Heaven is a Place on Earth

Thank you Belinda Carlisle!

I was chatting to a guy who works in Taganga one evening and asking him what he thought of Minca, a small town in the mountains outside of Santa Marta.  He got very excited and told me I had to go because his favourite place in the world was there.  Now, that's a big claim by anyone's standards and it got me very interested.  He told me about a small unadvertised hostel in the mountains, he got so excited he got his laptop out to show me pictures ... I was pretty convinced by it being his favourite place but after seeing pictures I was sold.  The pictures showed paradise, heaven, a magical place and there was no way I was missing out.  So, with a map drawn on the back of a receipt I planned my trip to Minca.


I had a few hurdles to conquer first; my first bout of food poisoning in 8 and a half months, then my first taxi break down which included my first taxi towing, south american style (as dangerous as it sounds!) followed by the mother of all thunder storms!  (I don't think that it was a coincidence that it was also Friday 13th!)  By the time I reached Minca I was starting to wonder whether anywhere could be worth it.  But I had one of my moments of sheer  determination, so hand drawn map in hand I set off up a muddy hill and eventually reached Oscar's.  A beautiful house on a ridge in the lush mountains of the Sierra Nevada.  It was everything that had been described to me and more.  The scenery is so spectacular it is almost overwhelming.  It takes your breath away.  Oscar's is one of the places that I've been to on this trip that reminds me why packing up my life as I knew it was totally worth while!

The view from the bathroom!

But it wasn't just the scenery, Oscar has created the most perfect places to appreciate the mountain from... my bedroom for example...

Sunk into the ground on the ridge, I went to bed gazing at the lights of nearby Santa Marta and woke up to the sound of the birds and the sun coming up over the mountains.  I'm serious!  I'm not poetic enough to make this up!


Day and night, this place was beautiful.  Vibrant colours during the day and some of the most beautiful sunsets that I have ever seen at night.

View from the dining table

And it's no surprise that the area around Oscar's was equally beautiful.  I was able to explore it on Mule-back!  Oscar took me out on a mule to the top of one of the nearby mountains to get an even better view of the area and to see the sun setting.

And there are waterfalls and natural swimming pools only an hours walk away.

Dragonfly out in the sun!

 Not surprisingly I stayed here longer than I should have done as well!  But once my bliss levels were fully topped up is was time to hit the road again and see what other heavenly places Colombia has to offer.

Life's a Beach

Having had a taste of the beaches on the Colombian coast I headed east for more fun in the sun!


I went to Taganga as I'd heard it's nothing more than a small fishing village which sounded like the perfect place for me.  

The local fish shop!

There's not much going on in Taganga, lots of gringos though so good for a party!  But the real draw is the National Park Tayrona... a national park and place of beauty right on the coast and that means beautiful beaches!

But first there's a 2 hour walk through some beautiful jungle.

And then you get your first taste of star attraction...

And you keep walking and the views get more spectacular!

Finally we stopped at this beach.

Tayrona is beautiful!  As soon as I arrived I knew I would be staying for longer than I had originally planned.  So, I booked myself a hammock and got very comfortable!

Dorm for a few nights.

There's nothing to do on Tayrona apart from relax.  We spent the days soaking up the view, swimming in the clear, turquoise waters and the evenings watching the sunsets with a beer, eating fish for dinner and recovering from such tough days with an early night in a hammock!

Hello Caribbean Coast!

My next destination had to be somewhere amazing to make sure I didn’t go into a complete decline after being in Cali!  So, to the beach it was!

Cartagena is the first stop .  It’s hot and it’s humid … lucky it’s also beautiful otherwise I don’t think I’d cope!

The man himself ... Bolivar!

After the intensive sight seeing, I went to one of the more obscure sights of Cartagena ... Volcan de Lodo el Totumo.  A fraction of the size of the last volcano I saw, Cotopaxi, but equally impressive because instead of potentially spewing lava and ash, when this volcano erupts is spews mud!

So you arrive at the volcano, climb up to the top and then climb in to bathe in the volcanic mud!  It's the oddest sensation, just floating in a crater of mud.  It's like a crazy zero gravity experience as you can't sink past a certain point but nor can you move exactly as you wish!  And in the back of your mind is the knowledge that you have no idea how deep this volcano goes because you  sure as hell can't touch the bottom.

Not only is it lots of fun to squelch about in ... it's good for the skin too!

And after the mud therapy came caribbean beach therapy!  A day at Playa Blanca was the perfect place to take my first dip in the caribbean; beautiful, warm, turquoise waters and white sands ... it's a tough life!

I Hate Goodbyes!

 The last month of my trip seems to have been filled with goodbyes which I’ve never been very good at.  Goodbye to Lucy, goodbye to Cali, goodbye to my parents … and then I went and made things harder for myself by going back to Cali and loving the city, the dancing and the people all over again … only to say goodbye once more!  It’s very traumatic!

Being in Cali again was amazing.  It was great to be somewhere that I know, so unusual when travelling.  But not only did I know the best places to eat, the best place for Lulo juice, I also know the best people there.  

Home in Jovitas

I love Lulo!

They’ve shown me the best that Cali has to offer, taken me on the best nights out, taught me to salsa and ensured that I was always having fun.  Any wonder I couldn’t resist going back?  Any wonder I hated to leave?