We reluctantly left the paradise of Hacienda Bambusa hoping to return next year for a longer stay. We caravaned back through Armenia' this time Sergio's car lost navigation so we (Mario's car) became the lead car. Our goal was the coffee farm (or finca) of
Hacienda Venecia, a family owned enterprise that offers detailed coffee tours. It lies outside of Manizales, a small city high up in the coffee highlands northeast of Pereira.
We reached the area around 5 PM but missed the small, unmarked turn for Hacienda Venecia and headed up the hill to Manizales before turning around. The road to Hacienda Venecia was even more daunting than that to Hacienda Bambusa. It was rough and hilly and completely unmarked. It would unfindable without GPS.
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| Our destination for Sunday evening - we finally spot a sign close to the property |
We finally arrived at the hacienda and were welcomed by the owner and his elderly parents. It has been in the family for four generations. They first said that they were expecting a 6 PM power outage (which was in 10 minutes) which was not a happy thought to any of us. Fortunately, this did not occur and we had no electric disturbances during our stay. The owners do not live on site but were visiting on this Sunday late afternoon. The place was run by a volunteer from Germany, Daniela, who was kind of stranded in Colombia after having her passport, money and phone stolen. But she enjoyed volunteering there in exchange for room and board and flexible terms.
The hacienda house, over 100 years old, has five bedrooms for rent. We had arranged for four of them but added a fifth to accommodate Sofia. Randy and I chose a room with bathroom en suite with a king bed, the Velez family took a similar, larger room and the Billors took an en suite with smaller bed. Sergio, Olga and Sofia took two rooms close to each other but their bathrooms were not en suite, all located (like all of the bedrooms) off the wrap around veranda. I took a quick dip in the garden pool.
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| The door to our room for the night - the real deal with wood shutters |
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| Our historic room with bathroom adjoining - luckily the expected electricity outage did not manifest itself |
Dinner was family style cooked by two local women and supervised by the Austrian visitor (who had picked up pretty decent Spanish). We ate at a big table adjoining the kitchen and dined on simple but tasty fare - rice, beef, salad, plantains - finished off with ice cream with blackberry sauce. They had unlimited coffee (their own of course) from a fancy machine that made espresso, cappuccino, etc. I ordered a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine - no choices here other than color - both nice Chilean efforts.
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| One of our cooks at the hacienda |
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| Nedret enjoys a glass of Chilean white at the Hacienda Venecia |
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| A huge hibiscus adorns our dining table |
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| Sofia and Olga |
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| Last night of the road trip |
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| Happy to be experiencing the real coffee country together |
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| Starting their sixth year of marriage today |
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| Lots of years of marriage have been achieved and still smiling |
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| Can't get enough of the plantains and the salad had homemade avocado dressing |
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| Ana Maria peels her favorite - green mango |
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| Zeki the fruit lover enjoys its tart taste |
After dinner, Daniela brought out aguardiente for those who wanted it (not me) and I shared some Scotch and brandy miniatures. We sat on one of the verandas (there were several veranda sitting areas) and enjoyed our private hacienda house. Sleep was early that night but waking early also.
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| The hacienda cat was a small version of our own Whitey |
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| Salud! |
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| The way to drink shots of aguardiente |
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| Chilling out with after dinner drinks |
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| Randy's Colombian lady - the sweet and friendly hacienda cat |
The flock of peacocks crowed (or whatever noise they make) loudly in the middle of the night (2:30 AM Nedret reported the next day) and the rooster, dogs and myriad of birds started at dawn in the morning. Still, it was a happy night, immersed in both nature and history. We all lounged around the verandas in the morning in our pajamas drinking coffee and admiring the views across the coffee hills and the amazing bird watching. The variety and closeness of the birds was truly amazing - all from the comfort of the couches on the veranda.
