Tag Archives: Colombia

Head for the hills! – Minca, Colombia

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When I could feel the sweat dripping down my legs as we hid from the mid-day heat in Taganga, I made I solemn oath to get our butts somewhere cooler.  We opted to head into the hills southeast of Taganga to the village of Minca.  700 meters above sea level meant the difference between melting and comfortably swinging in a hammock looking over Colombia’s Sierra Nevada.

Hotel San Souci where we stayed has a beautiful outdoor cooking space.  As we pulled in, one of the owners stood protectively in front of the brand spanking new island.  Apparently someone destroyed the former island by rear-ending it.  Our truck’s proximity to the island was making her nervous.  We immediately vowed not to hit it.  Our group congregated in the outdoor cooking space every night much as you would in your own kitchen.  We grilled fish on the fire and enjoyed being disconnected from the internets.  George even found time to perform some surgery on his pillow.  He cut it in half length wise and sewed it back up so that he could fit in the tent fully stretched out.

 

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona

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Using Taganga as a jumping off point, we decided to hike into Tayrona on the caribbean coast for a day and take advantage of the beautiful beaches. Tayrona is a great place to kick back and relax away from the pull of modern life. The Tayrona hike starts off in jungle (and blessed shade), but soon turns into a beach slog (see my feelings about beach slogs in the sun). Our plan was to spend the day at Cabo San Juan, one of the further beaches from the entrance. There are plenty of camping options in the park including Cabo San Juan. The gotcha is that you need to haul in your own food and water (or pay park prices). You can hire a horse to do the hard work for you (a highly recommended option).

Before we set out, I was pleased to hear the park had a no-plastic bag policy. G and I are constantly reminded what a plague on humanity plastic bags are (and bottles for that matter). They stand out, they cling and they linger. Disappointingly, many visitors were hauling in plastic bags. The park authority does manage to keep the park clean despite this.

We were rewarded for our hiking efforts with some beautiful beaches and refreshing coconuts prepared by a indigenous woman. The coconut preparation was a funny scene. The woman prepared coconut after coconut with her machete while an indigenous man (husband? brother?)  sat by and watched. In retrospect, she looked like the more capable one, and I was convinced she could crush those same coconuts with her bare hands. In any case, when you’re sunbaked, fresh coconut water is like a dream.

 

 

T-T-T-Taganga

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Our first stop heading north was Taganga, which has some mediocre okay beaches but is primarily used as a jumping off point for other attractions like Tayrona National Park. The G and I were just happy to be together back in Vida and sleeping in Taj.

The local fisherman were bringing in the day’s catch as we were walking along the beach our first evening. G was all over that and picked up a fish in the tuna family (much smaller of course). Now, the pair of us are incapable of remembering names (especially Spanish names), so we have no idea what kind of fish it is. I will hence dub it “delicious mini tuna fish”. George took care of the cooking duties.

Doing it all over, I’d would skip Taganga all together and head directly to Tayrona. Taganga is not a pristine little fishing village, it’s something else entirely. A few days after leaving, we heard some disturbing stories about backpackers getting mugged in the street and a hostel getting held up.

 

Reunited and heading north

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After George reunited in Cartagena with our little shipping party, we decided to head north (momentarily breaking our south-only driving rule).  We stopped by Volcán de Lodo El Totumo on the way.  Technically it’s a volcano, but the only thing it’s spewing is mud.  A minute climb up a muddy staircase will have you at the top of this behemoth.  We decided not to partake because of the sizzling temperature and long drive ahead of us (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).