Trips to Colombia

TRIPS TO COLOMBIA: NATIONAL PARK CHORAL OF THE ROSARY
AND SAN BERNARDO

Extension: 120,000 hectares.

Year of creation: 1977.

Location:
It is located in the Colombian Caribbean Sea, 45 kilometers to the southwest of the bay of Cartagena.

Terrestrial routes:
Cartagena via Mamonal, happening through Pasacaballos where a ferry is taken to cross the Channel of the Dock and soon to continue by highway until White Beach or to the town of Barú. By highway without paving until the sector White Beach in Barú. Cartagena-Tolú.

Sea lane:
Of Cartagena 1 or 2 hours in speedboat, according to it is to San Bernardo or Rosary respectively. Of the town of Barú to the Islands of the Rosary 20 minutes. Of Tolú to the Island of San Bernardo 1hora.
Airways: Bogota Cartagena 45 minutes

Fauna:
Within their area 52 species of chorales, 125 species of protozoarios and foraminíferos have been identified not less than and 45 sponge species, 197 species of molluscs; crabs, clams, oysters and pulpy; 170 crustaceans, like shrimps of reef, lobsters and crabs hermits; 132 celenterados species of, among them jellyfish and false chorales; 35 species of equinodermos as starfishes, sprocket wheels and cucumbers of sea, and 215 species of fish. In marine birds one has detected 31 species, standing out the scissors, the pelican or gannet and the stupid bird.

Vegetation:
In their flora 113 species stand out planctónicas seaweed and the red mangrove swamp. Their coralline Mangrove swamps, reefs and prairies as much of marine points as of seaweed, conform one of the diverse and productive floral and faunísticos sets of the planet. They are propitious means for the growth of seaweed, anidación of birds and rises of many marine species.

Climate:
Warm, the temperature goes from 27°C to 30°C in average.
History of the area/Antecedent: The history of this coralline zone is ligature to the one of the near islands and the one of the bay of Cartagena. According to chronicles of the conquerors, all the islands of the Caribbean were inhabited by natives of the Karib family. Later, in century XIX they were occupied by wild or enslaved fugitive. In the decade of the 50 the urban colonization began that intensified in years 60 and 70.

Eco-tourism:
The Natural National Park does not count on infrastructure for lodging. Access to the Park is received.


Recommendations:
The visitor must be vaccinated against the yellow fever, as minimum 10 days before the trip, and will have to present/display the effective membership card to the entrance of the Protected area. This service gives institutions among others: The Colombian Red Cross and the Department of Harbor Health of the Airport gilded the Soft International in Bogota.

To take to medicine kit of first aid and medecines disinfectants.

It avoids to take injurious elements that attempt against the biodiversity of the Park such as aerosols, animal, harpoons, firearms. One does not allow to the harvesting of vegetal material and/or animal.
Developed processes or strategic projects in the zone

At present they inhabit the zone afrocolombianos groups with ingrained cultural traditions, but to whose they have forced them needs to make use illegal of the natural resources.

Today the natural National Park is advancing to an ambitious project of environmental education that looks for the sensitization of the native groups inhabitants of the Islands, on the conservation of the limited resources whereupon they count and the protection of chorale reefs.

Also the education of the visitors who arrive at the zone is vitally important dices the negative effects that in the last years the tourist activity has generated on the area.