Your adventure begins with a journey aboard an air-conditioned motor coach, which ventures along scenic mountain roads to cooler climes and the village of Minca. Here, you will leave your motor coach and board a 4x4 vehicle for the final, 30-minute ascent to Hacienda Victoria. 

Founded by a British couple during the reign of Queen Victoria, the aptly named Hacienda Victoria is now owned by a German family, who today run the only major coffee farm and processing plant in Colombia’s coastal mountains. Touring the farm and facilities, you will see how the plant still utilizes the original machinery, which was built in England, transported by ship across the Atlantic and hauled up the mountain by mule train. 

A farmworker will explain the entire process of the hacienda’s cultivation and hand-picking of fine coffees, a good portion of which are organic.  

Afterward, rejoin the 4x4 for the return drive to the village of Minca and a short guided walk through the community. With its cooler climate, Minca is where the wealthier inhabitants of Santa Marta escape the heat of the summer and has more recently become a mecca for birdwatchers from all over the world. Enjoy a refreshment of fresh tropical fruit salad or juice on the terrace of a small local hotel with views of the mountain landscape and the visiting humming birds, who are attracted to the feeders on the hotel terrace. 

All too soon, it will be time to depart this idyllic location and board your motor coach for the return drive down the mountain to the pier and your ship.