Road Trip to Coffee Country - Part 1 - Pereira

We left in two cars on Friday morning (Sergio's and Mario's) from the Novelty Suites Hotel in Medellin.  I sat with Zeki and Randy in the back of Sergio's SUV with Olga and Sergio in the front.  In the other SUV, Mario drove with Nedret riding shotgun (because she can get car sick if in the back on windy roads) and Ana Maria and Antonia in the backseat.  The day was lovely.  We hit some traffic out of Medellin because the following week was Holy Week with the schools out and many businesses closed, at least on Monday and Friday.

Highly anticipating this road trip to coffee country!

The drive was pretty straightforward - one road between Medellin and Pereira to the south - but the road is almost all two lanes and a lot of it is mountainous and curvy.  The tarmac, for the most part, however was in good condition.

We stopped after about an hour at Versalles, a small town in the highlands.  Where we stopped is known for its hot cheese bread rolls - both baked and deep fried.  The place also had sausages, liquor, candy and a lot of other stuff crammed in.  The bathrooms were surprisingly good.  And, the cheese bread lived up to expectations.

Good food and bathrooms in Versalles Colombia

The restaurant cooks pose for me

Nedret and the Velez family enjoy cheese bread

Down the street was this intriguing ice cream shop

The traditional clothes in Versalles - we saw men also arriving on horseback to the town (no kidding)

We continued through the mountains at a slow pace because of the numerous trucks on the road.  It was hard to pass due to the traffic and the bends in the road.  The scenery was breathtaking with green mountains and wonderful vistas.

I had a hard time getting a picture of the scenery en route because of the vegetation and turns

We entered the lowlands where the going was quicker but the weather very hot and humid.  We stopped for lunch at a large town called La Pintada.  The main restaurant, Asados Dona Rosa, was quite full but we were seated right away.  They specialized in traditional Colombian hearty fare and there was not a salad or sandwich in sight.  I ordered a catfish or "bagre" combination.  Not a great choice.  It was huge and a little odd.  I did eat some of it.  Randy enjoyed his sausage platter though.

Our lunch spot - it was warm outside and inside (restaurants in Colombia rarely have walls)

Nedret was a little overwhelmed with the size of her lunch platter

My "bagre" - both plates of it.  Really great for catfish lovers, I guess.

Randy enjoyed his sausage, arepa, cheese, potato and plantain.  No greens at this restaurant!

Sergio examines his platter of chicharrones - fried pork meat and fat - very popular in Colombia

We pushed on through the lowlands then climbed again towards the coffee region.  Pereira is a department (like our states) capital.  We entered the city about an hour late, mainly due to the traffic.  My class was supposed to go from 5 to 8 PM but we didn't arrive until after 5:30 PM.  We checked into the very modern and comfortable Movich Hotel (a chain in Colombia) and Sergio walked me to the EAFIT campus in Pereira.  This consists of part of an office building about 15 minutes by walking from the hotel.  He had alerted the students that we were running late.

Nedret in front of the Pereira Movich Hotel - we had top floor rooms

I started at 6 PM and told them we would stop at 8 PM but no break - we actually stopped about 8:15 PM.  There were about 23 working engineers in the class and, while their English varied, they were all cheerful and cooperative and some were quite enthusiastic.

EAFIT purchased part of an office building for its Pereira branch campus

One half of my class in Pereira

The other half

Mario and Sergio picked me up in a car and we returned to the hotel where the others were already involved with some Friday night drinking in the bar.  We decided to eat at the hotel restaurant.  It was quite upscale and the food was very good.  The prices, by Colombian standards, were a little high but it was a bargain by our standards.

Antonia was so well behaved on the entire trip and enjoyed dinner at the Movich

Randy and I split the crab and avocado appetizer - delicious!

My amazing salad with berries and asparagus - an unusual but tasty combination

The rest of my meal - a vegetable stuffed portobello mushroom.  I needed lots of veggies after the heaviness of lunch,

I got up early the next morning to allow plenty of time for breakfast, etc. before my 8 AM class.  The weather was perfect and Mario walked me over to the EAFIT building after a pretty delicious breakfast of vegetable and cheese omelet (my standard), fruit and some fiber cereal.  And, coffee.

Morning view from our room at the Movich

Looking the other way

The building was built unusually with open air, instead of walls, on the main structure.  The place must always have amazing weather for that to work.

The cute coffee truck on the walk between the Movich and the EAFIT campus in Pereira

The students were mostly there and this morning session was livelier than the evening before and I did a better job (fresher in the morning and the material was more to my liking).  We ended about 11:15 AM and walked back to the hotel.  We checked out and loaded the cars for our adventure to coffee country.

The class work on their final group case studies

A group of guys had a good time with their hospital REL Chart - they thoughtfully tried to translate most things into English

I reviewed their group outputs - they were all thoughtful and interesting

Sergio and I with the students of EAFIT at Pereira

We did not see much of Pereira though I gather it is mainly an industrial city (there is a big Nestle plant of snacks and cookies).  But the weather seemed excellent, the Movich hotel more than comfortable and the people friendly.  I was disappointed to know that I missed the main attraction - a statue of a nude (!) Simon Bolivar on horseback in the city center.  Next time!

The modern cathedral across the street from the Movich Hotel