Colombia - Minca and Tayrona: what to do? (2 Viewers)

[Thibaut]

Thanks Niels. Eventually we need to decide what to prioritise. Maybe missing birds wouldn’t be so bad as long as the one we see are chill and we are too. we like to birdwatch slowly, missing out birds but taking it the landscapes and the peace and quiet. What I really don’t want is to be surrounded by 20 people shouting rushing to photograph a bird and taking a gazillion of pictures clicking in all directions. How to turn a perfectly nice hobby into another chore in my opinion.

 

[simmojunior]

Thanks. It sounds like the right thing to do would be to get dropped up there and walk down the trail back to lodge on foot. Without a guide then? We are terrible birdwatchers.

Could someone drop me the gps location of where the trail for el dorado starts from the ridge? I can’t seem to figure it out comparing the drawn map and google maps.

You can get a map in the lodge. I think you are trying to over plan to be honest - it is all quite simple. They'll explain it to you there.

If Breiner is unavailable you can try Christian Manrique but he speaks no English.

 

[njlarsen]

If Breiner is unavailable you can try Christian Manrique but he speaks no English.

When I contacted Breiner, he first told us he would not be available but that he had another, English-speaking guy he could send instead. Then as time approached, it turned out to be him anyway.

I would probably hire him on the first or the second day of your time there and then do the rest on my own if you prefer doing things on your own generally - my experience is that I get more out of the days on my own after having had the guide introduce me to a lot of the common species and in the case of our first day there, a lot of endemics as well.
Niels

 

[mjh73]

If you want a bit more chill, and English speaking, try Sebastian Ballesteros - he is based in Minca. Have used him on both our Colombia trips.

Colombia Bird Photography Tours | Photonatura Colombia | Magdalena

 

[mjh73]

What I really don’t want is to be surrounded by 20 people shouting rushing to photograph a bird and taking a gazillion of pictures clicking in all directions.

I don't think being on a 'big name co.' tour is like that, and hiring your own local guide is definitely not like that. Not in my experience anyway!

 

[temmie]

You seem to be stressing way too much thibault, as simmo said, most things are easy on the ground and many “problems” you see now are only in your imagination. Once there you can arrange almost everything by just asking. You can ask here but everything here is theory. Once there, you ask and people get things done for you.

With regards to walking up: you simply get up at 3.45, start walking at 4.00 on the road up, take any shortcut you can find that goes up and you”ll be enjoying parakeets and the sunset at 6.00 on the ridge.
That’s at least how I did it.

So the trail is shortcutting the road that is snaking its way up. Go up and it’s simple comme bonjour. You”ll see birds by keeping your eyes open. The trail itself has a lot of parts with ferns higher up (not many birds there). I saw a condor on my way down… even when walking up and down you’ll spend approx half a day so have lunch at the lodge. Make sure you can pack some breakfast / water by arranging it the day before at the lodge.

 

[Thibaut]

You seem to be stressing way too much thibault, as simmo said, most things are easy on the ground and many “problems” you see now are only in your imagination. Once there you can arrange almost everything by just asking. You can ask here but everything here is theory. Once there, you ask and people get things done for you.

With regards to walking up: you simply get up at 3.45, start walking at 4.00 on the road up, take any shortcut you can find that goes up and you”ll be enjoying parakeets and the sunset at 6.00 on the ridge.
That’s at least how I did it.

So the trail is shortcutting the road that is snaking its way up. Go up and it’s simple comme bonjour. You”ll see birds by keeping your eyes open. The trail itself has a lot of parts with ferns higher up (not many birds there). I saw a condor on my way down… even when walking up and down you’ll spend approx half a day so have lunch at the lodge. Make sure you can pack some breakfast / water by arranging it the day before at the lodge.

Yes agreed on the fact that I had become a tad too focused on details, things that will become obvious on location.

Thanks for the extra info, it’s helpful. I didn’t realise the trail and the road were meeting before the laguna.

 

[digiscope09]

Just plugged into this thread sorry, read all the posts and want to put a tentative itinerary up for comment for Minca area please for two bird photographers....
2 nights at Hotel la Casona Minca to bird around the town.
2 nights at Mountain House and
3 nights at El Dorado
My birding friend has a slight mobility issue and likes to spend more than one night at each place.
Questions..
1. Costwise, is it better (and easy) to organise independent transport and guide from some of the suggestions in this thread to bird the areas both below and above El Dorado and
2. Would doing that, cut out the need to stay at the mid level Mountain house
3. I have had trouble contacting and getting detailed answers to questions from El Dorado lodge via Whatsap. Just get standard response with no detail and answers to questions. Is there a better way to contact them?
Thanks.

 

[njlarsen]

A couple of comments:
1 You should (which we did not) try to do a little below town of Minca
2 Are you aware of the need to walk up and down in El Dorado lodge to even get to have food? I ask this because you mention problems with mobility ....
3 My experience with El Dorado was that the Whatsapp worked but nothing else did.

It is easy enough to arrange for example Breiner to pick you up from a given place and have transportation to different elevations (of course for a fee). If mobility is a big issue, then maybe forgo the El Dorado lodge (even though I hate to write this because we had such good time there) and have a guide plus transportation bring you from Mountain House to other high level elevations? And then have one more day at the lower level where again a guide could bring you to lower elevation sites?

I apologize if I have misunderstood what you meant by the mobility issues.
Niels

 

[digiscope09]

A couple of comments:
1 You should (which we did not) try to do a little below town of Minca
2 Are you aware of the need to walk up and down in El Dorado lodge to even get to have food? I ask this because you mention problems with mobility ....
3 My experience with El Dorado was that the Whatsapp worked but nothing else did.

It is easy enough to arrange for example Breiner to pick you up from a given place and have transportation to different elevations (of course for a fee). If mobility is a big issue, then maybe forgo the El Dorado lodge (even though I hate to write this because we had such good time there) and have a guide plus transportation bring you from Mountain House to other high level elevations? And then have one more day at the lower level where again a guide could bring you to lower elevation sites?

I apologize if I have misunderstood what you meant by the mobility issues.
Niels

Appreciate the response. You did not misunderstand the mobililty issue thanks.
Also, I understand the new unit/restaurant area at El Dorado does not have the same bird density/feeders?
Good suggestion about staying the extra days at Mountain House and arranging the transport and guiding from there.
Cheers

 

[njlarsen]

There are feeders at the new restaurant, which works for especially hummers, but because the elevation difference, the species may not be the same.
Niels

 

[digiscope09]

There are feeders at the new restaurant, which works for especially hummers, but because the elevation difference, the species may not be the same.
Niels

Thankyou. Looks like staying in the top cabins is preferable for someone who is not very mobile.