Feeling as lazy as the leaves that drift, sail, meander through the humid sunshine into the cerulean pool. A young lady tries her skills on the purple silk ribbons hanging from the giant tree covered in moss and bromeliads. Laughing, she falls into the pool with a splash. Hung over tattooed guests share their nightly escapades at the bar in quiet conversations. Tropical birds chirp, warble and gibber in the dense foliage. We’ve made it to Minca.
Yes, we’re surrounded by coffee and chocolate plantations with sweeping mountain views but who can resist playing on a swing or relaxing in a giant net over the river?
We forced ourselves to climb out of the hammocks and rent a scooter to explore. The tropical canopy above is full of exotic birds and we stopped often on The Big Loop Tour to search for them. The Big Loop is an all day route that takes you to Pozo Azul waterfalls, Los Pinos viewpoint, coffee and chocolate tours, and Marinka waterfalls.
Travel Tip: the roads around Minca are rough and more like hiking trails than roads. Luckily Ian has lots of practice from our travels so although some areas were hair raising we didn’t crash. Most tourists either hire motorcycle taxis or hike this area.
Travel Tip: Minca is lush, dense, tropical. BRING BUG SPRAY.
And now, Ian’s Take:
Aaahh, the bliss of travel. The wind in your hair on the fast boat to las playas. Dipping in the pool of an exotic waterfall. Or trying tantalizing new foods as you watch the sun sink in the sky. But it’s not perfect bliss. In the last 48 hours I had serious food poisoning, gotten eaten alive by bugs, and white knuckled our way through a 4 hour dirt track on a tiny scooter. So three lessons I knew previously but just got reminded of.
#1 When traveling, try and eat at busy restaurants. The food is fresh with the constant turnover and obviously tasty. In my case we did eat at a busy restaurant. Ocean did not share much of my food so she was ok. Bad luck of the draw for me though.
#2 I heard there might be some bitey bugs here in Minca. Now we don’t like to wear bug spray unless necessary. We arrived at Rio Elemento Eco-hostel and after check in, went to check out the pool, river, and giant hammocks. Meanwhile tiny gnats unknowingly bit us to pieces in like 20 minutes. You can’t feel the bite but 12 hours later you’re like a cat in heat rubbing your body against any stationary object while trying to avoid straight up digging your own claws into your flesh. I could barely sleep. Douse yourself in bug spray. Cuz ya gonna get bit!
#3 Get the better bike. After my sleepless night with food poisoning, I felt barely well enough try the 4 hour loop around Minca on motorbike. Now I have ridden manual motorcycles all over SE Asia but due to my shakey condition and since it had been a couple years, I wanted a mindless automatic scooter. They said we could do the loop ‘no problemo’. Now imagine two grown people riding a miniature horse up a cliff. No suspension with wheels the size of dinner plates. I spent the next 4 hours trying not to kill us. Next time man up and get the motorcycle. Even though the last 48 hours have been sleepless and a little hellish, the exotic foods, majestic waterfalls, and wind in my hair make it all worth it. Bring on the next round! Ciao!
