Week 21: Santa Marta, Palomino, Guacacha, Minca, Barranquilla 
Day 141:

Spencer, Sarahi, and myself woke up in Santa Marta and after a hearty breakfast and multiple coffees we packed our bags and paid our bill. We walked around Santa Marta briefly and arranged for a direct shuttle to our next hostel in the sleepy beach town of Palomino. We drove down a highway for about an hour, passing beach filled Tayrona National Park on the left, and the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the right. This mountain range is the highest coastal mountain range in the world and provides beautiful views and unique landscapes, namely mountains descending all the way into the ocean. We were driven down the road to our hostel which was less than a five minute walk from the beach. After checking into our hostel and relaxing a little we wandered down to the beach. It’s one of the most memorable and beautiful sights of the trip. Picturesque palm trees line the white sand beach while mountains fade into the clouds in the background. The water was fairly calm and after a short swim the sun began to set in a spectacular fashion. I had to run back for a camera and returned just in time to catch the end of the sunset. That night we relaxed and ate some of the pizza our hostel was famous for. It was delicious. That night we wandered around Palomino for a little while and then ate some more pizza before bed. 

Day 142:

The next morning we slept in and then ate breakfast at our hostel. I took a shared taxi to the next town for the closest atm and then returned to the hostel. After checking out we walked one hundred yards toward the beach to our next hostel, Dreamer Palomino. This is a very nice hostel with a large pool and stunning garden/common areas. It’s also adjacent to the beach and the most popular hostel in the area. After checking in we rented an inner tube and took a twenty minute moto taxi ride for $5 per person. Then we carried our inner tubes through a beautiful jungle trail for thirty minutes until we reached the river. Here we met some new friends and set off floating down the river. There were a few small Rapids but for the most part it was peaceful and beautiful. Eventually the river feeds into the ocean and we rode our tubes out into the waves. After some wave surfing on tubes we walked back down the beach with our tubes and dropped them off near our hostel. As we were walking back we saw the most incredible sunset to the west and an incredible rainbow to the east. It was breathtaking and we sadly didn’t have a camera to capture it. We spent the night relaxing at our hostel pool. Spencer had lost three pairs of flip flops by this point so we went to buy him another. We found some delicious empanadas for fifty cents and ate many. Spencer met a cute girl and we agreed to go rafting again the next morning. 
Day 143:

We had a bit of a late start the next morning and by the time we reached the girl’s hostel she was not waiting and had moved hostels. We couldn’t find her and had to leave without her. The rafting was just as beautiful in the morning. We returned for our bags and walked to the end of the road. We quickly hopped on a bus and rode a few miles to our next stop. Here we took moto taxis down a dirt road to Costeno beach surf camp. This hostel was just one large building with bunks on the top floor and hammocks underneath. There was a beautiful private beach stretching from our hostel for miles with groves of palm trees behind the beach. We relaxed that afternoon and had a yummy dinner. That night it was hot and there were some bugs. The hostel did not let in the coastal breeze and someone stole spencers bunk bed. We spent part of the night sleeping on the beach. Spencer was a little frustrated by the hostel and despite a lot of potential it was one of the low points of our time on the coast. 
Day 144:

The next morning we had a good hostel breakfast. Spencer and I decided to surf while Sarahi read on the beach. We rented surf boards and carried them for twenty minutes through beautiful and deserted palm tree groves. I even rode my surf board part of the way along the coast. Eventually we reached the beach where the Guacacha river meets the Caribbean. The sand wall was broken and the river freely flowed into the ocean. I swam from the river into the ocean but struggled to make it back to shore. We heard this was the best surf spot so we decided to try it out. Soon I found myself very far from shore and had to fight to break free from the current. I didn’t catch many good waves and soon realized Spencer was floating out further than I had. I motioned for him to follow me but it was too late. He was quickly swept out to sea by the river current. I headed for shore, barely crossed the river without being swept back out to sea, and found a commotion on the beach regarding Spencer floating out to sea. A few old fishermen ran down the beach to their boats and pushed them down into the sea. I ran down the beach in time to help push the boat out and soon Spencer was rescued. I tipped the fishermen 50,000 pesos ($17) for saving the life of my best friend. We stopped to savor life and enjoy a green coconut, then headed back to our hostel. We had a nice lunch as it started to pour rain. We waited out the rain for awhile and then took a moto taxi ride to the highway and soon caught a bus back towards Santa Marta. We stopped on the outskirts of town and took a taxi to Minca, a small town on a mountainside overlooking Santa Marta and the coast. The taxi snaked up and around several steep hills before stopping in Minca. We hiked fifteen minutes steeply up hundreds of stairs. We reached our hostel, Casa Loma and had a beautiful view awaiting. Sarahi and I had a private room called the treehouse because it was built against a tree about fifteen feet off the ground, and hammocks were hung underneath. It was a wonderful cozy room with screens for walls and an awesome view of the bay. Spencer had an awesome room as well though it was a dorm and on the other side of the property. We didn’t see Spencer after arriving because when we arrived in Minca we ran into a girl Spencer had met a few days before. He searched town until he found her that night and signed up for an expedition the next day. It started raining hard that night and we worried Spencer had slipped down the stairs and was injured and lost in the dark. Luckily he returned and told us of his adventures. The hostel had vegetarian food and we had three fantastic meals there. It was great to read and relax in a perfect climate. There were no biting bugs, only black flying ant like bugs that showed up in clouds. All in all we loved our stay and were happy to have an escape from the heat and a private room. 

Day 145:

The next morning we ate breakfast and relaxed. Spencer showed up around lunch time. After eating we walked back down the stairs and took a moto taxi up the mountain to our next hostel, another hour up dirt roads. When we arrived at casa elemento we found an incredible mountain top view of Santa Marta and Taganga. On the edge of the mountain there was a great vista, a deck, and a gigantic hammock as well as a slightly smaller swing. The property also had a pool, zip line course, good food, and great local draft beer. We enjoyed the swing, perfect weather, and the view for hours as the clouds rolled in and the sun set. We ate a nice dinner of chicken skewers then watched the thunder golden state warriors game. I think we were all exhausted and asleep early. 


Day 146:

The next day we woke up and were very sad Spencer’s last day of vacation was over. Sarahi and I watched the sunrise from the swing and then went back to bed. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and then played some rumikub. We lazed around in the perfect weather and explored the ropes course. We ate lunch and then in the early afternoon took moto taxis back to Minca. From there we went to the bus station in Santa Marta. We hopped on a bus and rode the two hours back to Barranquilla as the sun set. We went back to our last place, hotel tin tan. After showering we set out late to enjoy our last night together. We ate some bad fried food in a casino in the mall because the food court was closed. We attempted to enter a club but i was wearing flip flops. We returned to the hotel to change but instead walked to a local club. It turned out to be a strip club so we wandered on. Eventually we returned to our hotel and went to bed late. 
Day 147:

The next morning I gave spencer a map of bogota and my recommendations, as he had a twelve hour layover there. We put him in a taxi, said goodbye, and went back to bed. We walked to a grocery store and made sandwiches. We decided to stay in our hotel one more night. We enjoyed the rooftop view of Barranquilla and ordered Chinese for dinner. We went to bed early again. It was a great action packed week with Spencer and we were really sad to see it end but happy to relax a little afterwards.