Minca: The Trip that Nearly Ended Before it Started

“Why would they do this to us?!?” I yelled back to Gabe. “SERIOUSLY! I can’t do this anymore!” I whined.

We were about an hour in to what we were told would be a 45 minute hike, after the mule that was supposed to meet us never arrived,  to reach La Finca Candelaria, a working coffee farm and our accommodation for the next couple of nights. We were supposed to be heading up to the mountain side town of Minca to decompress and chill for a couple of days. Some chilling this is!! 

We were both dripping sweat and covered in dirt as we attempted to reach La Candelaria, a steep 400 meter continual ascencion  into the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 100 degree heat with ALL of our possessions strapped to our backs and fronts.   

Finally at the top

After another 45 minutes, we finally reached the sign reading La Candelaria. After  another 15 minutes uphill on the property, we finally decided to leave our large backpacks on the ground and come back for them later. Not since my college preseason 2-3-a-days have I been that exhausted!!  FINALLY, we reached the top of our climb and arrived!

After a refreshing limonada(lime, water and sugar drink), we went back and retrieved our bags. That is when the nightmare ended and our vision of Minca started. We watched a beautiful sunset and ate a delicious, home-cooked dinner by Ana, one of the owners.  

Being that this is a working coffee farm, we awake early to a crowing rooster. After another delicious home-cooked meal and some fresh, organic coffee, we set out with Eugenio(the other owner) and Soleil and Fernando(a lovely Aussie couple volunteering there) to learn about the entire coffee making process.

Coffee Picking

We picked coffee cherries off the trees growing in the mountains, gathered them in our buckets and headed back to the farm. From there we put the cherries into a machine which separates the skin from the bean. From there, the beans were washed, sorted according to quality, dried, sifted and finally we removed any “bad” beans. Then the boys took turns roasting the coffee beans. Since we like our coffee strong(like our drinks) we opted for a dark roast. After the coffee beans cooled, they were ready to be ground.

Eugenio Sifting the Coffee Beans

Dark Roast Coffee

Grinding the Beans

The really ironic thing about the coffee farmers that we met in Minca is that they are super passionate about growing the coffee, but they don’t really know how to prepare it for consumption! Imagine that! So we used a coffee grinder which looked to have been produced during the industrial revolution to grind our beans. Fernando, who has extensive experience as a barista, hand-filtered our coffee. Finally,  it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. The coffee was among the best we have ever had.

Sunset from the Finca La Candelaria

The next couple of days were spent getting back to basics. We enjoyed our home-cooked meals, freshly prepared coffees, good books, great company and AMAZING mountain sunsets. Our stay as the first guests, not volunteers, was perfect. It was the authentic Colombia experience we have been craving. 

Thanks Eugenio, Ana and Luna

 After all of the relaxing, it was time to head back to Santa Marta for the New Year…but not before hiking back down that mountain that nearly killed us the first time! Going down was much easier, and only took us an hour from start to finish. Our resolution for this New Year, get rid of some of our 

**Travel tip: to get to Minca, you need to go to the market on Calle 11/Cra. 12, to catch a rideshare in an old car or jeep. It will cost 7,000CP per person and will not leave until there are 4 people. Since we were staying closer to Minca, we thought we could catch a collective to Minca and avoid backtracking. No such collective exists. We ended up having to hail a taxi halfway to Minca for $30,000CP.**

Pic of the Week 2 Winner

And the winner is... picture #2, Cabo San Juan del Guia, Tayrona National Park. 

Tayrona National Park is a protected area nestled into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada along the north Caribbean region in Colombia. It covers approximately 150 square kilometers (58 sq mi) of land, and features an amazing range of biodiversity including howler monkeys, iguanas, sea turtles, wild pigs and jaguars. 

#2: Cabo San Juan del Guia, Tayrona National Park

Pic of the Week 2

Happy holidays everyone! Unfortunately we don't have a traditional Christmas photo for this year, but hopefully you will enjoy our rugged version of the holidays! It's time for our readers to vote for your favorite pic of the week. Just leave a comment on the blog, and we will announce the winner on Sunday(if we have internet). 

#1: Colombia Es Pasion, Santa Marta

#2: Cabo San Juan del Guia, Tayrona National Park

#3: Tubing Down Rio Palomino

  

#4: View of Sierra Nevada from Palomino Beach

Taganga: A Paradise Lost

Road into Taganga

The drive into Taganga looked promising; a horseshoe bay nestled into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It seemed that the paradise we were in search of wasn’t too much further. 

However, once we arrived, the promise quickly disappeared.  Taganga, once a sleepy fisherman’s village, has been overrun by unregulated tourism. After checking-in and dropping our bags, we set out for the beach finding that the dusty road town leads to a small, overcrowded dusty beach which is unfortunately littered with trash. 

