute little beach towns and groups of shacks. Sometime after 1, we arrived at the gates of Tayrona. “Why are we stopped?” D whispered. “I am not getting out here.” It turned out that Goyo was not familiar with our hotel, so D used Google Maps to pull up directions and we finished the last stretch of our trip.
We said goodbye to Goyo at the reception area for Casa Tayrona. In just a few minutes, we were checked in and seated in the upstairs area of the hotel restaurant, which has views of the ocean on 3 sides. I believe that we all got sandwiches for lunch. (I am quite sure that P did because he ate nothing but cheese sandwiches for the duration of our stay at Casa Tayrona.)
After lunch, we found our room. We were excited to find that our room was actually a cabin overlooking the beach. The excitement continued to build as we discovered that — even though it was well into the afternoon — the cabin had hot water. We made the decision to swim first and shower second. This was to be the most difficult decision we would make all day. “I think this will be my favorite hotel of the trip,” D announced.
(Photo: view from our cabin)
The pool at Casa Tayrona is on a deck overlooking the beach. There is a selection of beach chairs, some overlooking the ocean and some facing the pool. There is also a cabana with two hammocks. P and I swiftly occupied them. We spent some time reading in the hammocks and then decided to try the pool. P hopped in and I was about to join him when I noticed unidentified white stuff floating in the water. I am somewhat squeamish, and I was not willing to swim, but I let P stay in as long as he promised to keep his head above the water. While P was swimming, the hotel staff came over to examine the pool water and then made a call. By the time we woke up the following morning, a maintenance person was fixing the pool filter. After that, the pool water remained clean and clear for the duration of our stay.
(photo: pool deck)
After our swim, there were hot showers, more reading, time spent relaxing on the deck of our cabin, and another meal at the hotel restaurant. We went to bed early in anticipation of an early start the following morning. It had been a very relaxing day.
Travel Monkeys 