Tag 173: Minca

It's 7:30 a.m. I leave the house where our room is located, walk through the lush grounds of the hostel, until I arrive at the 'viewpoint'. I'm alone, it's quiet. In front of me, a green mountain landscape, thick white-gray fog drifts through the valleys, and in the distance, I see the sea. It's amazing. I am in Minca, the highest coastal mountain range in the world.

We had another beautiful day in Taganga at the same paradise beach with delicious fish, beer, and snorkeling before we headed to Minca. Ben, Sabrina, and I arrived in the small mountain town yesterday around 12 noon. As we got out of the taxi, we met Oscar from France and Bianca from Australia, two students from Medellín. They are staying in the same hostel as us. To save some money, we decided to walk to the hostel and declined the overpriced motorcycle taxis. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. Completely sweaty and exhausted, we finally arrived at the top of the mountain in our hostel after two hours. After a very delicious vegetarian meal and the incredible sunset at the viewpoint of our hostel, the ascent was forgotten.

Sabrina, Ben, Bianca, Oscar, and I sit together at breakfast and discuss our day. There is a lot to do in Minca, such as jungle, waterfalls, coffee farms, and much more. We decide on a waterfall. Sabrina, still exhausted from the previous day, decides to have a relaxed day at the hostel. Ben, Bianca, Oscar, and I set off. We hike through the dense jungle, it's still a bit foggy. After about two hours, we reach a kind of road and come across locals. We follow them. After another 20 minutes, we reach a river that disappears into several levels in the jungle. The front pool of the river is full of Colombian tourists and locals. There are hardly any other tourists next to us. We have discovered a small waterfall on a river level slightly above us. We climb along the riverbank until we reach the top of the waterfall. Ben jumps from a small rock ledge into the river pool. Oscar follows. Now I have to as well. I take a deep breath and jump after them. The water is ice-cold. I resurface and need a moment to orient myself again. It doesn't take long and the waterfall becomes a diving tower. We enjoy the time and watch the action until we decide to walk back to Minca. We hike a good distance to the next road and then get picked up by a pickup truck to take us to the village. After a long discussion and decision-making process, we finally find a restaurant where we have really good BBQ. It's about 3:30 p.m. now, Bianca and Oscar have separated from us to find a vegetarian restaurant. Ben and I decide to walk up the incredibly steep hill to the hostel. Without the heavy backpacks, we make faster progress than yesterday. We arrive at the hostel on time to shower before sunset. Sabrina is already waiting for us. Bianca and Oscar arrive shortly after us on the motorcycle taxis, and together we enjoy the evening with wine, an incredible sunset, and lots of fun.