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Published: March 20th 2007
A traditional farmer
Looking a bit like Valdez, this gentleman is also a good talker who reminded us of some important facts about the coffee and the traditional countryside ways.Then, I went back to Colombia (ColOmbia not Columbia for those who still make the mistake😊, I forgive you... where, after the Silk Road experience, I started a process of detox. yeah, the doctor I saw, who incidentally was my sister's boss, did not hesitate to put me on an endless course of antibiotics, sniff.. not fair!!! what do you reckon? first of all, he told me there were no parasites (whew!!!) and he also said this uncomfortable state of health was commonly known as the Traveller's Diarrhea, so far, no reason for taking pills, right?; we know better, I thought... the equation as I learned it at highschool goes like this: no parasites, no drugs whatsoever...
Well, I suppose he went to another school for apart from instructing me, he also prescribed some drugs that my loyal mum made me swallow. The only advantage was that I was very happy to be spoilt by my whole family, nice to go back in time and be a child again; forgotten were the days when I had the attention of all my beloved ones for the sake of just a stomachache; this time, though, I did not forget to
The Museum
Here, we obviously admire some treasures of our ancestors. do exactly what I used to when being sick and it worked; here's the recipe for you: rub your stomach lots of times, nod your head every time they ask you if it still hurts and the golden rule: stay in the toilets more than ever even if your nephews and nieces want to go too (don't forget to take a book, though). If you -like me- have the best family ever, they will definitely treat you like a king. So, good luck and keep me posted!
Fortunately, it was not all sickness, 'no, señor!. I really had a lovely time in Colombia travelling and seeing all my relatives:
THE COFFEE BELT OR CENTRAL COFFEE BELT (Eje Cafetero) We did the Coffee Belt covering the departments of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindio, which hold about 46 percent of the Colombian coffee farms; these three amazing departments are very proud of their three beautiful capitals: Manizales, Pereira and Medellin and lucky us, they allow us to enjoy this paradise in the middle of a set of mountains as some foreign tourists have put it.
Manizales Manizales, the
Eje cafetero
As soon as we arrived in the Theme Park, we were led on a tour of the coffee museum and plantations. Here a showcase of the balcony architecture which is very popular in Colombia. capital of Caldas with about 400.000 people, is known as the coffee Capital of the world. No wonder why; the city was built on top of a mountain (6,975 feet (2,126 m) above sea level); therefore, it's the ideal place for growing the largest share of Colombian coffee; on top of that, its spectacular views and beautiful churches leave a positive memory on the visitors; I was impressed by the educational environment of the city, notably, the university of Manizales, during our visit, I couldn't help but thinking of the possibility of working there one day, so I might drop my CV there, but not just yet; the city is most clean, it offers spectacular views and its central location is just great.
Second of all, "La Perla del Otún", Pereira, a city in western Colombia, 20.5 miles from Manizales is the capital of Risaralda Department. It is a renowned market center for coffee, livestock and sugarcane. Thanks to its privileged location, Pereira is by far the most desired destination for those heading to the Eje Cafetero. The tourist will enjoy a beautiful ride thans to its excelent roads, notably the Coffee Route road. We were lucky
Selecting the seed
Yes, selecting a good seed is pivotal and the experts tell you which fresh seed to choose, mainly Arabica; after a very slow growing process (6 to 7 months), the coffee bean will start developing. I was amazed by all the requirements, the good temperature, humidity and shade, which affect productivity; oops, I was supposed to know all that as I studied at a technical highschool, but what the hell, I suppose I was more interested in basketball and dance.
to be there the exact day when the city was celebrating its 143th anniversary. Therefore, we were able to enjoy a nice parade displaying the bands of all the education institutions of the city. Though it was a long wait, it was really worth it, we actually saw the parade while eating at a balcony restaurant, and I really had the impression I was on an hacienda tour, you know, one of the latest most popular tours offered throughout the country; you stay in a farmer's venerable coffee farm and can actually live the everyday running of it. What is more, the coffee you drink there is the real one, with a most exquisite and rare flavor; you see, I'm talking about the coffee that the farmers actually produce manually. Just a thought, but I might do that later, anybody interested out there?
Medellin Last but not least, Colombia’s second largest city (over 1.5 million inhabitants), Medellin, is known as 'The city of flowers and the Eternal Spring'; well, not that we have spring but apart from the lovely temperate climate, the abundant flowers the city display authorise us to call it that. The
The Nursery
They've always told you to start the nursery as soon as possible, well, yeah, children learn better when they are younger; for those who haven't got it yet, it's meant to be a joke, not a good one I know... anyway, let's get serious, plants need to be transplanted quickly or else it affects their growth. capital of Antioquia being a must in the Coffee Belt is also famous for its textile trades. Medellin, a bustling, manufacturing and industrial city with very many high-rise buildings, offers a contrast if you are willing to visit the unique Barefoot Park. Yeah, if you want to get away from the noise of the city, you can relax in an open sand, grass and stone park with a peaceful oriental atmosphere: a water fountain, a zen garden, guadua tree forests, and wooden tables. What else can you ask for in this lovely city surrounded by so many mountains.
