Minca, a village in the Sierra Nevada (Colombia)

Minca is a small village with approximately 800 inhabitants, located about 15 km south of the coastal city of Santa Marta, at an altitude of 650m. I arrived by taxi and then took a moto-taxi for the last part, as my hostel was located just outside the village and not accessible by car. The scooter rattled up and down gravel roads, with me sitting on the back and my large backpack practically on the handlebars. The adventurous scooter ride cost 5000 pesos. I immediately liked my hostel, Casa Relax. It was surrounded by nature, with the sound of the river, birds chirping, and hammocks for relaxation. The village was 1km away and easily reachable by foot. Initially, I booked three nights here, but ended up extending for an additional night. It definitely won't be boring here. At least not if you love nature and enjoy hiking. The next day, I headed straight to the cocoa farm. After about 1.5 hours of uphill walking, I arrived there completely drenched in sweat. We learned how cocoa is produced - from seed to finished cocoa, so to speak. Of course, we got to taste it too :-) The hot cocoa there was the best I've ever had. We even got a cocoa facial mask at the end, and we could buy cocoa as well. Then, I set off for the Pozo Azul waterfalls. The route turned out to be very adventurous, as I didn't take the usual path through Minca, but chose a direct route from the cocoa farm. After just a few meters downhill, I reached a gate. I passed through, but then a donkey came running towards me. A little further on, there were two mules standing in the middle of the road. I cautiously passed by them. After some time downhill, the path was narrow and sometimes I wondered if it was the right one. I didn't encounter any people. Eventually, I passed by a house where locals lived. The path basically went right across their terrace. Then, I continued on, crossing small streams, stepping on stones and dried leaves. Sometimes, I heard rustling in the leaves. I hoped it was only lizards and not snakes. Eventually, I reached a river with a shaky-looking bridge. Initially, I decided to walk along the stones along the side of the river, as I wasn't sure which direction was the right one. Unfortunately, I fell in. Luckily, it wasn't too deep, but my hiking shoes got soaked. Thankfully, it was hot, but I was also hungry and in a bad mood. I walked along the other side of the river and had no idea where it would lead me. I didn't want to walk all the way back either. Eventually, I came to a barrier, and on the other side was a path - the normal path from the village to the Pozo Azul waterfalls. So, I walked the remaining distance to the waterfall. It was anything but impressive: small, ice-cold water, and crowded. After five minutes, I took a moto-taxi back to the village. The next day, I had to get up early because I had signed up for a birdwatching tour that started at 6 a.m. Equipped with binoculars and accompanied by Jungle Joe, an experienced bird expert, we set off. Colombia has the greatest diversity of birds and the Minca area is popular among ornithologists. In fact, we were able to see some beautiful birds with our binoculars. After that, I went to the Marinka waterfalls. Another highlight was my 8km hike to Casa Elemento, a hostel with a giant hammock and a breathtaking view. However, I returned by moto-taxi.