I: incredible views from hammocks
N: natural pool just for us
C: Cacaw saved the day
A: American interference
Part I
Heading out to Minca ended up being quite easy but uncomfortable, taking a taxi collectivo (more people than seats in a stuffy jeep) for about 45 mins up the green hills behind Santa Marta.
First things first, some coffee and maybe wifi in a café downtown! Also to wash down the first bad impression, there was lots of construction and dirt where we got off the taxi, I gotta admit I was a little disappointed since we had hoped to find a natural retreat. The café had no wifi (broken) BUT we spoiled ourselves with coffee and some maracuja flavoured cheesecake and really enjoyed the green terrace at the 'Lazy Cat'! A real treat!
Part II
Since we'd been recommended to stay at Oscar's Hostel, not even the 20 min walk the moto-taxi drivers warned us about could stop us. As usual it took several questionings to find the way but not even 15 min to reach the little paradise Oscar has created. His hostel is on a hillside overlooking Santa Marta, full of fruit trees, has a little fish pond and lazy dogs to cuddle.
We chose the hammocks with the best view, right on the edge, no mosquitos at night and not much noise from the house - but that's only important at American interferences (see part V).
Part III
It wasn't that much cooler in Minca than at the coast, maybe 27 instead of 33°C, so Catha and I headed out into the rich green hills to cool off in a natural water pool. It was less than an hour walk from town, passing by a friendly Colombian couple selling jugos (fresh juices) and locally-made food products. The guy recommend going to the lesser known 'pozo verde', hidden after the entrance of an hacienda. In the way there we saw mango trees which must have held at least a ton of fruit, were joined by a dog and eventually reached a beautiful river with enough space to swim in. There was no one else and we felt lucky to have the spot all to ourselves, took a fresh dip in the water and a sunbath on the rocks to dry off. The dog came up to us, put his snout on our shoulders and relaxed with us.
After all Catha and I decided to take a look at the other pool, pozo azul, which was so not worth it! A long and bumpy walk interrupted by mopeds honking and overtaking, and a river totally crowded with people and the worst arepas we have had so far. You can imagine how proud we felt that we had found a much nicer and and more tranquil place before! Every now and then there's still a non-tourist spot to discover!
Part IV
On the way back from the pools to Minca, we encountered the Colombian couple again and bought coffee, jam, and little presents, drank another jugo and had another nice talk with Cacaw and his wife. He gave us some pure cacao butter as a present and we thanked him for saving our day. Just another example of the Colombian friendliness, despite being involved with tourists!
Part V
The second and final night at Oscar's was really social, we hung out with another German girl, two Swiss guys and an Austrian. We had lots of fun just talking and playing music together, also thanks to Oscar's generosity of sharing his plants with us! It was a warm night and the city lights of Santa Marta were glowing in the back, when suddenly a stampede of 14 Americans rolled over the place, said hello and their names, went on to take a group picture in front of the view before we could tell our names and then disappeared back to the house. We exchanged a bemused look and continued or private party. Little did the others know that they wouldn't get much sleep that night, because the new group had set up their own party at the house. Catha and I slept very well, though, swaying in the hammocks with a soft night breeze in our face, peacefully dreaming of our next adventure - or so they say.
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