There, I had the opportunity to admire our biggest artist Fernando Botero, whose inflated bronze sculptures and paintings have been exhibited in many countries notably France (the Champs Ellysees: first time for a non-French artist to do so), US (New York, Washington), Spain (Barcelona), to name but a few; actually it was in the latest that I was able to see one of the sculptures of my blog, that of the horse. Why are his figures so huge? you might ask yourselves...well, he said it himself: 'Art is deformation' So, why not deforming the normal shape of things? I
Polyethylene
That, I remember, back at school we used polyethylene bags but I didn't know why; during the briefing about the cultivation process, I learned that it actually accelerates the germination and the coffee plant growth. Now, we're ready to plant the coffee, but prepare the land first. think it is very original and it might give us another perspective of life itself, don't you think so?
We then had enough reasons to make Botero's Museum our first visit; born in Medellin, the perfectionist Botero was soon influenced by the religious aspect of the city, which he mirrors in some of his paintings; they also reflect the pacific Colombian everyday life. As a remarkable son of Medellin, Fernando donated a medley of his sculptures and paintings to the city, thanks God! We loved his museum which is located just in front of the square where the sculptures are displayed.
He, as well as other Colombians who have made it (Shakira, Juanes, etc), has never forgotten where they came from; indeed, thanks to these amazing benefactors, many Colombians can still survive, so three thumbs up for all of them. We love you!!!
The capital cities I've mentioned above are -of course- very proud of the prosperity of our best national product: the king of the kings: COFFEE; as you all know, our coffee is renowned for being the best in the world as far as quality is concerned; as for
Drying
It goes without saying that I'm not describing the full process of coffee production as I must bore you-if you're not bored already-. But after the harvesting, pulping, fermentation and the washing, then we go into the drying which is also vital to ensure quality; the most poular place is the concrete slabs. quantity, Brazil is ahead of us, obviously, but please do us a favour, right now, go and have a cup of Colombian coffee and you'll see what I'm talking about. And if you want to enjoy it more, without feeling guilty for the coffee growers -who enjoy hardly a 5 % of the profits-, please buy a coffee that is certified as being fair trade, and then remember Higuita's advert on TV, when he says: 'Tomemonos un cafe, seamos amigos', you know Higuita, right? the mad goalkeeper with crazy hair, who used to be an ugly duck but has actually turned into a swan; yes, I have to tell you that he went on one of those reality TV programmes called 'Cambio Extremo' and guess what? thanks to surgery and after three months of painful operations, he's become most handsome, I might consider doing the same...
Colombians have been growing coffee for more than two centuries, in fact, statistics show that we started in 1787, a long time ago you might say, and all thanks to our rich soil full of steep slopes and with land between 1000 and 2000 metres above sea level; conditions which added
banana plantations
Doing the coffee crossroads is a very nice experience as you walk through very colourful paths, lots of green around and most importantly, you get quite useful insights into the production of our best drink. to the fact that there is a constant production make farmers happy. I hope they stick to it.
On another note, if you intend to travel to the
Eje Cafetero, it would be worth staying in one of the 400 finca-hoteles you find there, which are huge houses with plenty of countryside space; do not worry, although they are located in the countryside, which apart from the greau hospitality and friendliness of the paisas, they provide some of the commodities you expect to find in a city. Or, you might also choose to come on some of the dates when big events take place in the area, events like Manizales Fair, the International Coffee Pageant, the Crop Party, the Evil Carnival, the National Coffee Pageant, and the Song Natiional Event.
Driving again... Apart from giving me the chance to drive again, as I took it in turns with my uncle to chauffeur my parents, this trip also allowed me to see some of Colombia's Southern regions I hadn't seen before; it's funny when I think of the amount of lovely Colombian spots I haven't visited yet and they're just fantastic;
a typical house
The hammock and the balcony obviously there. Who said Colombians are not able to relax despite our problems? Of course, we're and it makes us even stronger, just ready to start back again everytime sth is destroyed. I LOVE YOU!!! incidentally, I suppose it was my stay in Europe that really inflamed my desire for travelling and reaching new destinations.
