Tag: beach

Rafting Down The Rio Palomino

We spent a weekend in Palomino with a group of cruiser friends and it was my favorite of our adventurous getaways from Santa Marta. A laid-back beach town with a weekend tradition of rafting down the Rio Palomino, Palomino is a blast!

About Palomino

Palomino is a small town on the north Caribbean coast of Colombia, near the Venezuela border. An agrarian community, it is now seeing tourism due to its beautiful white sand beaches and chill vibe. The town consists of one main paved road, the road from Santa Marta, and dirt road offshoots to the beach, the river, and farmlands.

bird mural Palomino Colombia
Bird mural in Palomino. It’s got a mask!

We walked around the town a bit and it’s rustic and charming, with lots of restaurants, hostels, artisan shops and some cool street art. And, one of the top attractions is tubing down the river. No wonder backpackers are flocking to Palomino.

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Day Trip to Parque Tayrona

Santa Marta is an ideal base for a Colombia vacation. Santa Marta is a city with a good selection of restaurants, shops and museums, and is a great jumping off point for Colombian adventures, and we are taking part. From Santa Marta, we took a day trip to Parque Tayrona.

What is Parque Tayrona?

Parque Tayrona, or Tayrona Park, is a large protected area on the Caribbean coastline in northern Colombia. Just over an hour drive from Santa Marta, it covers 150 square kilometers of rainforest, coastal lagoons, archaeological sites, and remote beaches.

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Communicating in Curaçao

A multi-cultural island where locals speak many languages, communicating in Curaçao is relatively easy for travelers. Still, there are a few key terms you should know when you visit the Dutch Caribbean.

Papiamentu

Papiamentu, or Papiamento, is the local tongue in the Dutch islands. It is a mix of many languages, mostly Portuguese and Dutch, but also English, African, Creole. It’s an interesting language and is the most commonly spoken tongue in the Caribbean Netherlands. Which means you will hear it spoken in the ABC islands of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire, and likely the other Dutch islands.

Don’t worry if you don’t speak this language. English and Dutch are commonly spoken here as well, but it will help to know some of the key Papiamentu terms, which is why this post on communicating in Curaçao.

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