Friday, October 21, 2016

Minca - Coffee in the mountains

Mist rising over the mountains in Minca

Minca is a small village about 30 minutes from Santa Marta. It is famous for its coffee and beautiful mountain scenery. Sadly, on the day I went it rained heavily for most of the morning, so I was forced to enjoy it's coffee from a café rather than the coffee farm.

Lots of rain and lots of coffee while waiting

By the time the rain had stopped, I lacked sufficient time to go to the lookout or the coffee farm so I decided to walk up to the local swimming hole - Pozo Azul.

The walk is basically up one of the few roads in Minca until you reach the well marked turnoff to Pozo Azul.

From the end of this road there is a short trail until you reach the river.

a fairly rickety bridge over the river

As there had been a lot of rain the pool wasn't particularly 'Azul' (blue) and the river was more a torrent.

More brown than blue

The swollen river

On the way back from Pozo Azul, I discovered a sign for a 'nature trail', so having an hour or so to spare, I decided to investigate.

The trail

The 30 minute round trip is well marked but steep and slippery. It takes you up into the jungle for views over the valley.

Halfway up the trail

View from the top

Descending the trail

As the light was beginning to fade, I had to hurry back to the main road - just in time to see the sun set over Santa Marta in the distance.

Sunset over Santa Marta from the top of the road

Santa Marta from Minca


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