As for my driving skills, I was very happy to know I hadn't forgotten what I learned back in Lyon, I was so confident that I would get a bit carried away with speed; my uncle, of course, used the breaks to lecture me on speed, yeah, I was a bad boy, but how shall I put it? with an excellent network of paved roads and the improvement of security on the roads, you cannot help it, sorry Uncle Pa. Incidentally, let's hope that the image of our country will follow suit.
As I said before, we travelled through different cities which were part of the Coffee's story; I was of course very proud of my hometown which was pointed out as essential in the rise of the Colombian coffee culture. I don't know if I've ever told you this but in a catholic village such as mine, the priest would ask every potential and confirmed wrongdoer (knowingly or unknowingly, that's the trick), after they'd finally own up to committing their sins, to pray
Valdez
If you're making a traditional cup of Colombian coffee, this place is vital for you to visit; make it Colombian:
get hold of the 'panela', the dried cane juice we use in our coffee; as far as sugar is concerned, we also hold the worldwide record of sugar yields per hectare and sow one coffee plant for every single sin -and legend has it that this punishment contributed to the quickly spreading of coffee plants around Colombia.
What's the moral of the story then? Up to you...
well, you might wonder how big sinners we used to be, or perhaps give us credit for being so FRANK, I mean just like me, not a sinner -of course- but most honest!! All in all, we are very proud to have done our bit in the history of Colombian coffee.
For the record, this happened in 'the past', yesteryear that is! I'm telling you, people have completely changed, that must be clear!!!.
THE COFFEE PARK The park was founded in 1995 by the Coffee Committee and the Coffee Federation as a beautiful project to let people know about the history of the coffee growing process in our country, its growing techniques, and keep the area preserved; I think they have done a great job, however, I am very concerned about the coffee growers themselves, who happen to get a very tiny percentage of all the coffee sold nationally and
the Show of the Orchids
The orchid, being our traditional flower, was the main actor in this Disney style fairy tale. Heartwarming as it was, I didn't cry but was very happy to learn that orchids can actually sing and dance as in a musical, did you know that? Just like ORCHICAGO, (I feel so wild, sorry). abroad.
Montenegro The site is located in a small town called Montenegro about 30 minutes from downtown Armenia; the town with its most typical bustling plaza, is a showcase for coffee trade, you will be amazed by the number of cafes being visited by the traditional farmers whose social life revolves around a Colombian cup of coffee.
You can visit the different coffee growing plantations -around 80 different varieties-, see the diverse national and international varieties of coffee and get acquainted with the different harvesting procedures. You can also visit a traditional farmer's house and an Indian cemetery, sorry for the contrast. But it is not all serious stuff, no, if you are a child or have children, you'll enjoy lots as it is also full of many attractions like 'exciting' roller coasters (not for me, obviously), a cable car, a train station, karts, horserides, different shows, notably the Coffee and Orchids show. The latter being our national flower. I must say that I was fortunately put off riding the cable car as I read on the leaflet that those suffering from vertigo shouldn't even try it!
The
Cattleya Trianae, la pauvre
What is sad though is that when our main actress, the beautiful Colombian Cattleya Trianae doesn't act, she faces extinction because of the degrading environment that has destroyed her usual habitat. best part of the trip -for me, at least- was one of the shows where, through different folk dances, they tell you the whole story of the coffee arrival and expansion in Colombia; I must admit I couldn't help shedding one or two tears throughout the performance; the reason? maybe out of guiltiness for being so far from both my family and country as the story told in the bible goes (yes, I was baptised a catholic!). For those of you, sinners, who don't read the bible (hahaha), I'm referring to the one of the prodigal son returning home after having spent every penny he'd got from his parents; well, for the record, I haven't spent everything but my youth and nice looks :-P.
Some places you find there are
Torre Mirador, Monumento a la cosecha, museos, sendero y variedades del café, bosque de mitos y leyendas, cablecar, Orquideorama, casa campesina, puente colgante, plaza de Bolivar, Plaza de los Novios, Botes Chocantes, etc.
FRANK, THE BIRTHDAY BOY Even though my brothers were all working at that time, I was fortunate to see that my birthday fell on a Friday (August,
The second happiest people in the world
Enjoying the show, yeah, those Colombians so happy!!! I highly recommend the show if you happen to be there one day, or we can go together as it is really moving and the dancers are just outstanding, a bit perfectionist like the Chinese. 3 thumbs up!!! 18th for those who want to send me precious presents, you have plenty of time, Let's see, I like books, films, computers, houses, cars, etc 😊 I'm not joking :-P), yeah, Friday night, how lucky I was as I could feel like a king for the whole weekend, and could actually had four of my brothers with me, a shame Jose, the eldest, couldn't make it.
