CARNAVAL 2011

We timed our trip just right for Carnaval. After Tayrona National Park, we returned to Santa Marta to make our preparations for Carnaval.

Now Santa Marta is only 2 hours from the city of Barranquilla. What is the significance, you wonder? Well, Barranquilla has the second largest Carnaval celebration in South America (2nd to Rio of course). We debated bussing into ground zero to experience this craziness. We bought Tshirts, masks, mohawk wigs, and of course SPRAY FOAM.

The kids were ready all day to spray this foam and wear their special outfits. But after gathering a lot of advice, we opted to stay put in Santa Marta and celebrate locally. Boy were we glad we stayed in Santa Marta. It really ended up being a family friendly affair (unlike what we heard Barran. would be like) . There was this huge parade and everyone was doused in spray foam. We got targeted big time. Little T loved spraying the car tires (those were at his level). The cans of foam were bigger than half his size! We also had bottles of baby powder at our disposal for retaliation purposes. It was wild and crazy but a lot of fun. Sorry no pictures of the results.

Message in a Bottle

It would not be a complete TeamTAdventure without writing a message in a bottle. Dad and the kids took this project on. It took two tries to toss it out into the Caribbean sea.

Now we just wait and see......

Tayrona National Park

Can you say gorgeous? We made a 3 night trek out to this Colombian treasure. We did a little more jungle trekking than we had planned but it was totally worth it. The first night we had this huge beach to ourself. We stayed on the grounds of an old narco estate. We slept in a tent right on the beach. The next morning we explored the grounds. We can only imagine what the place must of been like back in its hey day!

We hiked several kilometers to Arrefices beach. Here we stayed and slept in hammocks for a 2 nights. That was a big hit for the kids. But two nights were about all the adults could take. We had some time for MORE jungle trekking, a trail ride for Anika, and even some swimming. Most of the beaches had currents deemed unsafe for swimming. We had an adventurous hike (we don't need to talk anymore about this one) to the one safe swimming area.

Park Tayrona was beautiful. We walked a little more than we would have liked, but it was well worth it. Probably some of the most beautiful scenery of the trip!

Taganga, Santa Marta, Beach Time!!!

We traveled up toward the city of Santa Marta on the north coast. We opted to stay a few nights in Taganga, once a small fishing village, but now a haven for tourists. We hiked over to Playa Grande a couple of times for some snorkeling and beach fun.

Adios Cartagena!

What a great ending to a wonderful day. We watched kite surfers and had a drink on the wall of the old city. This is a great spot to see the sunset.

Strolling the City- Cartagena

Just a fun beautiful city to explore. Perhaps we will visit again sometime soon. The street food was awesome. We had meat on a stick, mangos, chicken, empanadas, and lots of fresh juice!

EXPLORING THE FORT IN CARTAGENA

Can you say.... plan another future trip to Cartagena! We loved Cartagena. Yes it was hot, but a nice caribbean breeze kept it quite comfortable. We explored the spanish fort, designed to keep the pirates out. We went deep into the tunnels of the fort until the sea water started to creep up our ankles!