Colombia day 5: Santa Marta and Minca.

Submitted by maria on Wed, 12/09/2018 - 19:35

After 13 hours of an endless bus ride we arrived in Santa Marta.

We traveled with the Cundinamarca company and one of the drivers is quite aggressive at the wheel, overtaking without visibility on a crowded road, although this behavior is not usual, fortunately nothing happened.

The bus leaves you at the Sur terminal, which is on the outskirts of the city, so we decided to take a taxi to our accommodation, Tamarindo apartments (all taxi journeys in Santa Marta cost 5,000 COP, regardless of the route).

 

Minca

Minca

 

The temperature change is considerable, we went from 20 degrees to 38 degrees with 90% humidity.

We left our backpacks at our accommodation, a very central apartment a few meters from the famous Parque de los Novios.

 

Minca

Minca

 

We take the clothes to a nearby laundry and decide to spend the day in Minca, a small mountain village in the Sierra Nevada that has become a great attraction for backpackers. You enjoy more pleasant temperatures than in Santa Marta and can go for walks, mountain biking, visit coffee plantations, waterfalls...

 

Minca

Minca

 

We go to the bus station located in the market to take a bus that in the end turns out to be a 4x4 and we go up to Minca. We take a walk without a clear direction and end up an hour and a half later in the Marinka reserve with two impressive waterfalls where you can swim and have a drink in hammocks suspended above the waterfalls, spectacular!

 

Waterfalls in Minca

Waterfalls Marinka Reserve

 

 

The return to Minca is done by motorcycle taxi, very exciting as the road was totally muddy.

 

Santa Marta

Santa Marta

 

On the way back to Santa Marta we do some shopping and visit the centre, all lit up, there are lots of people, live music, food stalls, restaurants, pubs ... it's full of life.

 

We have dinner at Ouzo restaurant, don´t miss out.

 

Taxi from the South Station to the center of Santa Marta: 5,000 COP.

Breakfast: 25.000 COP.

Accommodation: Apartment Tamarindo 61.600 COP 3 pax

Bus to Minca 8,000 COP per pax

Taxi to market station: 5,000 COP.

Motor waterfall Marinka to Minca 8.000 COP per pax.

Ouzo restaurant dinner: 62.824 COP.