We left Taganga with our guides early Sunday morning for Minca. Shortly after getting into our van, we understood why we needed to leave so early: it took us nearly 40 minutes to cover 14 kilometers! The road to Minca is steep and winding, and we were all impressed with the amount of traffic the road withstood. Upon arriving in Minca we met our host families, then spent the rest of the day hiking through the jungle to get to know the area. We wound our way up through dense forest to the farm “no hay Como dios”, where señor Angel and his family prepared us lunch and shared their rich history with us. Our task for the day was simple: to observe and understand the potential threats and potential for sustainable tourism development in the area. We spent more than 12 hours working– yet happily finished our day listening to some local musicians at a popular outdoor cafe in town.