So, I have always been quite a lucky person, like when I won Live Aid tickets in the public ballot, or when I bagged myself that new job with a 40% salary increase. Things always seem to fall into place at just the right time but we really did win the lottery of all introductions when our friend Paola said we should go and stay with her aunt and uncle, Maria Teresa and Jose, outside the small town of Pueblo Tapao in the Quindio region. The ‘coffee triangle’ was certainly a place on the list given Rob’s coffee obsession, but we had not planned on spending much time there, more of a drive through destination really. Well, as soon as we met MariaTe and her husband Jose at the Armenia bus station after a lengthly ten hour journey (they actually came to collect us!), we knew we had lucked out. Their beautiful house is set at the epicentre of the coffee region and sits on the edge of a stunning bamboo forest. We had our very own moloka hut on the edge of the garden, a beautiful room furnished with MariaTe’s daughters handprinted linens and paintings, and a dreamy bathroom with the kind of shower that makes you groan with relief when you stand under it. To say we were grateful is an understatement. After a restful night's sleep, we woke early to the sound of birdsong, naturally. We were in paradise after all! After a delicious and traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs and arepas we headed to La Esmerelda, a one hundred year old farm that belonged to Paola’s great-grandmother and is now being looked after by her cousin Ximena. Ximena also happens to be Colombia’s leading bamboo taxonomist and has in amongst the grounds of the farm about 72 different species of bamboo. Pretty impressive when you think there are only 150 species in the world. We were treated to a tour of the house which really is a thing of beauty. The verandah was exactly as you would picture an old ranch-style house, wooden rocking chairs, timber decks turned silver with age, black and white family portraits hanging on the walls, and random bowls of colourful tropical fruit. There were geese quacking in the gardens, cows in the fields, and the most incredibly colourful gardens. One of the most wonderful parts was the old school that was originally set up to teach the local kids but also ended up teaching the adult workers as well. It's a place with a timeless grace that is almost impossible to recreate. Ximena then took us on a long and unexpected walk around the bamboo forests she has so carefully cultivated over the years. It was fascinating to learn so much about bamboo, so many varieties when you take a close look and all so beautiful. We were glad that she had some homemade mozzie spray to hand because there were a lot! Aside from being an excellent artist with a hand for etchings, MariaTe is also a magician in the garden. It is one of the loveliest I have seen, the colours blending as well as her paintings. Words won’t do it justice and I can’t remember all the names of the flowers and trees so here are some photos instead! One morning, Jose kindly offered to show us around the coffee plantation and explained the whole harvesting process to us. He was insisting his English was no good but that's not true, we understood every word! The Parque del Cafe is a highlight of the area, it has a visitor centre explaining the coffee making process, a bamboo forest, a small gondola and a touristy recreation of Armenia’s main square as it was back in the day. Aside from all that, it is also a theme park with lots of rides. It is interesting, but to be honest, we felt that we learnt more that morning with Jose, and we didn't really want to pay for the full ticket that included entry to the rides. I hate rides. The views are quite nice and I guess highlight how vast the coffee plantations in the area are but in our opinion, with the real thing being farmed all over the area it's missable. We were also amazed that more wasn't made of the coffee angle, there is one Juan Valdez coffee shop (the Starbucks of Colombia) and a place to buy some beans, but there were no opportunities to taste different blends or to sample some of the smaller, more independent producers. For our last day in paradise, MariaTe and Jose kindly lent us their car and hired a driver to take us round the area. We are sure Alvaro was a racing driver in a previous life! He did not enjoy any vehicles, large or small being in front of us and didn't seem to be aware of any speed limits! We arrived at our first spot, the Quindio Botanical Gardens a little rattled but in half the time we would have otherwise! We had to take a guided tour round the gardens but it was just the two of us with a lady who spoke perfect English and it was all really rather fun. I fear that we are now of the age that we find facts about trees and flowers interesting. Sadly we didn't see any sloths but we were kept entertained for at least ten minutes by lots of hummingbirds (Rob’s new favourite bird) and did see some cool chrysalises in the butterfly sanctuary. We sampled some of the famous trout in Buenavista, a lovely little mountain town with beautiful views. Our last stop was Pijao, another cute and colourful small town. We realised that the Premier League Final was on that afternoon and clearly Alvaro was desperate to watch it because as soon as we stopped anywhere, he ran to find a tv! This of course meant there were even more men lurking, most of them drunk by now, no idea where all the ladies were hanging out! And finally it was time to say our goodbyes to our generous hosts. One nights stay had turned into four, we had recharged our batteries, explored this beautiful part of the world quite thoroughly and had made two new friends in MariaTe and Jose. Fingers crossed they will come to visit us in London one day so we can return the hospitality. We had hired Alvaro again for half a day to take us on to Salento where we would be based for two nights, stopping at the small town of Filandia on the way. After a small detour (!), we made it to our hotel, a lovely little cabin on the outskirts of Salento. The woman who greeted us was certainly not the hostess with the mostess and was visibly annoyed at hearing our broken attempts at Spanish. It was a shame because she was the first and only person we had met who had not made us feel welcome in Colombia. Oh well, can't win them all. Salento is a lovely little town and it comes alive at the weekends as out-of-towners visit. And in true Colombian fashion, an old friend and client of mine, Juan, who is now based in LA but is actually from Salento, got in touch and suggested we meet up with his sister Lina. So we did and we have been whatsapping ever since! Lina and her lovely two kids showed us round all their favourite places and kindly drove us up to the mirador for awesome views of the valley. Valle de Cocora is home to the tallest palm trees in the world and was the main reason we had come to Salento. We set off early walking to the main square to ride a Willy (the Jeeps put on for tourists to take them to the start of the trails) for the half hour drive into the valley. You can apparently fit up to twenty-two people on some of the big Willys, but luckily we were crammed full at a meagre twelve. I was nestled standing in the back, whilst Rob took one for the team and hung off the rear with three others! Not ones to follow the well-trodden tourist trail with all the others, Rob had an alternative trail in mind. Of course he did! A trail that would see us walking up a mountain, across streams, through jungle and countless spiderwebs in swelteringly hot conditions for over two hours. And there wasn't even a view when we reached the top! But we did have homemade ham and cheese sandwiches which helped.
But, once we did reach a break in the trees after that relentless climb (that no one else was doing), we were rewarded with some spectacular views! And the final two hours of the hike were a lovely (downhill) amble through scenery that was a cross between Jurassic Park and the Sound of Music. I could imagine a friendly diplodocus emerging from the trees. It was like nothing else we have ever seen before. Magical! Comments are closed.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |