TAYRONA VORTEX

A mesmerizing experience

Tayrona, the land where the older brothers count time in eons is a mythical place. This is a complex place on earth where thermal floors are stacked from sea level to mountain glaciers forming the Sierra. Fog lingers on every wrinkle, and crease of the hillsides. Humidity sticks to your body and you sweat from early afternoon until eve. The mountain emerges troughs the swaying of the many palm trees. Crystalline, stony streams stumble onto rocky beaches. An array of streams pours freshwater, logs, and leaf litter onto the beach. Salty winds slash the coastline and make their way to the cold.  It is the sound of waves melting into the sand that calls you to raise your eyes to the horizon. That fine line separates air from earth. So much beauty can reach your soul and carry you away.

On the beach lies a small gecko, with its mouth open to the sun. A swift shadow covers the animal hunchback. As darkness grows the reptile is airborne. A catch of the blue honeycreeper (dacnis cayana) carries the lizard on its peak. A walker in surprise raises his arms and makes a noise. The bird drops its prey. As soon as the animal hits the ground,  it runs. With long strides, it reaches shelter and shade. The seven wave splashes into the sunken boulder rhythmically, forming treasonous currents.

In the place known as "La Piscinita" humongous round stones reach the water or run aground on the sand. Waves of two and three meters high crash, splash and dissolve into foam and bathe the rocks and sand on the beach. The lifeguard, a young and sturdy guajiro, approaches our group. He points out the red flag and warns us. It is not advisable to swim in the sea today, waves can be tricky. "Even if you see mild waves, don't let yourself be misled, my friend. More than 100 people have died in this place” He adds. I don't know if it's because of daring, disbelief, or carelessness, but mesmerized people go swimming, even with the warning red flag onshore.  A moment after, a  new shadow scratches the eye and carries away the little lizard. A bird, perhaps the same very same one that makes a second attempt. It flies into the mangrove with its prey.

Nobody dies the eve before, states an old proverb.

So much beauty, so much going on in the same place. In the depths manta rays, marine turtles, and sea urchins may be.  Tayrona is a vortex “a plein air”, a passageway between this world and others. It can enrapture you and take you away or leave you for the Aruacos to remind you of their ancient beliefs.  With the end of the snow on the top of the highest glacier in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the history of human beings on this earth will come to an end, they say.

The “Naomas” ancient spirits of the seven levels carry the essential forces of nature. I imagine in my dreams that , they , left to worlds where opposing forces are more benevolent than here. “La Piscinita” may well be a revolving door to other universes.