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Published: October 12th 2011
Colourful streets of Salento in Zona Cafetera
A nice change from the usual whitewashed architecture we were used tooI’m not really sure why I think this is funny, but Pablo Escobar’s son is an architect. He is living in Buenos Aries after fleeing Colombia with his sister and mother after Pablo’s death. And for a poorly architect he is probably living quite comfortably on the ten percent of Pablo’s wealth they kept. With Pablo Escobar previously being the richest criminal in the world (and 7th richest man in the world at one point), I imagine ten percent of his wealth to be quite a bit of dough. But I’ll get to our encounter with the Escobar story shortly. This blog entry begins after Berni and I left Bogota on an overnight bus to Salento, a small town in Zona Cafetera, Colombia’s coffee growing region.
We arrived bleary eyed and into the much anticipated milder weather around 6.30am. On the recommendation of our friends Tom and Jane, we had organised to stay at Plantation House, only about a 100m walk from where the bus dropped us. I had been fast asleep on the bus so it took me a little while to adjust before we set off following the signs to the hostel. Overnight bus travel is good for
A teeny tiny hummingbirds feeding from fake flowers
In the Reserva Natural Acaime, a hummingbird hotspot in Valle de Cocora those long 13 hour trips but it does tend to stuff you around a little afterwards. Berni had emailed ahead to make a reservation, but as it was so early we had to wait around till 10.00am before our room was ready. So we sat in the kitchen drinking free coffee and chatting to Tim, the English owner who reminded us a lot of Murray from Flight of the Concords. Once we were shown to our room we were very pleased with it. It was colourful, with a really comfortable bed and was tucked away from the brand new kitchen and communal lounge area so was nice and quiet. We paid 45,000 pesos per night for a double with ensuite.
After we settled in and freshened up, we went to find some lunch and to take a look around town. Also since we were in Colombia’s coffee growing region Berni was eager to sample some of the local produce. Even though Colombia produces some of the best coffee beans in the world it seems like none of it is actually kept in the country, with most of Colombia’s cafes serving the sugary sweet Café Tinto. In our search for
After the struggle and tears
The amazing view once we made it to the top at La Montana in Valle de Cocora. By the afternoon the clouds had started to roll in a good coffee, we went off the recommendations of both Tim at Plantation House, and our friend Pat who said to try Café Jesus Martin, a tiny café just off the main plaza which uses their own homegrown beans. Berni’s verdict on the coffee… the best since leaving Australia. We went there every day while we were in Salento.
Also while we were in Salento we went to the stunning Valle de Cocora and did a hike to the Reserva Natural Acaime and La Montana. We were up early and managed to get on the first jeep heading to Valle de Cocora for the day. It took 25 minutes and cost 3,000 pesos each. Berni and I were lucky and scored seats in the front so we weren’t too squished while the driver packed in as many people as he could in the usual Colombian fashion. Once we arrived, we followed the written directions I copied from our guidebook. You begin by walking past the restaurants where the jeep drops you, following the path downhill to the right. After five minutes you cross a bridge over the Rio Quindio. Then the hard part… you walk for an hour uphill
Valle de Cocora
The rolling hills of Valle de Cocora scattered with unusual tall wax palms to the Reserva Natural Acaime. The last 30 minutes or so is signposted really well, but until then you just have to trust you are on the right path. The landscape is stunning. Rolling green hills with tall wax palms then turns into dense forest with pine trees and flowing rivers. There are several bridges to cross along the way, some more hairy than others – Indiana Jones, rope bridge style. The last 30 minutes is also the toughest of the hike to the Reserve. Valle de Cocora is 1895m above sea level and I’m beginning to realise it affects me more than it does Berni. I’ll admit it now… I battled. Berni and his freakishly large lungs powered on ahead leaving me huffing and puffing and behind. Once we made I to the Reserve, the hard work (… for me, that is) was worth it. We paid 3,000 pesos each to enter the Reserve which included a warm bowl of Aguapanela - a warm sugarcane drink, and a chunk of cheese. An unusual but delicious combination. So we relaxed and enjoyed the cheesy goodness while we watched hundreds of tiny hummingbirds whirling around us. The next part of the
Botero's Woman
Me with one of the giant bronze Botero sculptures in Parque Berrio, Medellin hike took us to La Montana, a viewpoint overlooking the valley and high peaks beyond. We left the Reserve, heading 1km back downhill to a fork in the road. Instead of going back the way we came from the jeeps we took the steeper path to La Montana. It was then another grueling 800m to the viewpoint… now before you hear it from Berni - yes… I did have a minor breakdown about 150m from the top because I couldn’t breathe. It’s hard to hike uphill with the altitude working against you and with Berni constantly picking on you for being a battler. There were some tears and then some promises (Berni’s) of never calling me a battler again. Now he just uses code - MLB… my little battler. When we did make it to the top the view to the valley and mountains covered in cloud was amazing. We sat and had a picnic lunch before the 5km hike back to the jeeps to return us to Salento.
