The Magdalena province of Colombia is located on its Northern Caribbean Coast. We explored the beautiful natural attractions of Minca and Parque Nacional Tayrona from its capital Santa Marta.
Best Thing I Ate This Week
Arepa Sliders para 2 at Lulo Cafe Bar in Santa Marta
Lulo Cafe Bar is located in the heart of Santa Marta’s Historic Center on a street lined with restaurants and decorated with murals. It caught our attention for serving regional Colombian food in an innovative presentation. The restaurant has a small patio on the street that was filled when we arrived, but we were able to grab seats inside near the bar. A menu of their regular items is written out in chalk above the dining room and highlights their anojitos (snacks), arepas, and fruit smoothies. They also have a nice craft beer selection and cocktails that complement the food dishes.
We started with a ceviche de maracuya (passionfruit) which was the first time we ever tried a ceviche made with this South American fruit. It was so delicious that we asked if this was a popular dish in the region but were informed it was their own special creation. After such a tasty starter, it was going to be hard for the main to be better but the Arepa Sliders para 2 were spectacular.
Arepas are one of the most popular food items in Colombia as well as neighboring Venezuela, and we have had many during our visit to Colombia. These arepas were filled with cheese, dressed with high end ingredients, and tasted unlike any we had tried before. One arepa came topped with braised beef covered in guacamole and green sauce. The other was topped with beans, plantains, mango pico de gallo, and red sauce. Together they were an incredible combination and left us wanting to come back for more. The following day, we tried to return for lunch before our flight, but to our disappointment, they were closed. It was a delicious meal, and I will continue to think back on these arepas whenever I have them in the future.
An Interesting Fact I Learned
Colombia is the world’s 2nd most biodiverse country
While visiting the Santa Marta region, we were able to take a day trip to the town of Minca located 20 km (12.5 mi) to the south in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. As part of our visit, we went for a hike in the lush green jungle forest that is home to a diverse number of birds, animals, and plants. It was a stark contrast to the Caribbean coast that we left behind less than an hour away by car but a great example of the diverse environments found throughout Colombia. During our walk we spotted parakeets, toucans, partially translucent butterflies, bamboo trees, and so much more. After completing the hike we had a delicious lunch in town and attended a biodiversity talk to learn more about Colombian nature.
While the Amazon region of Colombia has a significant portion of the diversity of the country, the mountainous Andes, Pacific Coast, and Caribbean region all contribute to why Colombia is considered to have the most bird, amphibian, butterfly, and frog species of any country. A unique aspect of Colombia is its positioning at the top of South America which results in most birds passing through during the migration seasons throughout the year between the Americas. Although Colombia is considered the second most bio diverse country behind its significantly larger neighbor to the south Brazil, it is the most diverse country per square kilometer.
A few of the remarkable creatures that can be found throughout Colombia include a completely translucent frog, pink river dolphins, a golden poison frog (one of the most toxic on earth), and bullet ants (one of the most painful stings). While we did not encounter any of these animals during our visit, we have been amazed by the biodiversity we have seen just from visiting the Andes, exploring the Caribbean Coast, and our brief time in Minca. Knowing there is so much more to see makes us want to return in the future to see more of the natural wonder of Colombia.
My Travel Tip of the Week
It is worth it to stay overnight at Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta
Tayrona National Park is one of the main reasons that people come to visit the Magdalena region of Colombia. The combination of the white sand beaches situated on a rugged coast juxtaposed with the lush green forest make for postcard views that draw people from all over the world. Tayrona was our main motivation for visiting this region but the most challenging part was figuring out how we wanted to visit the park.
In order to reach the beaches, it takes about 2 hours hiking through an incredibly humid and hot jungle environment. There are only certain hours that a shuttle runs to the trailhead parking lot which puts a constraint on how long day trippers can stay in the park unless they want to significantly add time onto their return hike back to the main road. Another option for day trippers is to take a boat back to Taganga which also leaves at a specific time and the small boats are known to encounter rough seas on the trip. A final common option is to stay overnight in the park to have more time, but the accommodations primarily include campsites with hammocks, tents, or huts that do not have the best reviews online.
After reading conflicting recommendations online and receiving varied suggestions from locals, we decided to give camping in a tent a try at the most popular beach area, Cabo San Juan. We figured that the additional time at the park combined with the beach to ourselves after the day trippers left outweighed the reviews of poor facilities and hot tents. Upon completing the hike, we were definitely glad to have made the decision to stay overnight as we were pretty tired and the time went by quickly before day trippers had to return back. We may have gotten a little lucky as a storm came through in the evening which significantly dropped the temperature at night. The tent was spacious and nice but still incredibly hot even with the slightly cooler temperatures. If you are willing to put up with the uncomfortable sweaty temperatures in the tent, then the benefits far outweigh the cons of camping overnight in Tayrona because the experience of swimming and hanging out on the beach nearly alone in the morning was unforgettable.
My Additional Anecdote This Week
Lodging location makes a big difference on city experience, especially in Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital of the Magdalena region and regarded as a good option for people wanting to explore the surrounding area with day trips. We decided to book an accommodation in the Historic Center as many online resources recommended it as a great place for tourists. The hotel we stayed at had good reviews online and generally, when doing sufficient research on a destination, have found our accommodations contribute to an enjoyable stay.
It was true that booking in Santa Marta’s Historic Center made it very easy to navigate around the region. We were a short walk from the main market (Mercado Publico de Santa Marta) where buses depart from to go to Tayrona, a short walk from the park (Parque de Los Novios) where tour companies pick-up/drop-off, down the street from the most popular dining area in Santa Marta, and only a few blocks from the most popular tourist attractions of the city. All of this resulted in met expectations and a positive experience for our visit.
However, unlike Cartagena the entire Historic Center was not equal in Santa Marta and only a few blocks made for a completely different experience, especially after dark. On our first night in Santa Marta, while coming back from dinner in the most popular dining area, we crossed a street in the direction of our hotel and started to feel concerned that it might not be safe. Luckily, police officers nearby saw us as out of place and said that we should avoid that area after dark. They were so nice and walked us back to the hotel, then angrily told the front desk they should have told us not to walk around near the hotel after dark. We were fortunate the police looked out for us and it was a good reminder to always double check an area’s safety when planning to walk around a city, even when everything you read online or initially experience seems to indicate it is safe.
