Cuidad Perdida, Colombia: Lost City Trek

I don't have the time or patience to do this amazing experience complete justice.. for now I'll post a brief summary and some favorite pics....

One of the best experiences of my life! We did the 3 night/4 day trek through Magic Tours Taganga (highly recommended, they were excellent). 16 hikers total in our group, all about our age, from all over the world. All of the websites and tour operators recommend the longer trek, but this itinerary was perfect for me and not nearly as hard as I anticipated from reading blogs. (I'm a marathon runner so I consider myself in decent shape, and the entire thing was only 30 miles total. The hardest part was probably just the heat/humidity, and carrying a pack took a little getting used to). I would rate the difficulty at light-moderate, definitely had plenty of down time to relax/swim in the river and play cards while the guides prepared our food. (Which, by the way, was delicious). We did the trek in mid-January so the rivers were pretty low.  I got more bug bites in the coastal area than I did on this trip. Everyone says that this trek is all about the journey, not the destination - which I partially agree with, although I was very impressed with the Lost City itself too! Biggest highlights for me: jumping off cliffs into secluded pools surrounded by waterfalls and lush jungle vegetation, incredible 360 degree views and changing scenery throughout every turn of the hike, and an evening symphony of jungle sounds in a field of fireflies and glow-in-the-dark frogs! We lucked out with our trek group and our guide Saul, who was fantastic. If you go to northern Colombia, this trek is a must-do!

 

 

 

Playa Costeño, Colombia

Playa Costeño was hands down one of my favorite spots of our January Colombia trip. Looking for a beautiful and secluded beach area near Santa Marta? Look no further...

Highlights: swimming (but be careful, strong rip tide here), attempting to surf (got our #*$@! kicked), lounging in a hammock with a good book, beach volleyball, beach walks, decent hostel food, and plenty of cerveza and good company! Only here for two nights, could have probably spent a few more here... Because our group was large and the hostel was full, they accommodated us with sleeping arrangements in the skateboarding halfpipe! Definitely a unique, relaxing and very memorable stay!

  

Buritaca river meets the ocean

Buritaca river

normal sleeping arrangements...

they made room for us in the half pipe!

Minca, Colombia

church in center of Minca

A quaint little community nestled 40 minutes into La Sierra Nevada above bustling Santa Marta, this place was a great getaway for a few days after our Lost City trek and a nice escape from the heat. We stayed at Casa Loma Minca in a treehouse - most people reviewed the hostel poorly due to its location requiring about 5 minutes of stair climbing from the center of town (really, people?!), but I loved it!

Sunset views, hikes to nearby waterfalls and coffee plantations, good food, and a nice trail run accompanied by new friend Barney from the UK and a random stray dog rounded out our 1.5 days here. I highly recommend La Victoria Coffee Plantation (a little over an hours walk from Minca, or a short moto ride); we took the tour which still boasts original British machinery from the 1800's, a community fare-wage approach to labor including housing/medical care/childcare/education support for employees, door to door direct fair-trade methods of delivery, bottomless coffee refills (some of the best I've ever had!), and a very candid conversation with the plantation owner, Micky, who is from Germany. Micky had animated stories about bringing up tourism and the coffee industry despite local paramilitary threats over cocaine land (now not an issue) and is very passionate about eliminating the middle man and getting his quality coffee directly to the consumer.

patio view from our hostel

mosquito nets and tree houses

Casa Loma Minca

the grounds - Finca La Victoria

don't miss their delicious breakfast, brownies and coffee!

Finca La Victoria

Finca La Victoria coffee plantation

guided tour inside La Victoria coffee plantation

Finca La Victoria

with Micky, plantation owner

sunset view from our hostel

new friends Barney and Lucy

Taganga & Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Having arrived to Colombia with virtually no planning or booking, we found out quickly that not only was it "high season," but our January arrival also coincided with both a music festival and a culinary festival, plus a local long holiday weekend. Being a group of 7, it was challenging to find a place to sleep on the fly...

Taganga, Colombia

From Cartagena we headed to Taganga, a small fishing town that's recently marked on the tourist map for it's cheap scuba diving and good night life, and proximity to Tayrona Park with more charm than nearby Santa Marta. As the sun was setting and we wandered with our packs on, we discovered that nobody had even one bed to sleep in for the night. Luckily, my 6 foot plus blonde German friend Eva befriended a local expat who offered to let us sleep in his son's beautiful 3 story home. Highlights of Taganga: trail run to nearby beaches, fresh fish and lounging on the balcony with sunset views!

Balcony view, Taganga, Colombia

Lucky lodging in Taganga

The following day we did a day trip to Tayrona Park, which offers a hiking trail to several small beaches. Although crowded, it was spectacular scenery! Half of the beaches were forbidden to swim in. I regretted that we did not camp overnight there because though we had enough time to see all the beaches, we didn't have much time to lay around and relax. Instead of hiking out in the dark, we took a boat back to the port of Taganga which was a wet, bumpy and beautiful starlit ride.

Playa Cañaveral, Parque Tayrona, Colombia

2nd beach, Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Playa Arrecifes, Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Jules at La Piscina, Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Playa Cabo San Juan, Parque Tayrona, Colombia

Playa Brava, Parque Tayrona, Colombia

On our way back to Cartagena ten days later, we also did a day trip to Playa Bahia Concha, which was a relaxing spot in the western part of Parque Tayrona, but not quite as exciting as the other side of the park. May have been that we were chased halfway down the beach by a growing swarm of wasps that wanted our lunch...

Playa Bahia Concha, Colombia

But really, how can you not be happy in a paradise like this?!

Playa Arrecifes, Parque Tayrona, Colombia