Puerto Colombia

It was such a nice feeling setting off to drive to the beach after being in the sweaty mosquito infestation of Los Llanos. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Los Llanos, but I enjoy sand, sea, sun and hotel beds a whole lot more. We had a 5am start as Puerto Colombia only has one road in and one road out. After an obligatory stop at McDonalds for lunch decided by the truck majority (I had arepas from the servo, won't eat from the golden 'M') we headed into Henry Pittier national park. It’s this N.P. that makes Puerto Colombia so hard to reach. The one road snakes round lush tropical mountains and valleys. It’s hardly wider than a single carridgeway; it is a two way road that makes things interesting when another vehicle approaches. There are very few passing places and the bends are so tight climbing the sheer mountain faces that our truck had to make several attempts to get round them. Once we hit the town we realised the town wasn’t really built for vehicles, narrow roads with tight corners made our truck destroy more than one house roof corner or wall. 14 hours later and we'd made it. With the budget dwindling with the rising Venezuelan economy I enjoyed every drop of my glass of cold white wine I’d ordered instead of food, Ollie had the beer and we tucked into the free table bread with gusto.

After spending a luxury night with aircon we woke to bright sunshine and headed for la playa. 10min walk over a footbridge and down a small road which opened into a beautiful small cove. Sheltered on each side by green mountains that curved round to hug the beach, the sand was white and the sea crystal clear. Ollie got straight in the water, to do battle with the six foot waves. They were obviously a lot more entertaining then me as he emerged like a bright red prune 8hrs later. I went in up to my ankles but it was cold, involved water and I had a really good book to read. I played roast chicken, gently cooking myself in the long awaited sunshine until I was golden brown and hungry.

That evening we wandered down to the harbor. I sat opposite Ollie at dinner and sweated in the radiating heat coming of his bright red burnt face. As we ate our tea, we watched the fisherman bring in the days catches. There were hundreds of fish; most of them were the size of dolphins and some with long pointy faces? marlin?.

We had the next morning to enjoy the town before heading out. I went down to the beach and actually went in the sea up to my knees. Ollie stayed at the hotel and watched wild monkeys playing in the trees outside our room. Puerto Colombia is hard to get to but well worth the visit if it’s the quiet idealistic tropical beach stop you're seeking.

One thing I must mention that I have noticed in northern Colombia and Venezuela. What is it with the bellies guys? It seems here it's cool to pull up your t-shirt to your chest and let it all hang out. And really, size does not matter, the bigger the beer belly, the higher the t shirt gets pulled up giving you a great view of what appears to be the male version of late pregnancy. I know it's hot, but really, must we all suffer? It's even coming to the point when Ollie thinks its a good idea, god help us.