The following day we left Salento and got a bus to Pereira, and then onto Medellin. From Pereira, Medellin is only 180kms. However, the road is slow and congested with
Botero's Man
Berni with one of the giant bronze Botero sculptures in Parque Berrio, Medellin traffic so it took roughly seven painful hours. By the end we were both going stir crazy. We made it to Medellin around 7.00pm and checked into The Black Sheep Hostel in Poblado. A big hostel with comfortable beds, clean shared bathrooms, general good vibes and a Sunday night BBQ (which we just missed due to the lengthy bus ride). Our first day in Medellin we spent exploring the city centre. We wandered through Parque Berrio, home to 23 bronze Botero sculptures and the gothic Basilica de la Candelaria. We visited the Museo de Antioquia, and then stopped for lunch at Restaurante Vegetariano Govinda’s… for a healthy break from pollo frito (fried chicken), before checking out Parque Bolivia and the newer Catedral Metropolitana.
Next on our list of things to do was the Pablo Escobar tour. We had both just read the book “Killing Pablo” so were keen to satisfy our imaginations and see some of the places described in the book. We booked it through The Black Sheep Hostel with a small company called Paisa Road. We were picked up from the hostel at 10.30am in a minibus and spent the next three hours driving around Medellin learning
The newer Catedral Metropolitana
In one of the two mains plazas in Medellin, the leafy Parque Bolivia more about the world’s most famous criminal. The tour began with one of
Pablo Escobar’s many properties, a multilevel residential building which he lived in with his family and sicarios – his motorbike-riding hitmen. Our guide said he owned 500 properties in Medellin alone. Most of his properties had several features in common. Most were built in a style which reflected the residential architecture of Miami Beach, Florida circa 1960s…stark, minimalist and efficient. Other common features included imported Caribbean palms, enormous satellite dishes and white exteriors. Our guide said most of Pablo’s buildings had white exteriors. Apparently it became a personal joke of his… using the colour of the product which had brought him money and power. Here we were also shown photographs of the building shortly after the Cali Cartel set off a car bomb in the street below. The Escobars were inside at the time and the explosion was responsible for his baby daughter suffering lifelong hearing problems. Our guide also pointed out the city’s most prestigious country club, opposite the Escobar residence, which Pablo aspired to join. When he was refused membership, accused of not being one of Medellin’s elite, Pablo took revenge by building his home
Pablo Vive!!!
Interesting graffiti on the walls of one of the derelict buildings once owned by Pablo Escobar directly in front of the club so they would have to look at it all the time. Next stop was Medellin Cartel’s city headquarters, another Miami Beach style building with the usual white exterior and token Caribbean palms. Both this building and the previous one are unoccupied and have been since Pablo’s death. The government owns the buildings but if they sell, they have to give a portion of the money to the community which they would rather not do. Therefore the buildings are slowly becoming more and more derelict and left for ruin. We then stopped briefly to visit a shrine to the Virgin Mary. Pablo’s sicarios would stop by and ask the Virgin Mary for protection before they went off to kill someone. We then went to see another building damaged by a car bomb. It had been left for ruin too. This building had some interesting graffiti on the walls…”Pablo Vive!!!” – apparently some people believe he is still alive. Like Elvis. Next stop was the house where Pablo was discovered after months in hiding and killed. It was nothing like any of the buildings we had seen on the tour so far. No palm trees and
Pablo Escobar's last hiding place
The small house where Pablo and Limon were hiding before they were eventually shot and killed. They were trying to escape through a rear window no satellite dish, just a typical middleclass home in a quiet residential area. It was his aunt’s house and he was hiding there with his closest sicario, nicknamed Limon. When they were discovered, they escaped through a rear window onto the roof of the neighbouring house. Limon was killed first in the gunfire and eventually Pablo. He was shot 3 times and died there on rooftop. Next, we drove to the airport where we got to see the graveyard of old planes used by the Medellin Cartel to traffic cocaine to the USA. They are still being held for evidence. Lastly, we drove to the cemetery where we got to visit his gravesite which overlooks the whole of Medellin. I noticed his gravestone was different to the one pictured in the book and our guide filled us in as to why. His gravestone had been replaced recently as people had broken into the cemetery and stole it. Apparently his happens quite frequently and his gravestone has been replaced due to theft numerous times. This is interesting because before Pablo got into the drug trafficking business, he and his cousin began their career in crime stealing gravestones, sanding them back and
The last stop on the Pablo Escobar tour
Pablo Escobar's grave, surrounded by Caribbean palms in a cemetery overlooking Medellin reselling them. Jokes on him I guess.
