Mexico, country number ELEVEN! It is quite amazing to think that we have reached our seventh month already and we have only two left before touching down in the UK! We arrived into Cancun after a stress free flight with Copa. All reports of Cancun are horrendous, having been totally ruined by package tours from the UK, so we decided to hot foot it straight down to Playa Del Carmen for our first night. 'Playa' as it's referred to locally is a trying to be cool beach town that hasn't quite made it, and in retrospect, we should of just headed straight down to Tulum and given Playa and all its large hotel fake charm a miss. Tulum on the other hand, although also very much touristified, is cool in a more genuine and authentic way. All our recommendations told us to stay at the beach, but there were very few options available that were in keeping with our budget so we opted for a new little hotel in town called the Art Hotel. The staff were friendly, the rooms large, and most importantly it had air conditioning which was key because it was HOT. Tulum is your typical beachy, hippy sort of town, lots of dreadlocks and yogies. The beach is now lined full of resort-style hotels and hostels and although I certainly wouldn't have complained about waking up to the sound of the sea, the best restaurants and bars are in town which is around a ten minute collectivo drive away or a forty minute cycle. There was no way I was cycling for that long in this heat and for once Rob agreed. The very long beach itself is really nice, the sea a perfect temperature, and the ocean breeze provides a welcome relief to the stifling heat. Food of particular note includes the roadside stall of Taqueria Honorio, which serves amazing pork tacos and tortas (baguette style sandwiches) on plastic bags, and are the perfect introduction to real Mexican food and flavours. You also need to try delicious fish tacos while in Tulum, served at pretty much every local restaurant. And we had a great brunch serving Mexican coffee at local cafe Del Cielo. However one of our best recommendations came from our friend and fellow foodie Jayme who said a visit to Hardwood was a must. And it was exactly that - the best octopus of my life. It is on the pricey side however and it's worth bearing in mind that most restaurants in Tulum are cash only. This little detail caught us out and meant that I was only able to have one of the dreamy rose sangria cocktails that won itself the title of 'best drink' on our trip so far. We had managed to arrange a fairly last minute trip to Dos Ojos, reported to be one of the best cenotes in the area, only twenty minutes drive out of Tulum. There are so many cenotes around, it was tough trying to decide which was the best but in the end we went with recommendations of the tour guides. Rob went diving and for the first time in a while, I was pretty jealous that I never took the time to learn. The cenotes are essentially limestone sinkholes full of fresh ground water. You can dive through the series of connected underwater caves as well as snorkel in certain areas. The Mayans built temples over many of them as they believed that they lead to the underworld. They don't, but they are super cool. Dos Ojos (two eyes) has two main caves, cave two being the best, at least from a snorkelling perspective as there are many more underwater formations, stalagmites, stalactites and the columns created when the two meet over thousands of years. You can also access the Bat Cave from cave two but only with a guide because the 'ceiling' is so low it is pretty dangerous if you don't keep an eye on where you're going and as you surface. It isn't a cheap activity but one well worth it, an experience like no other!