You have guessed right, I'm the craziest of the family
We celebrated my birthday doing the most common activity we hold at celebrations, you see, for ages, it has been our most cherished national pastime to get together and have a great time, no matter what we do, either enhancing our most innate ability of moving hips (please, see Shakira for more information or singing badly. Indeed, it is commonplace for us to just have dancing parties even on the streets, and give polished performances, hehehe. Anyway, in order to liven up the party, we sort of organised a popstars contest,
mind you, we also have reality TV and fly off the wall programmes, we're so (un)lucky! and it was fun imitating big celebrities. We might consider landing a couple
An indian cemetery
Spooky but very insightful; incidentally, for the record, if sth happens to me, can you tell my parents to bury me with my most beloved treasures: my shakirita and my Chinese Pocket Interpreter? Perhaps, I'll be able to improve my Chinese in heaven, which seems impossible on earth. YEAH, I SAID HEAVEN!!!Why?...:-) of singing auditions, getting some good contacts, two or three interviews on TV and then we'll all be launched as a popstars; those of you who have heard me sing, do you reckon I stand a chance? Please tell me if you want to receive my cd when it is released or... do you think I have a better future in the film industry? let's be honest, I can easily be cast in a film with Julia Roberts, the title will be something like: 'Julia being so Frank'... I hope she'll come across my blog one day and then I'm sure we'll click straight away. In other situations, I am very down to earth person, believe me!
Well, where was I? ah...the singing, yes, the only thing I can say is that I'm glad you were not there on my birthday party as my relatives actually asked me to sing!!!
It was not that bad though, this time I sang a very moving song to my mum, 'Te amare´' from the Spanish singer Miguel Bose, the lyrics talk about endless love which can move mountains. I was also very touched by my sisters' words
La Chiva
Just like the open-aired Chivas, traditional forms of rural transportation displaying proudly the three colours of our Colombian flag: yellow, blue and red. The advantages? you can carry everything from your luggage to vegetables and animals, an unforgettable experience if you have the chance. and when it was my turn to talk, I was taken by the emotions -again!-and had to interrupt my speech 4 times, I'm still wondering how I managed to finish it up.
THE COUNTRY CLUB We also spent some days in the "Cordillera Country Club", a holiday resort outside the city. The resort has all the facilities to spend unforgettable weekends: boules or petanque, tennis and basketball courts, table tennis tables, sauna, swimming pool for both children and adults, self-catering flats plus all nature can offer.
We took part in one of the family competitions which consists of finding hidden treasures throughout the area, it's a sort of marketing for the place as you get to go to places you don't normally know they have; five families entered the contest and yes, we won; I must say my nephew and godson did, wow, I was flabbergasted by all his running skills; funny enough for you, during the race and due to my appalling orientation sense (yeah, Lydie, you're not the only one), I was lost in a sort of labyrinth, but nobody found me, I found my bearings by myself, you
No vertigo
Well, after the vertigo stage in the Silk Road, I was prepared for one more experience; though not so spine-chilling as the cable car structure gave me the impression I was in a confined place and I just had to close my eyes and let it go. should be proud of me.... Anyway, the prize was one free night for all of us in the resort which was an easy excuse for our return two weeks later.
BUT THERE WAS AN END...sniff Well, to sum up, this was a wonderful holiday, it was great to see all my relatives, celebrate with them my 21st birthday (again!), travel on safe roads while exploring the more tranquil and traditional Colombia; what else can I ask for?.
Some days later, it dawned on me that it was all coming to an end and yet, I wished it were too soon to say goodbye to my family; therefore, you can imagine the trip to the airport, I pretended I was reading one of my books so my mum didn't notice...; in the back of my mind stayed the desire to go back to my country and start a new career, something I've been thinking for a long time though this time it somehow makes more sense, well, anyway, I'll see what happens...
Back at work, I longed for more holidays as I needed time to adapt to everything Chinese
again. I still had a couple of weeks off which -I must say- were just very handy for my desire to learn mandarin, I just have to get my teeth into revising characters and phrases again, to see if my second year is worth more than the last one which I spent getting worried about falling down on my job.
This year, on the other hand, I also have other projects that I intend to pull off but don't worry, I'll keep you posted, but... only if you follow my previous advice on how to deal with diarrhea matters...
All in all, my country is such a beauty although I have to confess that sometimes I become a bit of a disinterested observer and may miss things easily
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Nelly Rocio
non-member comment
Great Blog
I've enjoyed your travel blog from China and Colombia a great deal! You're doing a great job relaying the essence of the country and it's people. I just went back last August since my last visit 20 years ago. It was a wonderful visit and your blog brings back lots of fond memories. Keep blogging so I can keep reliving the memories. Take care. Nelly from California