Alice and Randy Live in Colombia: Road Trip to Coffee Country - Part 2

We headed from Pereira around 12:30 PM south towards Armenia (the small city in Colombia, not the country!). Mario suggested we stop at a village known for its trout (because I love trout). This proved to be the exceptionally pretty small town of Salento. On this Saturday it was pretty busy with tourists - both Colombian and European (maybe some North Americans too). The drive there was another breathtakingly beautiful one. Since Sofia, Sergio and Olga's daughter, had flown early that morning to join us we arranged the cars a bit. Randy sat (happily) between Olga and Sofia in the back of Sergio's car with Zeki in the front. I squeezed in with Antonia and Ana Maria in the back of Mario's car with Nedret in the front.

Salento proved to have excellent trout but much more. One of the most beautiful small towns in Colombia, it has well preserved and colorful buildings and is nicely situated in the small mountains. There were craft booths on the main square and I happily bought some nice local things (knit wear and jewelry). We headed for a recommended restaurant for lunch that was several blocks off the main street. This was named for a cat (adding to its appeal) and proved to be very cheap, delicious and friendly. It rained quite a bit as we ate our trout, prepared various ways, and especially enjoyed the very thin, huge plantain chips with the best hogao sauce. What a nice break!

The church in the central square of Salento

The simple interior

Latin Americans seem to like their Jesus representations quite gory

The only native Colombian saint

The square of Salento

Like all other towns and cities, the center contains a statue of the liberator of Colombia, Simon Bolivar

There was a little drizzle when we arrived - the ladies (and Randy) shopping

A pretty building on the square

The national palms of Colombia - the Quindio wax palm - native to this region

Olga enjoys a roasted corn from a vendor and Zeki rushed to get one too - note the size of the kernels

The lively main shopping street is pedestrian only and leads to a set of steps carved in the hillside leading up to a view from above the town. We did not have the time to make this climb - next time it will be a priority!

Our lunch spot - an excellent choice!

The colorful restaurant exterior - was probably once a house

Deciding on which trout to order

Sergio and Sofia

Me and Olga

Zeki shows Mario and Antonia something funny on his phone

The amazing thin plantains with hogao - a meal in itself

I was surprised my trout with garlic had cream but I pushed it aside and the trout was very delicious underneath

After lunch we piled back into the cars for the trip to Hacienda Bambusa, a cocoa farm near Armenia. Again, the drive was spectacular from a natural beauty viewpoint. The cars became separated and the mobile phones in our car (Mario's) ran out of battery, and therefore guidance. After following some incorrect advice of local people and driving around some extra 60 minutes in the vicinity of Armenia we contacted the other car, which was near the hacienda, and got on track. Bambusa is a quite expensive small hotel (seven rooms) but reaching it was more challenging than expected. The small road from Armenia was dotted with big pot holes and required expert driving by Mario. It was pretty flat which was helpful. About an hour late (around 6 PM) after much rural driving, we arrived at the hacienda. By this time we wondered how good a place could be with such a bad entry road but we were happily surprised by a super deluxe, magical place.

Road trip

Some of the amazing views along the way

Greeted with fresh juice and cool washcloths we headed to our rooms. We had the four best rooms (all on the back facing the pool). Ours and Mario's upstairs with the others downstairs. The only other room was occupied by a quiet Dutch family. Our room was large with AC, a walk in closet, a huge TV (which we didn't use) and a wrap around balcony with a hammock and some comfy chairs. The view to the garden and pool was splendid.

Randy was already chilling when I arrived to Hacienda Bambusa

Door to our room - the Carpintero

Our room on the second story with the Billors' below

Our big room with king size bed (yeah!)

Our balcony with hammock and views

We dumped the luggage and ordered up some white wine and wandered among the garden in the dusk. Ana Maria and Antonia went swimming while the rest of relaxed around the pool. We later moved to the covered outdoor living room with soft couches for the pre-dinner wine.

