A merry bunch in Minca

So this last week has been very eventful. As we have had no WiFi you will have to bear with us while we split our adventures up into a series of posts - as there is just too much to put into one alone.

We travelled from Cartagena to Santa Marta with a group of guys we met in Medellin - Morgan from NZ and Niklas and Martin from Sweden. Together we make a group, now highly skilled in the art of lighting a coal BBQ without firelighters [apparently using plastic is the Colombian way and really what is the point of eating a cheeseburger if it is not slightly carcinogenic?] This wouldn't have been possible without the help of Mi-lady, yes really, a local girl who took a shine to Niklas and took over control of the BBQ thus emasculating all the boys. We also mastered, with international diplomacy, the use of multiple hand gestures to communicate with locals.


Santa Marta itself doesn't have that much to offer so instead we used it as a base to travel out to the surrounding beauty spots including Minca and Parque Tayrona.

Minca was our first stop. After securing a local taxi we ventured over to the town, famed for its lush rainforest, secret waterfalls and top notch coffee plantations. We opted against the downhill mountain bike adventure given that the weather looked like it would turn at any minute and instead choose to hike up to the waterfall.

We arrived safely despite Mike and Morgan realising flip-flops were perhaps not the best walking attire and after getting some shots duly jumped straight in. Of course no time in any falls would be complete without the boys attempting to recreate Peter Andre's "Mysterious Girl" video.

On our way back down the heavens did indeed open, a trend that was to follow for the rest of the week with more and more spectacular thunderstorms ensuing. With this in mind we grabbed some lunch at a local restaurant and headed up in a taxi to Hacienda Victoria where we were given the tour of the coffee plantation [in Spanish which was interesting] before getting to try the stuff. Now Mike is the coffee lover in our relationship with me hating the stuff unless it is made into a cake. I have to say this coffee however, was to die for. Unfortunately you can only get it in Australia, US and Germany. Most Colombian coffee in the UK is a mix from lots of different plantations.

After our long day as intrepid explorers we headed back to the hostel for some scran only to be inducted into the shady world of 'Shitman,' a card game that Niklas informed us he played with his grandfather. That's how the Swedes roll - apparently.

Much more to tell so onto the next post ...