The Tulum ruins aren't advertised as the best in Mexico, they are tiny in comparison to others but they are made pretty spectacular by their awesome cliffside location. We were advised to take our swimmers with us so that we could take a dip once the heat became too much, which was almost immediately to be honest but we powered through. The little pocket of beach was packed by the time we reached it, others clearly had the same idea, it was so hot, people were undressing on the stairs and practically running in half dressed. Needs must. San Blas really is the stuff of desert island dreams. The waters are crystal clear and have those perfect azure, aquamarine and sea green colours that you daydream about when the weather is miserable. If you asked a child to draw a desert island, it would look like San Blas. Its pristine beaches have white sand so fine it squeaks, and which is raked free of tree detritus every morning by the locals, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, the odd coconut dropping being the only sound to draw you out of your reverie as you gaze out to sea. As you walk along the beach in the shallows of the surf, the only hazard you may encounter are the perfectly formed starfish or the flawless conch shells casually scattered. Ok, so I am slightly romanticising it, there are a few sandflies that can get on your nerves but only when there isn't a breeze and sadly it seems that there is a growing rubbish problem on some islands. But there aren't even hoards of tourists around with their loud voices and inflatable pizza slices to disturb your perfect view and most of the time you feel like you have it all to yourself. The solitude you can find on the islands is I am sure, due to the fact that the islands are one of the few remaining places to still be governed by the indigenous Kuna people. They maintain control over everything limiting how many tourists enter each day, and you even need your passport to cross the ‘border’ into Guna Yala. Diving is strictly prohibited to protect the beautiful reefs but also because they are not set up for any accidents - the nearest hospital is hours away. They live their lives in the most basic of ways with no electricity or fresh water on any of the islands but are ridiculously happy with their lot and welcome tourists to this relatively untouched part of the world with open arms. Our yacht Bagaloo wasn’t the newest of the fleet but had all we needed, and our crew were very attentive. We were a little annoyed to discover the night before we left that Captain Rikki’s wife (and also the chef) would not be there but instead he had a Kuna friend helping him. I am sure this affected the dynamic of the boat as Gabi the Kuna chap did not speak any English and was clearly new to being the captain's right hand. Captain Rikki however wasn't so bad in the kitchen and rustled us up some delicious meals. Having lived at sea for almost seven years, he certainly looked the part, imagine something from the Pirates of the Caribbean, leathery tanned skin with a single dreadlock, but he was a man of the world and had some good chat which kept us entertained. The seafood, oh my days! There are so many lobsters in San Blas that you see them just crawling along the ocean bed when snorkelling. Gabi just plucked our lunch out from under a rock during a morning snorkel and if you can’t be bothered to do that, you can buy them from the fishermen for around US$4! And it didn't just stop at lobster, there are octopi, crabs and so many huge fish like red snapper and others we didn't know the names of. We wiled away the hours reading and sipping beer in the hammocks Gabi had hung for us at the front of the boat, and we snorkelled every morning in the clearest of waters. We saw trumpet fish, puffer fish, angel fish and so many other colourful beauties in all shapes and sizes. By our third day, with a sunburnt bum (me) and back (Rob) we felt ready to leave, in need of a proper shower, some AC and a steady bed, but so happy we had forked out the extra cash for an unforgettable experience. Memories made in this little slice of heaven. Guide to the San Blas Islands:
Planning a trip to San Blas is at first glance extremely confusing. We (I) spent hours researching all the different options and what is most frustrating is that almost all the websites providing trips to the islands have limited information, and you have to email or visit their offices to get a more concrete idea of what each company offers. So, I am going to break it down for you. San Blas is a group of over 360 Robinson Crusoe-esque islands in what can only be described as paradise. There are a few ways of seeing them: 1.) Travel from Cartagena to Panama via San Blas or vice versa. This takes around four days and is the tour that most companies try to push. Blue Sailing, Awesome San Blas Adventures, and San Blas Adventures are some of the most popular. Most of the routes are exactly the same but the main difference is whether you choose a sail boat or catamaran which you sleep on for the four nights, or whether you opt for the cheaper option of speed boat and then sleeping in hammocks or cabanas on one of the islands. Blue Sailing is one of the best for the real sail boat experience, the other options are definitely more budget. This seems to be the route most companies offer and try to push, we were frustrated by how many agencies offered us just this option and no alternative trips from Panama. In retrospect, had we done some research, we would have considered leaving from Cartagena, but in the end we were happy with how we did it as we didn't want to be stuck on a boat in unfavourable conditions. 