07-06-2006, 12:18
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#1
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Area Commander
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,403
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Colombia: Tayrona National Park Tourism?
A neighbor girl (20? y.o. college student) is talking of going to Ciudad Perdida, a huge pre-Columbian ruin complex in the Tayrona National Park, just east of Santa Marta in the jungle surrounding Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This is all part of a University of Chicago archaeological expedition that is in the planning stages. Google says suspicious/hostile tribes to the south and CI activity to the north. The parents are good friends. The girl, frankly, is a sheltered twit who has never been out of the country.
If anyone has any insight they can share, I'd appreciate hearing it.
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mugwump is offline
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07-06-2006, 14:55
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: In transit somewhere
Posts: 4,044
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Mug-
try www.cia.gov use the world factbook area and go to the country studies and travel alerts - our friends in the trenchcoats did a pretty good job on this for an open site.
__________________
In the business of war, there is no invariable stategic advantage (shih) which can be relied upon at all times.
Sun-Tzu, "The Art of Warfare"
Hearing, I forget. Seeing, I remember. Writing (doing), I understand. Chinese Proverb
Too many people are looking for a magic bullet. As always, shot placement is the key. ~TR
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x SF med is offline
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07-06-2006, 15:28
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,813
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Extremely bad idea, IMHO.
Have her google "Colombia" and "tourist kidnapping" or "turistas sequestros".
My favorite deterrent is the video where they snatched the lady and put a PVC collar bomb around her neck while waiting for a ransom, and her head wound up popped like a grape.
Maybe NDD or KGoerz have a different perspective, but I would not let my kids tour the countryside there.
Just my .02, YMMV.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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07-06-2006, 15:43
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#4
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: In transit somewhere
Posts: 4,044
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TR-
I just wanted to send him in the right direction for open source intel, I believe teh travel alert is posted as a "red" travel area. I wouldn't want to be there without 11 of my closest friends and an FOB... Now Rio is another story....
__________________
In the business of war, there is no invariable stategic advantage (shih) which can be relied upon at all times.
Sun-Tzu, "The Art of Warfare"
Hearing, I forget. Seeing, I remember. Writing (doing), I understand. Chinese Proverb
Too many people are looking for a magic bullet. As always, shot placement is the key. ~TR
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x SF med is offline
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07-06-2006, 16:04
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#5
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Tampa
Posts: 221
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I have been to the Parque, last time was December 2002. Absolutely gorgeous beaches, quite primative and swimming is dangerous given the tough currents. On my last trip there I scuba dived, 2 tanks and lunch for $35.00. There are several diving operations out of Taganga which is a small fishing village northeast of Santa Marta. Most of the dive sites are off of Parque Tayrona.
The coastal areas around Santa Marta are relatively safe and I have traveled there extensively. In fact, I tried to get to the Lost City on my last trip, but because I had time constraints I was limited to the helicopter excursion which was offered from the Hotel Irotama, which is located just southwest of Santa Marta in a suburb on the beach. However, they were sold out of slots on the aircraft; therefore I didn't make the trip. I wouldn't recommend traveling on foot since it's a couple of days and there have been incidents of kidnapping on that specific route, one as late as 2003.
TR is correct, touring the countryside is still a risky venture in Colombia, but, I wouldn't have any concerns if she stuck to the cities and the coastal connecting routes. In fact I noticed a major influx of foreign tourist on my last trip, which is a considerable change from the mid-to-late 1990s when nobody was traveling, not even the Colombians. For a reference, travel from Cartegena to Barranquilla to Santa Marta is safe. This is the coastal route. Any travel in-land is a no-go.
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FILO is offline
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