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| Sergio was up early for coffee |
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| The friendly beagle by the pool |
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| The Hacienda Venecia |
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| The lily pond |
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| A lily in the aforementioned pond |
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| Nedret takes a morning swim |
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| The peacock flock consisted of these glorious males and some sweet looking females |
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| Seeing a peacock fly is quite a sight |
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| On the gate between the hacienda house and the coffee production buildings |
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| View from the back veranda in the early AM |
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| Misty morning |
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| One of the incredible birds from the back veranda |
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| Another aviary beauty |
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| Vegetation |
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| A pretty bird and an ordinary one |
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| Another breathtaking specimen |
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| A flicker-like woodpecker |
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| Fluffing out in the morning |
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| Plain but striking |
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| One of my favorites |
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| In full plumage - he strutted for us |
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| Close up of a handsome peacock |
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| The rooster was also exceptionally attractive |
Breakfast was eggs, arepas, toast, fruit, coffee and the Colombia hot chocolate. This is very chocolaty but not so sweet. Delicious!
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| Zeki teaches Mario how to eat the breakfast fruit |
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| Mario and the Billors dig into the fruit tasting |
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| The hot chocolate pot and stirrer |
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| I had seconds on the hot chocolate |
Randy, Nedret and Zeki signed up for the three hour coffee tour which began at 9 AM. They headed out while the rest of us enjoyed the grounds. We walked to the nearby orchid nursery then I set off on one of the several hikes available. I walked up into the coffee bush area enjoying the nature and the remote setting. I then returned and went on a second hike to the Hacienda Venecia's guest house (a modern building with pool that rents out bedrooms) and its hostel (a more rustic building with no pool for those on a budget). Our lodgings, in the main house, were the choice ones, of course.
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| The coffee processing area |
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| An orchid in the nursery |
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| The Madonna stands watch |
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| Coffee country wild flowers |
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| Coffee bushes - I walked to the house in the photo |
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| The best coffee comes from the steep, high slopes |
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| Ripening coffee berries |
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| Ready to pick - they pick year round in coffee country |
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| All Colombian houses have this extra water storage high up to compensate for any city water disruption |
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| In situ flower |
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| The hacienda from the hostel area |
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| A hibiscus in situ - yellow is my favorite |
I knew the pool would feel good after the humid hiking and it did. Ana Maria and Antonia were already there. We all joined up for lunch which was rice, beans, sausage and avocado, with ice cream with a sauce of my favorite Colombian fruit - uchuva.
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| Orchids on the veranda |
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| Mario chills before lunch - looking fly, Mario |
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| Olga and Sergio cuddle in a hammock before lunch |
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| The midday table |
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| My favorite - beans and rice, sausage ("chorizo"), plantain and avocado |
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| Ice cream with uchuva sauce - a great ending! |
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| Nedret picked up a couple of authentic coffee sacks as souvenirs as did I - Nedret also got a Panama style hat for herself |
We left in mid-afternoon and headed to Manizales, which looks worthy of a visit on its own. It has the obligatory statue of Simon Bolivar as a condor (which I would have to see but missed it!) and is located high up in the mountains with amazing views. Our goal was rum shopping - the Caldas rums are known as the best in Colombia. I picked up a bottle of 15 year old for me (as did Nedret) and some smaller bottles of the 8 year old for gifts back home (all well received and even fought over).
We then retraced our steps back to Medellin. The traffic on this holiday Monday was much less than that of Friday so we made good time over the mountains. Unfortunately, the drive was hard on Nedret's stomach but she held on. We stopped again for cheesy bread at Versalles (and for the good bathrooms) arriving to Medellin in early evening. We picked up our luggage from Mario's and met up with the other car at our airport hotel (the Movich, located literally adjoining the airport). Our rooms were modern and comfortable, and Nedret, Zeki, Randy and I had a decent dinner at the hotel restaurant. We went to bed pretty early for our 3:30 AM wake up call. We took the 4:30 AM free shuttle and arrived in time for some Duty Free shopping (rum and coffee, of course) before boarding our Delta nonstop to Atlanta which left at 7:00 AM.
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| Back in Versalles |
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| Adorable Antonia was so good on this trip! |
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| The street dropped off precipitously |
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| Good bye to our cat friends in Colombia - here, Lorenzo Velez |
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| One last photo of this sweetie! |
What a wonderful trip with so many memorable adventures! The best part, of course, was sharing it with our special Auburn friends - Nedret and Zeki, and with our Colombian amigos - the Eslavas in Bogota and our Medellin gang - Sergio, Olga, Sofia, Carlos, Sandra, Juan Gregorio, Mario, Ana Maria and Antonia. And, their assorted cats and one dog!