2.) Round-trip multi day tours from Panama which is what we did. There are two options if you chose to visit San Blas this way: a) Sleep on the islands in a hammock, covered dorm or private cabana on more of a backpacker style tour. We would have booked with San Blas Adventures had we have chosen this option. For two nights, two days in a private cabana was around US$550 for two people. b) Charter your own boat either privately or as part of a larger group. You can do this for a day trip, or choose how many nights you'd like. We ended up chartering our own private yacht for three days and two nights. Extravagant I know, but we crunched the numbers and it was going to work out to be around US$200 more, which in the grand scheme of things isn't much. We figured that comfortable accommodation on a boat (i.e. no sand), excursions of our own choosing, unlimited booze and fresh food made just for us by our Italian captain was worth the extra dollar! The best options we found for 2b. were Coco Sailing and Sailing Life Experience. We were booked on to a boat with Coco Sailing but faffed around for too long trying to negotiate the price and lost our spot. Then we were referred to Sailing Life Experience and a lovely lady called Marina who acts as an agent for some of the private yachts who live in San Blas all year round. You tell her what you're looking for and she will find a boat best suited. Here is a breakdown of our costs. I hate talking about money but if we’d of found something like this online, it would have saved us hours of research so here we go! Crew: Ricardo & Pisana (Italy) Boat: Canados 44 (2 cabins for passengers) Price: 150$/person/day shared trip Private cabin Special price for 3 days/2 nights trip for 2 people: 700$ Prices are ALL INCLUSIVE on board: - Menu with seafood, assorted snacks and tropical fruits (Italian´s cook amazing!) - Juices, mineral water, and alcohol in moderate use. - Fuel and fresh water tanks - Bed linen and towels - Dinghy with outboard - Fishing equipment and snorkel equipment - Organization for transport from Panamá City to the Sailing Vessel. The transfer from Panama City to the sailboat is done by a jeep, which picks up passengers at their hotels between 5.30-6.00am. It's three hours to Carti Port. There, at 8.30am you embark on a shuttle water taxi that takes you to the sailboat, it takes approx. one hour. Not included in the price: Transfer fees and rates: - Transfer from Panama City to the sailboat (Jeep US$50 per person + shuttleboat $40 per person); Round trip prices - Entrance fee for Kuna Yala ($20 / person) + port fee ($2 per person) Total amount of transportation + taxes, per person: US$ 112 The value of the transportation is paid directly to the drivers and taxes to the authorities. For booking we ask US$100 in advance by PayPal (+$5) or by bank transfer to Spain. Weather: There are two seasons, windy and wet.
After just almost four months in South America, it was time to move on to Central America. Panama! Our original plan at the start of our trip was to visit more of Central America, Guatemala and Costa Rica at the very least. But after a few weeks in South America, it became obvious that we would be really rushing if we were to make the flights we already had booked. So we made the difficult decision to cancel the flights and allow ourselves more time to do South America properly and we will return to Central America another time. We definitely made the right decision. In retrospect, eight days in Panama was probably too long but we had some good lie ins, and it's a nice place to while away a few days. We were staying in Casco Viejo, the old town, which came with a slight premium but the alternative was staying in the banking district which is completely characterless. It's not known as the Dubai of the Americas for nothing. The unpredictable weather (it rains nine months of the year here apparently!) meant that we enjoyed a few lie-ins (read: alarm set for 8am, wake up to pissing rain, snooze for two more hours) and thoroughly explored the old town. It is full of great little cafes like Unido which can be found in the lobby of the American Trade Hotel (aka where we would have stayed if money was no issue!) and lots of relatively good restaurants, but after the ‘easy on the wallet’ prices of South America, it was a shock to be paying London prices for food and drink. Frank Gehry’s Biomuseo is a must see, even if it is just exactly that - the entrance fees are extortionate! If you are familiar with Gehry’s work then you will recognise that the abundance of colour used is unusual for him. Most of his buildings are known for their metal clad finish but in this instance he wanted to reflect Panama’s passion for colour and create a building that the people of Panama would be able to connect with. The Biomuseo is at the beginning of the Amador Causeway, reputed to have great views of downtown Panama, so we hired a quadracycle - not surprisingly, I was more excited about this than Rob was. We made an unplanned visit to Punta Culebra which is owned by the Smithsonian Institution. And, we finally saw not one, but THREE sloths - my spirit animals. It was genuinely one of my trip highlights. Sloth Watch is finally over! We also saw some amazing frogs and even a Rana Dorada (Golden Frog), one of Panama’s most deadly - it is tiny and was thankfully in a glass tank! The Panama Canal has mixed reviews from fellow tourists, some say it isn't worth the visit, others disagree. We think we worked out the secret to making it worthwhile. The boats only come through at certain times of day, so if you arrive at the wrong time then all you’re going to see from the viewing platform is an empty canal, watch a patriotic twelve minute ‘movie’ on its history, and visit a museum which is well done but a little heavy on the detail for non-canal building enthusiasts. The key is to actually see the boats coming through - to do this you need to either arrive early between 8-9am or later before closing 4-5pm. Anywhere in between these times and the boats are changing direction so their passing through is much more sporadic. Another of our Panama highlights was walking along Cinta Costera. Leaving from Punta Paitilla, it is a lovely 45 minute pedestrianised stroll along the waterfront, broken up by a series of green spaces and viewpoints as you snake around the coast towards the old town. We didn't actually intend on walking the whole way but ventured forth as the traffic was at a stand still. We are glad we did as the views looking back are quite something.
