Colombia - Cartagena, Minca and Tayrona National Park

Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena is the number one tourist destination in Colombia. The city - especially its colonial core - is beautiful and has long been a UNESCO World Heritage site. In addition, it is located right on the Caribbean coast. Accordingly, it is hot - incredibly hot - here. I move only at a snail's pace and only when absolutely necessary. The historic center is fortunately not too big. You can walk to all the main stops in the narrow streets, mostly in the shade. We stayed in the neighboring, trendy Getsemani, with its highlight being Plaza de la Trinidad. We sit there almost every evening and watch the colorful hustle and bustle. Michael Jackson, artists, magicians, dancers and many others take turns performing to earn a small donation from the local and tourist audience. We are approached every minute by street vendors who want to sell homemade food, cigarettes, beer, hats, souvenirs or sweets. Others just ask for money directly. And that was pretty annoying overall and it was the same throughout the city. A simple 'no' was not enough, 'no thanks' did not work any better. Ignoring them works to some extent, but it is exhausting, and saying that you will buy everything is also pointless. As soon as it gets dark, you are whispered 'Cocaina? ' at every corner. That annoyed me a lot. Also, all the restaurants, cafes, and juice bars want you to come to them. It wasn't that pushy even in Cusco. The city is pretty much the most impressive colonial beauty you can imagine right by the sea. But with all these tourist accompaniments, I could only enjoy it to a limited extent. In addition, we were there for Christmas and New Year, which made everything twice as expensive and crowded.

The history of Cartagena, on the other hand, is very interesting. For the Spaniards, it was of great strategic importance and the most important port on the Caribbean coast for the exchange of goods between continents. The location is very favorable. With a strong wall directly on the coast, one could already defend oneself against simple attacks, at least preventing a landing. However, the adjacent bay remained a weak point, which is why the entrance to the bay was reinforced and the 'Castillo de San Felipe' fort was built on the nearby hill. Pirates, Frenchmen or Englishmen attacked over the years to capture or rob the rich and strategically important city. Gold, which was brought in from the entire continent, was always there to be taken. That is why the fort was continuously strengthened and expanded over the years until it became the largest outside of Spain. In the nicely made video during the visit to the castle, you can hear such great sentences as: 'It was only thanks to this fortress that the English did not conquer us. Otherwise, we would all be speaking English now'. Almost unimaginable! And then they would have been oppressed by the English and not still by the Spaniards. That would have been much worse of course... The fortress with all the cannons was definitely impressive.

We didn't explore the beaches of Cartagena further, as we wanted to go to Tayrona National Park, where some of the most beautiful Caribbean beaches can be found. After our Christmas dinner, we set off towards Minca the next day. We returned a week later for New Year's Eve.

Minca

This small village near Santa Marta at the edge of Los Nevados National Park is the northern border of the Coffee Triangle and a popular retreat from the hot Caribbean coast. Just a few kilometers away from the coast, there are snow-covered mountains in the national park. That's quite unusual. But we don't want to go that high again. Minca itself is only at about 650 meters, our first hostel is a bit outside and even higher. It therefore has a great view of the sea and Santa Marta. The journey from Cartagena was pretty chaotic and time-consuming. We covered the last stretch with a 30-minute mototaxi ride up the mountain. But the evening was pleasantly calm, the food (a delicious goulash) was great, and it was pleasantly cool to sleep. Minca's surroundings have a lot to offer. Waterfalls and natural pools, hikes, viewpoints, mountain biking, and of course coffee farms. Since we had mostly been hanging around and indulging in good food in the past few days, we felt like going for a long hike again. So, we did. First, it went steeply uphill to the viewpoint and then slowly downhill to Minca. We had the whole day and passed the coffee farm and the natural pool with waterfall before ending the evening in another beautiful hostel in Minca.

Eva had already been there 5 years ago. At that time it was the only accommodation in town! Meanwhile, hostels and hotels can be found on every corner, and a lot of construction has been going on as well. The development is incredibly fast and a bit alarming as well. But it is still not overly touristy. Even in high season, we didn't feel like everything was overrun. Since we had already seen the main highlights on the first day of our tight schedule, we took it easy in the morning, had breakfast, and went back to Santa Marta and directly to Tayrona National Park.

And on January 2nd, Eva's departure was scheduled. We managed to spend almost 4 weeks together - with some ups, downs, and many discussions. I had to get used to such a fast travel pace again and to the fact that I can't make all the decisions on my own. I was glad to not be alone and that we managed to meet on another continent to travel together. Thank you very much, Eva! Some things are definitely easier and more interesting when traveling together. However, you have to be willing to accept that you are constantly being analyzed and criticized. 😉 I said goodbye to Eva at the airport with one last cocktail. Have a safe journey and see you soon! The next few days I will take it easy.

On January 2nd, Eva's departure was scheduled. We managed to spend almost 4 weeks together - with some ups, downs, and many discussions. I had to get used to such a fast travel pace again and to the fact that I can't make all the decisions on my own. I was glad to not be alone and that we managed to meet on another continent to travel together. Thank you very much, Eva! Some things are definitely easier and more interesting when traveling together. However, you have to be willing to accept that you are constantly being analyzed and criticized. 😉 I said goodbye to Eva at the airport with one last cocktail. Have a safe journey and see you soon! The next few days I will take it easy.

And on January 2nd, Eva's departure was scheduled. We managed to spend almost 4 weeks together - with some ups, downs, and many discussions. I had to get used to such a fast travel pace again and to the fact that I can't make all the decisions on my own. I was glad to not be alone and that we managed to meet on another continent to travel together. Thank you very much, Eva! Some things are definitely easier and more interesting when traveling together. However, you have to be willing to accept that you are constantly being analyzed and criticized. 😉 I said goodbye to Eva at the airport with one last cocktail. Have a safe journey and see you soon! The next few days I will take it easy.

And on January 2nd, Eva's departure was scheduled. We managed to spend almost 4 weeks together - with some ups, downs, and many discussions. I had to get used to such a fast travel pace again and to the fact that I can't make all the decisions on my own. I was glad to not be alone and that we managed to meet on another continent to travel together. Thank you very much, Eva! Some things are definitely easier and more interesting when traveling together. However, you have to be willing to accept that you are constantly being analyzed and criticized. 😉 I said goodbye to Eva at the airport with one last cocktail. Have a safe journey and see you soon! The next few days I will take it easy.

Post by 24 - Colonial Caribbean Gem Cartagena and the natural paradises around Minca and Tayrona National Park.