After the tour Berni spent a few hours preparing for a job interview he had later that night. I was booted from the room while he was left to face a panel of five over Skype while he answered questions in his underpants. If you are wondering, he did get the job. So congratulations Berni! The following day we took the newly installed Metrocable to Santo Domingo for amazing views of the city. We then did some shopping in the downtown shopping district before heading back to the hostel to pack our backpacks and eat dinner, before getting an overnight bus to Popayan – our last destination in Colombia before crossing into Ecuador.
The bus trip took just over 13 hours and we arrived in Popayan midmorning. The owner of The Black Sheep Hostel in Medellin recommended we try Hostel Trail. We got a taxi straight there and were lucky to get a double room with ensuite for 45,000 pesos. We both really liked Hostel Trail and recommend it for anyone thinking of visiting Popayan. It has spacious, sunny rooms with big ensuites and a great kitchen where we cooked for
The whitewashed neoclassical Catedral
In the main plaza, Parque Caldas in Popayan. Our last stop in Colombia before the border crossing ourselves one night. Sometimes you just really miss cooking so it’s good to cook every so often, even if it is cheaper to eat out. After we settled in we went out to explore the city centre. Popayan is a really picturesque city with its whitewashed Spanish colonial architecture and leafy main plaza, Parque Caldas. Opposite the main plaza is the beautiful neoclassical, Catedral. Our guidebook tells us the dome of the Catedral had been reconstructed after it once came crashing down killing lots of people… I was a little wary going inside. We spent the rest of afternoon wandering around checking out the sights. There are six churches in the city centre! We then had lunch at a small vegetarian restaurant run by a lovely elderly lady. We had 3 courses of delicious home cooked food, and we only paid 5,000 pesos for the both of us. So cheap! That night Berni found out he got the job so we decided to celebrate by going out for dinner and doing our own little pub crawl. For dinner we went to a popular restaurant called Loncheria La Vina, where we had bife de chorizo – an Argentinian cut of beef
Santuario de las Lajas
The basilica church of Santuario de las Lajas built inside the canyon of the Guaitara River and celebrated with a few beers. We then worked our way around the few bars in the city centre. They were all really different, from a men’s den type of affair playing bolero from old vinyl to a karaoke bar with black lights and sticky floors and an arty café selling warm alcoholic tea.
The next day we felt energetic and decided to do a 30km bike ride and visit to the nearby thermal pools. We booked it through the hostel and it cost 45,000 pesos each which included entry to the thermal pools, mountain bikes, emergency puncture kit and bike pump. We were picked up from the hostel and driven 30km out of town to the thermal pools. It smelt strongly of egg but the smell aside, we enjoyed relaxing in the different temperature pools before the long bike ride ahead of us. If you are thinking of doing the ride, I will warn you now. The advertised “downhill ride” does include a tough uphill section which had me huffing and puffing and gasping for air. From the thermal pools we had to ride for 20 minutes on the unpaved and extremely bumpy road to get to the turn off to Popayan. It was all downhill but still tough going - trying not to go too fast and risk hitting a rock and going over the handlebars. Once on the main road back to Popayan it then got even tougher with the previously mentioned uphill section, plus we also had to contend with the numerous buses speeding around corners in front of us. However, the uphill struggle soon ended and we then enjoyed the 20km downhill ride into Popayan, stopping along the way for a bowl of hot chocolate and a huge chunk of cheese at a café recommended by Hostel Trail. We were told to enjoy it the local way by dropping the chunk of cheese into the bowl of hot chocolate, drinking the hot chocolate then eating the cheese which is nice and soft and stringy from the hot chocolate. It also comes with 2 cheesy bread rolls. My verdict… amazing! But really, how could it not be? Three of my favourite things, chocolate, cheese and bread. You can’t really go wrong can you.
The next morning we were up early, ready for the mammoth journey to Quito. This involved getting on a 5.30am bus to Ipiales which took just over six hours. In Ipiales we stopped for a couple of hours to visit the nearby Santuario de las Lajas, an incredible basilica church built inside the canyon of the Guaitara River. We then caught a taxi to the border where we lined up to go through Colombian immigration. From there we walked across a bridge and over the border into Ecuador where we went through a similar immigration process. It was as simple as that. However, from the moment we stepped into Ecuador our luck changed but more on that in my next blog. Stay tuned.
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anissa mcalpine
non-member comment
NO ONE believes me about the tinto! It tastes like dirt! Lovely blog Claire! Neat to hear that you saw many of the same sight me and English Clare saw. I wish we had had more time in the country to learn about Escobar. He's so intriguing. Congrats to Bernie on the job. All the best with the rest of your travels!