After what seems like weeks of luxurious accommodation, we bumped back to earth when we arrived in our windowless hostel in Cartagena. Luckily, Cartagena is probably one of the most attractive cities we've been to in South America with plenty of charm, colour, culture and the Caribbean. We stayed in the heart of the old town (definitely the best area for tourists) and spent the days just wandering around the colourful streets, drinking good coffee (an ironic rarity in Colombia), eating gelato, and trying to stay out of the unavoidable heat and humidity. Due to direct flights from New York and other US destinations, the canny Colombians have unsurprisingly doubled their prices making this by far the most expensive place we've been to for months. However the only caveat to it being the most attractive city in Colombia is that this title only applies to the old town, outside of that it's a bit of a dump. Getsemani is the other up and coming barrio which is a must visit, especially in the evenings for some really great lively bars and restaurants, however be ready for the plethora of drug dealers, drunks, and prostitutes on almost every corner. We also didn't venture into the generic high rise condo area of Bocagrande as everything you could really need is within the old city walls, but apparently it has some good restaurants and beachfront. We did venture out to the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, the 17th century fortress on the outskirts of the old town. However sadly it is fairly missable, expensive to enter, and has a woeful lack of information. Supposedly the views from the top of the fort are meant to be great, but the surrounding area is rough and slightly industrial, so not exactly a highlight.
However it's not what you do in Cartagena that makes it great, it's just being in the city itself, which is a rare thing. We are on a bit of a roll accommodation wise, MariaTe introduced us to her sister Carmen, an architect who owns a magnificent house in Palomino, a small town around two hours drive from Santa Marta. We were invited to stay for a couple of days, lucky us!! We had seen photos but they didn't really do it any justice. We had a bit of trouble finding the place in our broken Spanish but after rattling around in a moto-taxi down winding dirt tracks, we finally found it - another spot of paradise! An infinity pool over looking the Sierra Nevada mountains and a beautiful open plan thatched house on top of the hill above the beach. Sulde, the house keeper, came to meet us and showed us around. Her heavy Costenos accent made it near impossible to understand her Spanish so there was a lot of gesturing. And the house was wifi free so we didn't have Google Translate to rely on this time! But we managed fine. The view, the pool, the beach and our books kept us company over the next few days. Oh, and the museum sized bugs which at first gave us a few surprises but later became our friends. The mosquitoes however will never be our friends and sadly we were totally blighted by them. They were everywhere and I was constantly covering myself in DEET but the bastards even got me through my clothes so I was fighting a losing battle. Better to just stay in the pool then! The sea has very strong currents so is not recommended to swim in but the beach provided a welcome breeze in the sweltering heat and a lovely walk. We pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves! Sulde made us some mean huevos arepas for breakfast and treated us to a wonderfully fresh fish dinner one evening. So fresh, we think they arrived to the house in buckets as we heard them being knocked out moments later! The highlight activity in the area is tubing down one of the two rivers Palomino sits between. Albert, Sulde’s eldest son, was our guide and made sure we didn't float off into the mangroves. It was such a shame we couldn't properly communicate with him as he was such a friendly chap and was clearly intrigued by us. No photos as you get soaked so the cameras were left at home, but it's a super relaxing activity. You just sit in the rubber ring and float away letting the river’s current take you as you glide through the rainforest. It's refreshing too as the water is cool, and we established early on that there were no baddies in the river so you literally lean back and watch the world go by. And then, we lost all power for a full 48 HOURS!! There was a terrible storm, with the kind of thunder that makes the ground rumble and sets off car alarms. We didn't mind having no electricity at first, we had some candles and luckily a torch which Albert had given us earlier that day, but the worst was that we had no fans! The heat whist trying to sleep was indescribable! The only relief was a cold shower every hour and wet towels to lie under whist trying to keep very still! The museum bugs also seemed to take pleasure in the cover of darkness. Thank god I had my mosquito net that I have been uselessly hauling around with me for months. There was a lot of nakedness as we did pretty much everything to try to keep cool. Even the pool was like a bath! It wasn't much fun at first, especially when our laptop and both phones ran out of battery which meant we were totally cut off but looking back on it now, it's a good story for the grandkids.