Catch of the Day

While it still maintains some of it’s charm, with the fishermen pulling out and selling the day’s fresh catch nightly and local artisans selling their crafts, Taganga is simply put, a yawn. If you are not coming to dive, there is little else to do all day.

We were told that Playa Grande, about a 15 minute walk, is better, but we found it to be even worse. It is clear that Playa Grande could be a little piece of paradise, but it is so overcrowded with vendors, chairs for rent and tourists that there isn’t even a place to lay your sarong in the sand. The combination of tourists and lack of trash bins leaves this area even more polluted than Taganga.

Taganga Beach Sunset

Despite it's shortcomings, Taganga did have a few redeeming qualities, which kept us hanging around far too long! We found the locals to be friendly;  sharing a beer over the sunset in the bay with them was a great way to end the day. Additionally, a short hike up to El Mirador provides stunning views.  Taganga is known for it’s cheap(though not as cheap as SE Asia) PADI certification courses(though we didn’t partake).  Most importantly for us, lodging in Taganga is cheap. We originally booked a 4 bed fan room for $20,000CP for the both of us, about $10USD per night, but were upgraded to an air-con room on arrival, as a result of the fan not working, for the same price. During our time at Ocean Reef Guesthouse, we've had the room to ourselves. 

View from El Mirador(viewpoint)

Taganga has been a great place to slow down, chill out and do absolutely nothing. For us the lure of saving money in order to prepare for the expensive trip to Tayrona made Taganga well worth our stay!

If you are coming to Taganga simply to relax before heading to the long, hot hike through Tayrona, then Taganaga is the place for you! If you are expecting idyllic Caribbean beaches, then keep searching because you will find this paradise lost.  

Colectivo

**Note: we were expecting to be able to reach Tayrona via public transport from Taganga, but the only way from here is via boat for $30,000-$40,000CPP. If you are taking colectivos, you must take one back to Santa Marta($1,400CPP) , then from Santa Marta to one of the entrances of Tayrona($5,000CPP).**

Pic of the Week 1 Winner

With an overwhelming two-thirds of this week's vote, your pick for pic of the week 1 was...Pic #1: Balconitos, Cartagena. With it's vibrant colors and beautifully manicured balconitos, we could not have agreed with our voters more! This picture perfectly captured our romantic memories from Cartagena. 

Pic of the Week 1

This is our first installment in our Pic of the Week series. Every Friday we will post several pictures that we have taken over the week, and we want YOU, our readers, to choose your favorite. Leave a comment on the blog with your favorite pic name or number. The winner will be announced on Sunday evening!

#1: Balconitos, Cartagena

#2: Las Palanqueras, Cartagena

#3: Wayuu Mochilas, Cartagena

#4: Sunset from the Wall, Cartagena

#5:  Christmas Lights in Camellon de los Martires, Cartagena

#6: El Torre del Reloj, Cartagena

#7: Beach Sunset, Taganga

Love in the Time of Cartagena

Vibrant colors and balconitos

From the moment you arrive inside the old, walled city (amurallada) of Cartagena de las Indias, you will be enticed by it’s magical beauty.  We found ourselves strolling  from plaza to plaza through it’s narrow streets and alleys, enchanted by the vibrant colored colonial mansions with their beautiful, flower-covered balconitos(small balconies). It’s impossible not to fall in love with Cartagena with it’s history, charming beauty,  music and storytelling; you can’t help but feel romance in the air.

Catillo San Felipe de Barajas

The bay of Cartagena was paramount to Spanish control and influence in the Americas. In the beginning of the 17th century, it was one of only two places granted the right to be an African slave-trading center by the Spanish crown. All African slaves being brought to South America arrived and were sold here.

Walled city

During the colonial period, Cartagena was one of the ports from which the Spanish treasure fleets would move it’s riches from the Americas back to Spain. This quickly made it a target for invaders and pirates; the walls and the Castillo de San Felipe were built to improve the defense of the city. Despite being destroyed several times through war and pirate attacks, the city has been restored to maintain it’s colonial charm  and romance, which inspired Gabriel Garcia Marquez to write. Several of Marquez's works reference Cartagena

Las palanqueras

We found ourselves strolling atop the walls, through fortresses, galleries and, of course, stopping for some fruit from las palenqueras and a shot of coffee from the tinto vendors. At night we watched the sunset from “al Lado”(as the locals call it), a spot next to Café del Mar, then enjoyed a cheap meal and beer in one of the plazas with the sounds of salsa wafting through the air. Cartagena’s humidity can be smothering, but so was it’s charm!