Colombian coast: Minca, Tayrona, Costeño

okay so we all know i’m obsessed with cartagena. so what else you got, colombia?!

anyone who has ever heard anyone talk about their trip to colombia knows the answer to that: a lot. this country is so diverse. it has everything, and like hyper amazing versions of everything.

i had checked off my adorable colonial town, hostel on the water, and slightly violating mud volcano, so next i set off for some jungles, beaches, and jungles on the beach.

Minca

took a 4.5 hr shuttle from cartagena (through baranquillo!!!! shakira’s hometown!!!! waka waka came on on my playlist!!!!) to santa marta. then caught a collectivo (shared taxi) for $9k pesos up to minca, which honestly i barely knew anything about. don’t forget i have done V minimal research on colombia cause i already knew i was gonna love it so why did i need to research??

1 windy hour later arrived in minca, an adorable teeny town nestled into the jungle-covered hills. my destination: the biggest (and most instagrammable) hammock in the world. casa elemento.

tbh this hostel is not that nice. the upstairs dorm rooms are gross (if you go DEFS get the downstairs dorm omg i loved sunrise here and had the room all to myself) and it could just use some upkeep ya know? but the hammocks are pretty cool, the view is STUNNING, and i had such a fun night dancing with nina and bonding with gabby, 2 venezualan chicas who work there.

ok wait let me back up because the road to casa elemento may take 10 years off your life, so you need to decide if the insta is worth it. we caught a jeep (3 of us for $90k pesos) so my life didnt flash before my eyes, but we did get v stuck in the mud about 4 times and there were 2 colombian children basically sitting/sleeping on my lap, which at first was endearing but an hour later on that “road” i was quite over it. most people take motos up and to that i say may the odds be ever in your favour.

next day we hiked 1.5 hrs down to cascada de marinka, a beautiful and muy fuerte waterfall. the views were beautiful and i think it was my fave waterfall ever. i was with arnoud and nick from the netherlands, arianna from dc and jess and emma from london. it was so lovely.

minca also has a bunch more waterfalls, coffee farm tours, bird watching, etc so lots to do and see but i am in turbo travel mode so i peaced out to Santa Marta!

side note

from Dreamer Hostel in Mamatoco (right outside Santa Marta), i hopped on the public bus for 1 hour to Tayrona National Park.

i keep having these local experiences that are so interesting. went to the supermarket, waited in line for 2 atms for like an hour, and plenty of busses where i am the only non local. i’ve noticed a few things (and a few more which i will share later):

they never have change. you could be the 10th customer, hand them a $50k and they look at you incredulously asking if you have smaller bills. i always say no and they ask around to eventually get the change.
someone is always selling you something. cartagena is v bad for this: AGUAAGUAAGUACERVEZAAGUA is being yelled at you as you walk down the street. kids are walking into the bus ticket shop trying to sell you chocolate bars, a vendor comes up to sell sunglasses to 6 of us who are all currently wearing sunglasses. he lingers and asks 2 more times. someone hops on the public bus to sell fresh cheese bread things “POLLO QUESO POLLO QUESO” and hops off at the next stop. he makes like 5 sales — i think that’s savvy business sense.

Tayrona

as i write this i am IN tayrona national park, taking a pitstop on my trek back to the entrance because it’s raining.

yesterday when i arrived at the park, paid the entrance ($53.5k) insurance ($7k and hammock ($40k) fees, i saw 3 nice guys from the netherlands and invited myself to tag along on their hike. i just couldn’t be bothered to make friends at my hostel the night before. sometimes being a solo traveller is socially exhausting.

the walk is STUNNING. it’s about 2.5 sweaty humid hours of trekking through jungle, huge round boulders, palm trees, and beautiful rugged beaches. you pass like 4 beaches on the way, we stopped to swim at La Piscina, and then arrived at our final destination Cabo San Juan. this was where i spent the night. it’s SUPER touristy, with a restaurant, gross bathrooms, no wifi. accom options are hammocks arriba (at the top) in a hut above the ocean ($50k), but no mosquito nets, and also tents ($40k) and hammocks abajo ($40k). the lower hammocks are PACKED like sardines but i got one right at the front so had some breathing room, and i picked this hammock because it had a cubby i could lock up my stuff in. right before bed i saw a giant cockroach in that cubby so relocated my stuff to a new one but we don’t need to talk about that.

my experience was quite hectic cause i think there were some colombian boys soccer teams staying there and it was, well, a lot, but i actually got a decent sleep - went to bed at 8:30 and woke up at 5:30 with a couple wake ups in between! i’m pretty good at sleeping on this trip cause i am ALWAYS EXHAUSTED. i can imagine on normal days the park will clear out of all the tourists when it closes at 5, and it would be quite peaceful to sleep there. but i would recommend staying at one of the other beaches instead.

now i’m walking on the trek back, it’s raining, horse poop and mud everywhere, i’ve been barefoot or in flip flops for most of it, definitely not my most glamorous 24 hours but i am definitely appreciating how cool this is, and how 2-years-ago-me WOULD. HAVE. NEVER.

Costeño Beach

caught a moto 10 mins down the road ($8k) to costeño beach, which is literally fricken paradise. it reminds me of el paredon, but the sand is not black so you can walk on it, and there are not a million sandflies out to destroy you. costeño beach hostel (another amazing reco by juan) is AMAZING — chill vibes, gorgeous property, set on this perfect beach. i chilled so hard in the hammock and it was exactly what i needed after sleeping in.. a hammock.

the owner brian is canadian, and made my whole week by upgrading me to a private suite in exchange for some consulting on their social media (follow them! @costenobeachhostel). after a couple shit sleeps, i can’t tell you how amazing it is to have a queen bed in my own room. BLESSED. i ended up staying an extra night here and taxiing to the airport in the morning, just chillin on a hammock, chatting with new friends, yoga, salsa at los hermanos next door, just soaked in the viiibbbbeessss. would defs recommend this place!!

NOW it’s time to head INLAND AND I AM SO EXCITED FOR WHAT’S NEXT!!!!!!

the most clutch, delicious, fresh, cold oj ever at tayrona

where i spent 99.9999% of my time at costeno beach