We decided to fly to Santa Marta rather than face a 23 hour bus ride, and managed to get pretty decent LATAM flights avoiding the budget airlines. Phew. Once again, we realised we had totally lucked out when we arrived at my friend Juan’s condo in the Playa Dormida complex on the coast of Santa Marta. A brand new complex, it has everything we could have dreamed of, not one but THREE pools, a spa, gym and direct access to the beach. Not to mention the apartment with its stunning views and its contemporary designer finish, AND our very own oven. We were SO excited to be staying here, to rest and relax for four whole nights! If you are reading this Juan, we owe you a slap up meal once we arrive in LA! Our first few days here looked like this: nap, cook, sip, swim, repeat. It was basically too hot to do much else. We did venture in to Santa Marta one evening but didn't think much of the place and quickly retreated back to our little den of comfort and solitude. Tyrona National Park had been on our hit list from the start so we were eager to make the most of it and got up early. We were prepared for it to be baking hot with humidity off the charts so even more of a reason to get going. Being a bit of a sweater, as well as a walking jam jar, I was anticipating a difficult days hike through the jungle. The bus takes around an hour and there is a very official entrance on arrival where you have to watch a safety video (don't wander off the paths, don't feed the wildlife etc), you even get a wrist band. Then you can pay a little extra to get to the start of the trails vis a small mini bus, or you can just walk it. But you'd be mad to walk it unless you like 110% humidity and sweat dripping into your eyes. Many people camp at one of the several campsites but quite frankly, I couldn't think of anything worse at this time of year. So only being there for the day trip, we were on a mission to tick off three of the area's highlights, Arrecifes, La Piscina and Cabo San Juan. We doused ourselves in bug spray, made sure the sweat towel was within easy reach, and in to the jungle we ventured! Ok, so I am glad I built it up in my head because in reality it wasn't that bad at all! I mean, the litres of sweat that poured out of me were very real but the paths are mostly flat and there are even wooden boardwalks in places making the walk rather enjoyable. The vegetation you walk through is awesome and changes at every corner so you never get too bored. It is around an hour walking to Arrecifes, 30 minutes more on to La Piscina and 20 minutes further again on to Cabo San Juan. I have never been so eager to tear off my clothes on seeing those ultramarine waters! The wildlife is abundant, we saw Capuchin monkeys, Marmosets (SO CUTE), giant leaf cutter ants, a fun giant jungle hermit crab, and an amazing chrysalis hanging by a thread on to a tree. And thousands of lizards rustling by the path. So we didn't rush too much but we did only just make it back to the entrance in time (4pm) to get back to the main bus before the park closed. It was just as well as there was a huge storm brewing. I felt pretty bad for all those sweaty happy campers who were clearly in for a rough night! Never has air conditioning felt so good!
