MINCA – Chasing waterfalls

Day 97, 42,000 words into this travel diary and for the 4TH GODDAM TIME ON THIS TRIP, I have food poisoning. However, yesterday was incredible (until we got home last night and everything turned to porridge) so I won’t talk much about that, but instead will let you know about our day.
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We went waterfall hunting! There are 2 different main waterfalls in Minca, Marinka falls and Pozo Azul. We chose Marika falls for today’s adventure and had planned Pozo Azul for the next day (but then I got sick so it never happened)
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Marinka Falls are arguably the prettier of the two: taller and more majestic, equipped with freezing water and a couple of good pools to go for a dip. We decided to hike to this waterfall instead of getting an expensive moto taxi. It was advertised as a 1.5 hour trek but we managed it in 50 minutes so we were pretty stoked but exhausted by the time we got to the top. It costs 5000COP pp to enter as it’s private land and by the time we got there I was a drippy mess.

These falls are super popular at the weekends with locals from Santa Marta so we expected it to be busy but we arrived about 9am so it was still fairly quiet upon arrival. It’s really nice there, the first waterfall boasts the largest pool to swim in as well as freezing temps so it was mega refreshing after the hike up.
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There are a couple of restaurants and one also has a large hammock where you can take some awesome pics overlooking the first waterfall. From there we hiked up to the next one which was equally impressive but nowhere to swim. We have read that there is a third pool and waterfall but it seemed to be closed when we went so we only managed the 2. 

Lunch was again at ‘Duni’, this time I decided to try their famous chocolate bread which was unbelievable so I highly recommend it. With coffee and a fruit bowl it’s 13000COP (about $6NZD). In the afternoon it started to rain but we enjoyed chilling on our hammock when the sun did come out and I had a nap. I was exhausted…super tired. Maybe this was the start of me getting sick, who knows but today I feel bloody awful.
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Now, for dinner, because this was pretty special. We booked ‘Casa Loma’ as it apparently has the best views in town of the sunset and we were so looking forward to seeing one of the incredible sunsets over the Sierra Nevada while here. Nestled about 15minutes uphill from town is Casa Loma, a fantastic jungle hostel where you can go watch the sunset, and have a 3 course Vege dinner for 22000COP pp ($10NZD). 

The views are incredible, we highly recommend it. We flew the drone out, drank some beers, listened to live music and watched a brilliant sunset lighting up the sky with fiery colours – it was truly special. Upon arriving home, I got sick…SO, SO SICK and that’s where I am now. Hopefully by tomorrow morning I will be sweet as we have a long travel day back to Cartagena :(