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Expansive beach with large rock and a small stream entering the sea where birds are eating small fish
tayrona Arrecifes
Arrecifes

Arrecifes is the main land entrance to Tayrona National Park. Unlike the other beaches at Tayrona, there was trash washed up on this beach. With labor so cheap in Colombia, it is beyond me why the beach is not kept pristine. One entrance fee would pay the day labor of one man, which would be sufficient to keep the beach clean. At Arrecifes there are hammocks and tents and the option of sleeping in one of six cabanas, which cost about $150 per night for two rooms that can sleep five, but the beds are very small. There is a basic restaurant and a high end restaurant, where the food runs about seventeen dollars per dish and is very good. Dinner starts late at 8:30 p.m., but if you ask they may serve you earlier especially if you are the only one eating dinner that night. I found it odd that the campgrounds, bathrooms and showers were only open from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and then again in the evening. If you leave the park via the jungle route it is about a 45 minute walk from Arrecifes to a road and a van that for a dollar will take you to the main road and entrance of the park. You can also go by horse through the jungle instead of walking for about eight dollars. If you enter the park from the main entrance. the police will often check your belongings for drugs and alcohol. This is typical Colombian security and can easily be skirted by entering the park via sea or by going around the main entrance through the jungle. They sell alcohol in the park and drugs are easily accessible in Colombia, including the park, so this search is nothing more than a useless annoyance. The fee for foreigners to enter the park is about twenty dollars, four times more than for a Colombian.

As an update, in 2016 I noticed very little trash on the beaches, a big improvement from the past.

Small shallow stream drifting towards the sea
River paralleling the beach
Green water plants at the edge of a small river that runs between the beach
Waves and rocks along the beach
Small island near the beach shore
Ipomoea vine covering a large section of the upper beach
Small island close to beach

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