After so many days in the countryside, it was nice to arrive in a big city again. Colombia’s second largest as a matter of fact and amazingly the only one with a metro system, which is lucky because the traffic is awful and it is BIG! We were staying in El Poblado, the nice part of Medellin, although we would have preferred to stay a little closer to Lleras Park. But beggars can’t be choosers. Our airbnb was clean but characterless, a slight shock to the senses after all the recent luxury. Once dubbed the most dangerous city on Earth, we were naturally on our guard. But that was over a quarter of a century ago and really couldn't be further from the truth nowadays. With only three nights and two days to explore, we thought it best to join a free walking tour of the city. And we are so glad we did; it enabled us to learn which areas were to be avoided (of which there are several including the sizeable shanty towns), but also to reach some of the dodgier areas that we might have missed had we not had a local guide with us. However there is a heavy police presence pretty much everywhere you go in the centre indicating that vigilance is key to keeping up appearances. Not sure whether police on every corner is that reassuring but hey, rather they are there than not! Our guide was brilliant and provided us with a succinct and brief overview of the city’s troubled history. Pablo Escobar was referred to on our tour as ‘the famous man’, mainly to avoid upsetting the locals should they overhear. It is clear that the trauma the world's most famous drug dealer left behind is still very present.. After exploring the centre, we headed to the grittier Plaza Botero, full of not only sculptures donated by Botero (Medellin was his birthplace) but numerous ladies of the night. Let's just say they were very openly selling their wares.… Here our tour was momentarily halted as our guide assisted two tourists whose bag had just been stolen, with their passports, phones, money, everything. Nightmare. Our guide said they were highly unlikely to get anything returned. On entering Plaza de San Antonio we were told to stay together as a group and not wander off alone to take photos, it was that dodgy. There are two bronze Botero bird sculptures, one perfectly intact, the other one twisted and broken. A bomb was detonated by the FARC in 1995 killing 23 people attending a concert in the square. The mayor had directed to have the damaged sculpture removed but Botero insisted it be left as a homage to the dead, determined that the city acknowledge and face its difficult past rather than cover it up and try to forget it. It was a particularly poignant story as we were still reeling from news of the recent London Bridge terror attack. But Medellin is the definition of resilience and the stories of recovery are inspiring and an odd comfort considering the turmoil back home. We felt like splurging a little for dinner and took ourselves to Oci.mde, highly recommended! We had wondered whether or not to do the Pablo Escobar paint balling tour given how expensive it is and because it's a long day from 7am-8pm, but in the end we decided to (when will we ever get the chance to go paint balling in a drug lord's house again?) so we swallowed the cost and signed up. I would give the day 7/10. It rained, a lot, which didn't help. An hour and a half bus drive out of town was followed by a twenty minute Jeep drive to the house, which sits on the edge of a beautiful lake. We were a big group of around 45, most were in their 20s and seemed very hungover. We are getting more boring in our old age. We got extremely unlucky with our paint balling group - it was us and around twenty Israelis. Yes, they were all travelling after having just completed their national service, where they practice shooting guns for a year. They didn't speak any English so we had zero comms with our team which basically meant I just hid and squealed and Rob got shot in the arse at very close range. Then they got bored of playing, naturally, so shot all their pellets at trees and buggered off half way through. A little wet and with bruises forming, we then went on a tour of Pablo’s house, well what's left of it anyway as it was bombed years ago. The pool remains however and you can still get a feel of how epic it would have been. We also met Mr Willy who was one of Pablo’s bodyguards from the age of 12! I wanted to ask him how many people he’d killed but Rob felt it would be inappropriate. He also said that only 10% of the Netflix series Narcos is real, the rest is total BS. I believe Mr Willy. He didn't look like someone you'd disagree with. We then headed to a town called Guatape, apparently Colombia’s most colourful. Sadly it was very wet but the little streets still managed to shine. It was the most terrorised town in Colombia by the Escobar gangs and yet they managed to pick themselves up and make the most of what they have (mainly wealthy tourists gawping). The final stop on the tour was the famous ‘rock’ in Penol. Now owned by a local legend who claimed it as his own after scaling it in seven days. He then built a little hut on top and decided the views were so good that he should share them. Hence the 750 zigzagging stairs to the top resulting in serious leg burn. Happy to report I was not the last one up however. But in true #robandcharliertw fashion, we were greeted with an almost total white out at the top. Typical! The cable car (which incidentally inspired the La Paz system) is well worth a trip. Indigenous working class suburb, Comuna 1, served as a recruiting ground for the Escobar gangs and was, prior to the opening of the cable car, totally disconnected from the main town. But colourful murals now brighten the streets and there is a really authentic community spirit as you walk around. It was a bit of a fail for us as our main reason for visiting was to see the award winning Parque Biblioteca Espana, an arts / community centre funded by the Spanish government. Sadly it was under reconstruction but we could just about get the gist of it anyway.
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! |
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 |