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Published: March 9th 2009
Otavalo market stallholders
These two ladies were weraing traditional costume and more than happy to be photographedHello from Costa Rica and time to let you know about our adventures in Colombia ,but first a quick up date on what we did in Quito which sandwiched the trip to the Galapagos.Confused,well that makes at least 3 of us !
We flew into Quito from Lima and got a taxi to the Quito Hotel which seemed very 'un' Explore like as it was a big modern
hotel. (S- we had booked our Galapagos trip with Coral''s previous employer, Explore) However, the room was large and there was a bath so very acceptable as far as I was concerned. Our GAP welcome meeting was postponed for 24 hours, as people had been delayed by the snow in the UK. (S- the trip was actually provided by another travel company, called GAP) We had dinner in a restaurant opposite the hotel as we were not too keen to venture too far in the mist that had descended.
After breakfast the next day we sat in reception and waited for our city tour but they had left without us having taken 6 people without checking the names ! The hotel called GAP and they quickly organised another tour guide for
Market stall Otavalo
Typical colouful stall us which probably worked in our favour as we had our own tour with Marco around the city. We visited the very impressive Basilica church with gargoyles on the exterior representing some animals from the Galapagos and areas inside where the building has been 'bleeding' since the visit of John Paul II. Scientists from the USA have visited to try to explain this amazing phenomenon but have been unable to disprove that it is in fact real blood. We then walked around some of the older parts of the city and saw inside the incredibly opulent Jesuit church.
We had our welcome meeting at 5pm and met the rest of the people going to the Galapagos the following day. We found
an Ecuadorian restaurant for dinner with Jan and Gill. I was tempted to have guinea pig but thoughts of my pet Englebert Humperdink put paid to that.
You have already read about our trip to the Galapagos so fast forward to our return to Quito where we stayed in the Quito
Hotel again for one night. On the Saturday morning we caught a public bus to Otavalo which is famous for its market. It took
nearly 4
Middle of the world
Standing on either side of the equator hours as we made lots of stops but the scenery was lovely. We were also entertained by the movie Tuxedo with
Jackie Chan. Unfortunately it started raining and was quite cold so we only had a brief look around the market but it was nice to see the colourful stalls. We found the hostel and had a very nice pizza for dinner. Sunday morning we ate breakfast in the square and watched the local people in their traditional Sunday best. After another wander round themarket, we headed back to Quito and a nice hostel for our last 2 nights, plus a farewell dinner with Jan and Gill.
On Monday morning we were due to go to the Mitad Del Mundo with GAP but they failed to show - again. The hostel owner chased them up and,eventually,we set off to the 'middle of the world'. Again it was raining but it was intermittent so we were able to take the typical tourist picture of us standing on both sides of the equator line and watch the water go in different directions down a plughole depending on where the water tank was put. We learnt some of history of the site
and the strong beliefs of the indigenous people about the influence of the sun. On Tuesday morning our GAP airport transfer did turn up so we headed to our flight to Bogota......
We had a short but impressive flight to Bogota on the newest plane we've seen, and sailed through the entry formalities. We were bussed to the domestic terminal for immediate boarding of our flight to Manizales. We arrived safely but, unfortunately, our luggage did not. We were met by Alex, an affable young man who spoke good English and would not lookout of place on Worlds Strongest Man - no one would argue with him ! He spoke with the Avianca rep about our luggage and, when told it might be on the next flight, agreed to take us into town for a couple of hours. We got some money and a few bits in a supermarket. He was then advised that Bogota airport was closed so our luggage would not arrive until the following day. We were then driven to the Hacienda Venecia which was an amazing place set in the middle of nowhere. Owned by Emilio and Maria Teresa,the coffee plantation is now run by
Hacienda Venecia
View of the one side of the house from the garden with the door to our room 2nd on the right their son, Juan Pablo. The house itself is a traditional one with a veranda running all around it and very tastefully decorated. The gardens were magnificent with orchids among the many beautiful flowers all around and the grounds were frequented by many many birds including humming birds. We were welcomed like family members and provided with some fresh clothes and toiletries to tide us over. The food was wonderful and we even managed time for a brief dip in the pool. The weather was warm and sunny here, a welcome change from Quito and we were very well fed.
We spent our first full day relaxing and Emilio let us join him for a very pleasant walk around the plantation with six of his dogs, 3 dobermans and 3 labradors. While we were out, Alex delivered our luggage. After a BBQ lunch Juan Pablo took us around and educated us on the art of coffee. He was determined to convert us as neither of us are coffee drinkers ! Coffee
production is a long,complicated process and it was great to learn about the procedures and see a plantation still adhering
to the old fashioned way where 90% of the
work is one by hand. The family have about 40 permanent staff but can employ
up to 10 times that many when the coffee is picked,usually in April and October. The main bulk of the coffee produced is
exported to two main buyers ,one in Belgium and the other in Japan with the remainder going to Bogota. I finished the
tour with a cappuccino and ,nice though it was , I still prefer a nice cup of tea - sorry Juan Pablo.
