Minca, Colombia

The village of Minca is located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated mountain range less than 30 miles (50 km) from the coast. The village is a popular destination for backpacker tourists, the surrounding area a biosphere reserve with great hiking and natural scenery.

I caught a bus at Santa Marta’s municipal market for the 30-minute uphill ride on the winding road to Minca.  To get to my lodgings at the isolated Colores de la Sierra eco hotel, I had to take a motorcycle taxi (known locally as a “mototaxi”) another 3 miles (5 km) uphill on a mostly dirt, often rutted road. It was a slow, bumpy trip and the passenger foot pegs were set for someone a foot shorter than me. By the time I arrived at Colores, I was sweaty, dusty and my hips were aching what it took to stay on the bike.

Colores de la Sierra is a beautiful place. It has dorms, private rooms, a comfortable lodge and a decent restaurant. It is located on a large property with beautiful views and trails leading to a small swimming pool and to overlooks with shaded hammocks.  You are surrounded by the sounds of the jungle, all day and all night, the buzzing of cicadas sometimes deafening. I really enjoyed the two nights I spent there.

You can hike a circuit through the mountains around Minca. It’s about a 15 mile (25 km) hike along hilly dirt roads that pass by viewpoints, coffee farms, waterfalls, mountain streams and through the village of Minca. I did the hike by myself and most of the time was walking in peaceful solitude.

About a third of the way into my hike, I had to peel off the main dirt road and onto a much smaller one to stay on the correct route. I climbed up a steep hill and into an area densely vegetated with jungle trees and bamboo. I was walking along, enjoying the scenery when two soldiers in full battle dress carrying M16’s popped out from the jungle onto the road right in front of me. Quite a surprise! I had read somewhere that paramilitary units were still operating in this region of the country and was initially a bit concerned.  I smiled and greeted them with “buenos días”, a greeting with was returned with a reciprocating smile from one of the young soldiers. The other one had his nose in his phone, doing Instagram or something, and ignored me. My brief worry about being taken hostage by jungle guerillas evaporated. I will confess that along with the relief when potential danger resolves itself like this, I also feel a little disappointment, like I’ve missed out on an adventure.

The day was sunny and quite warm, but not hot. I walked along the road, rousting up the fine, silty dust which coated my sweaty lower legs. The road wound through the lush green forest, up and down hills, across a few small streams. The Minaka waterfalls were my planned rest stop and it seemed to take a long time to get there, just beyond the halfway point of my circuit. By the time I got there, I was hot, sweaty, dusty, thirsty and hungry. The falls took care of all of these with a cold beer, a light lunch and a cool swim.

After my brief R&R at the falls, I got back on the trail and an hour or so later I was trudging into Minca. I enjoyed an iced coffee there but was glad I decided not to stay in town. It was crowded with tourists and noisy. As I stood in the middle of town trying to figure out which road led back to my hotel, I had the sensation that something was stinging my ankles. I looked down and my ankles and lower shins and calves were covered in little red dots. Hmmmm…I rubbed the red dots and they smeared…blood. I looked more closely, and dozens of little black gnats were feasting on me. I brushed them all off and started walking again. These gnat bites would drive me crazy with itching for the next week and a half. Another reason not to stay in Minca.

I trudged up the hill in the evening light, quite tired after a solid seven hours of fairly strenuous walking. I took a shower, had a beer, and followed it with a nice dinner with a glass of wine at the lodge, as the jungle cooled down and sang its songs.