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Back to Colombia. Getting our rental car turned into an ordeal not to be repeated. After finally getting out of Cartagena we needed to get through the large seaside city of Barranquilla. The biggest and most well-attended holiday of the year, Carnival ending on Mardi Gras, is celebrated there. Even though it was winding down there were still plenty of celebrants about. We had no choice but to drive through it on our way to the quaint and touristy town of Minca. (There is no by-pass.) Hopelessly lost again, I asked an older man sitting in his yard for directions. I gave up trying to understand him, my Spanish is so rudimentary, so he offered to ride with us and direct us out of town. Thank goodness, there was so much traffic and construction going on we might still be driving in circles. We gave him $20 dollars to have dinner with friends and a taxi back to his house. He was thrilled and we were finding the Colombian people to be very helpful.

The coastal highway, except for some swampy areas, runs through very dry scrub with a few sad little towns along the way. Low scrubby hills rise to the south. Unless it’s the rainy season, this northern coast is very brown and dry. Drive just a short way into the mountains, however, and the landscape greens considerably.

We found our hotel up a very rutted and bumpy dirt road. It’s a delightful family owned operation with breakfast included in the modest price! A trail leads down to the river with a waterfall and swimming holes available. Very refreshing on a hot day. The town of Minca has tourist amenities lacking in many of the interior towns. Motorcycle guides take tourists up to the various scenic areas. We had our car which made getting around much easier…according to some walkers we offered rides, the motorcycle taxis are kidney jarring affairs not to be remembered fondly.

From the several balconies, lots of exotic (to us) birds can be observed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well as some exotic insects. Ones we were familiar with…but much bigger and noisier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driving further into the mountains we found a colony of Crested Oropendolas. Related to our much smaller orioles, they build huge hanging basket nests. A video is attached at the end of this post so you can hear their weird vocalizations.

 

At the same overlook is a huge mango tree. While we were ogling the Oropendolas, a young man came to harvest mangoes. They make juice from green mangoes although I prefer ripe ones. Looking beyond him, you can see how mountainous it is. He scaled the tall mango tree in seconds and then went to work.

 

 

Tore ourselves away from Minca because I was so clever and made reservations ahead for the next several days. Boy, was that stupid. We really had no idea how long it takes to get anywhere in Colombia. We drove 9 harrowing hours to get to our hotel in Ocaña, which turned out to be many hours out of our way on incredibly steep and winding roads full of very slow trucks which took both lanes when making the hairpin turns. I took Lonely Planet’s advice on this one…”a lovely respite on the way to Bogatá”. Well it was a lovely hotel with the first, and possibly last, hot showers we were to find in Colombia. Of course, we couldn’t stay to enjoy Ocaña because of my pre-conceived schedule. We rushed down the mountains, back on to the main north-south highway to try to follow Google’s map to El Paujil. Google it turns out was trying to send us on roads that don’t exist. No wonder we couldn’t find them. Again threw ourselves on the mercy of the locals. Just as I was asking directions for the nth time, two police on a motorcycle made the mistake of passing by. I flagged them down and explained our situation. They were so dear. They waited a few minutes for their buddies and then escorted us many miles on a dirt road so we wouldn’t get lost. Then they called the refuge and made arrangements for the proprietor to meet us in the closest little burg, Puerto Pinzon, a small river port miles from any ocean. Craig was so nervous about offering a small tip, fearing they might take it as a bribe. However, when we asked if they would take a little money to go buy themselves a round of beers, they were happy to oblige. All our interactions with the police were pleasant. 

José, his wife and 9 year old daughter run the refuge. He met us and led us in to a hidden valley down a very steep and treacherous road…more like a wide path. It’s not quite as deluxe as the price would indicate, but what they lack in comfort they make up for in quantity of food served 3 times a day. We feel the money goes to a good cause. There is very little of the original rain forest left in the mid Magdalena River valley. Most has been cleared for grazing cattle. The refuge was established nominally to protect the extremely endangered, endemic Blue-billed Curassow. But of course, protecting one species helps to protect many others.

360 bird species, 7 endemic to Colombia, have been recorded on the property plus bats, lizards, monkeys and other small mammals. Rains are supposed to fall in April and May, and again September through November. However, a doozy thunderstorm rolled through one afternoon in early March, knocking out our electricity and water. José said he’d never seen it rain so hard in the afternoon. After dark, poor José had to wade the crocodile infested river and climb a very steep, muddy trail in order to reattach the water pipe the storm had washed asunder. Power was restored the next day. There is an observation tower, and many trails in the reserve. Here are some pictures from El Paujil.

 

Some observations from the tower….

 

 

Down from the tower, wandering the trails, we find some other interesting flora and fauna.

Adios until Chapter 3. Perhaps it won’t take me so long to put it together?

Video attached:  https://youtu.be/6Q03lYFeUpA