The next day we were collected for a full day tour. We drove for two hours before collecting our English speaking guide,Andres. We were taken to two little towns ,Filandia and Solento, that still had some traditional houses and were set in some beautiful scenery. We then had a lift in a jeep that was almost 50 years old and imported from the USA. These are well loved and well used in the region. We went into the Cocora Valley which was lovely but it decided to rain - heavily., so we couldnt fully appreaciate its beauty. We had lunch and headed home.
Early start the next day for our flight to Cartegena and a sad
Coffee beans
Freshly picked coffee cherries start the process of being turned into coffee beans for export farewell to the Zona Cafetera, Hacienda Venecia and Alex. We were met at the airport and taken to our hotel which was inside the old city walls. The city is a maze of narrow streets with some amazing plazas and lots of original colonial buildings. No shortage of cafes or restaurants and we had nice warm weather here.We were content with meandering around the old city although we did venture out by taxi to Castilo San Filipe on the hill for some impressive views. We had a drink in the Sofitel hotel which used to be a monastery and were entertained by the resident toucan.
After four nights we went to the eco-habs in Tayrona National Park for 3 nights and I can highly recommend hammock
therapy ! We had a 2 story hab overlooking the sea with 3 hammocks, a flat screen tv and WIFI plus a good supply of tea
and chocolate - enough said. It was very hot and again,although there was only one restaurant, we were well fed.
On the Friday we went to the airport via the Posadas Touristicas San Raphael,Taganga and Santa Marta. The Posadas are a relatively new idea instigated by the
Coffee ready to go
Steph checks the quality of the coffee for export government to encourage people involved directly and indirectly in the drugs trade to start a new way of life. They involve a group of people who agree to cultivate coffee and honey instead of coca and are rewarded with payments from the government to help with the initial costs. They have also built basic accommodation available for tourists to stay in and are encouraged to sell extra produce grown locally. The president has taken a keen interest in the projects- there are about 15 up and running- and he has attended the opening of some as a show of support. We took an article from the Sunday Times magazine about the projects, published last December and the people we met were thrilled to see pictures of their friends. Taganga was a typical small idyllic fishing village and looked a lovely place to stay - maybe next time. We looked at the church in Santa Marta and had a drink by the beach.
We flew to Bogota and were met by Oscar who turned out to be a real gem - the perfect guide ( perhaps there is a factory
in Colombia that produces guides like Alex and Oscar )
Our hotel in Bogota was the Estellar Suites Jones and the staff were lovely and very protective of us.It was cold and wet in the capital so we had dinner in the hotel.
Next day Oscar picked us up and we set off for a weekend away in Villa De Leiva. En route we went to the salt cathedral in
Zipaquira which is carved underground and has 14 chambers relating to the stations of the cross. It is purely a tourist
attraction but impressive nonetheless. Services are actually conducted here and there have been a handful of weddings and
baptisms. The acoustics are wonderful as proved by Handels Messiah which was played during our visit. We then stopped at Chiquinquira, to see the Basilica and the painting of the Virgin apparently restored by prayer, and at Raquira to visit the handicraft shops.
Villa de Leyva is a beautiful little town with cobbled streets and protected colonial style houses, and one of the biggest plazas in the Americas. It comes alive at the weekends when filled with visitors from Bogota, but was still charming. We visited a couple of local markets and enjoyed looking at all the strange fruits and
View of the valley
The stunning Cocura valley vegetables. We stayed in a lovely colonial house with a huge courtyard. On Sunday we visited the area around the town, and stopped at the archaeological site of El Infiernito, an ancient astronomical observatory, the monastery of Ecce Homo, and the dinosaur remains at El Fosil.
We returned to Bogota, stopping briefly at Tunja, and at Boyaca bridge, where there is a monument to one of the battles in the struggle for independence from Spain, and to several of the independence heroes. In Bogota we visited the famous gold museum, which has recently been renovated and is full of stunning metalwork from the period before the Spanish conquest.
We then tried to buy stamps for a few postcards, and this proved to be a major challenge, and left very little time for a brisk walk round the highlights of central Bogota.
We had some trepidation about visiting Colombia but wanted to visit a country re-opening its doors to tourism. We found it to be a beautiful country, full of warm and generous people, who were very happy to see us, albeit a little curious about non-spanish speakers. All told us that it had changed remarkably over the last
few years ,thanks largely to its president, and that it was now a safe country over much of its area. We saw frequent road checks, which were the norm, and were routinely stopped a couple of times. Although our guides and the cars we travelled in were checked, we were not inconvenienced at all, and it was not a threatening experience. The only time we felt threatened was when we passed through Baranquilla which was having its Mardi gras carnival. Children approached the car dressed as guerillas with mock rifles, and I guess it will take a few years before they prefer to dress as Spiderman.
Coral and Steph
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ALEXANDER
non-member comment
thanks
i have to say that im still laughing about what you say about me ( the strongest man stuff - that was really funny), i also have to say that it makes me very happy because its always good to know that my job is usefull for nice people like you. hope that your trip is still going great. remember to stay in touch. alex from manizales.