Nedret was in love with the place

Some of the plantings in the garden near the pool

Dusk at Hacienda Bambusa

Randy keeps Ana Maria and Antonia company at the pool

Some Argentinian Torrontes

We also finished off the two part bottles of red I had been dragging around since Medellin - the happy couple on their 5th anniversary

Zeki kept Antonia entertained at the outdoor living room

Sofia, Olga and Sergio laze on a couch before dinner

Dinner was amazing in the setting. A long table was set up by the pool and set with many candles. Candles were floated in the pool and were set around the pool deck. The Dutch family ate at a nearby table (earlier than us) and the Velez family had a private outdoor dinner to celebrate their five year wedding anniversary on a terrace on the side. Dinner was either a five course "Moments" or by the menu. I opted for the menu, choosing a small salad and an appetizer of some small cheese empanadas. The men went for the Moments so I got to taste all of the Moments courtesy of Randy. The service was great, the food very good and the setting unbeatable. What a wonderful surprise! We were all served the fifth moment - a desert of flan and fruit. While we wanted to stay up to more fully enjoy our only night here, we were all so full and relaxed after dinner we all retired to our respective bedrooms.

The dinner table lit only by candles

My delicious salad with the ever present and ever welcome avocado

Evening at Hacienda Bambusa - I wish I were there right now!

Morning started early with birds and sun. I made some coffee with the small pod maker in the walk in closet and enjoyed the view and the bird activity from our private balcony. Others wandered around, mainly in their pajamas, waking up to this paradise. Later I went swimming in the pool then we gathered for breakfast, also outside but on the other side of the hacienda, affording mountain views. The Dutch family had breakfasted and gone off with the guide for their hacienda tour. We would wait until there return, around noon, to also take the tour with the guide.

The pool

A bird was building a nest in the bamboo rafters above our balcony

Every room had a humming bird feeder just outside - these humming birds are much bigger than those we get in Auburn

More flowers

Headed to the pool

Enjoying a pre-breakfast swim

Flower near the pool

Another impressive flower poolside

The hacienda house from the pool

The national palms lined the pool

Our breakfast view from the other side of the hacienda house

The breakfast table with my fruit and coffee and hot sauce ready

Along with a buffet of fruit and bread you could order eggs, pancakes and arepas

A pretty bird hopes for crumbs

The Velez family enjoys the alfresco breakfast

Another yellow bird on the tile roof

Randy ordered both an omelet and pancakes!

Camilo, the guide, was knowledgeable and friendly. He is a trained biologist with excellent English and a native of Armenia. We walked through the plantation which grows plantains, bananas, cocoa, and many fruits, and pastures meat cattle. Camilo explained about the different plants and about how the cocoa is processed. It was hot but not oppressive and the views out to the distant mountains at the edge of the property were fantastic.

Grounds of the Hacienda Bambusa, a very extensive property

On our nature hike

One of the pretty steers raised for meat - too sweet looking to eat - no beef for me at Hacienda Bambusa!

Camilo explains the differences between plantain and banana trees to Mario and Zeki

A breadfruit tree

Cocoa plants

A cocoa pod

Camilo opens it for us and Zeki is the first to try the fruit - the slimy part around the beans

At this point, the beans are not edible but the slimy fruit part was pretty tasty

A pod in situ

A cocoa flower that will become a big pod in due course

Hacienda Bambusa is owned by a Colombian family whose father lives in a house on the property. The son, who runs the hotel with a French/Argentinian partner, is an artist who splits his time between Miami and another house on the Bambusa property

With the beautiful bushes that abound

A flowering bush

Oranges fell to the ground from the many trees. They distinguished between orange and mandarin trees and had both but I could not fully understand the distinction

A pretty flower

They had these impressive flowers in our room at the hacienda

They grow pumpkin too

Most of the money is made from the nursery of cocoa plants which are sold to other fincas

Camilo explains the drying process while Zeki investigates

The real thing - drying cocoa beans

We shelled and ate one each and it was pretty good - chocolaty, not sweet but not bitter

Nedret admires the avocados. There were also mangoes and these were served at breakfast - the best ever.

The cocoa nursery is fully certified. The department here is Quindio.

A gorgeous red bird

View from the edge of the property includes the far off western Andes. Below is a valley with pineapple plantations and a forest with "Howler" monkeys

The happy adventurers (Sofia stayed at the hacienda to relax)

We finished with a visit to a bamboo forest. This was capped with cold drinks and marinated fruit in the middle of the bamboo with Colombian "Night" monkeys high up in the trees. We learned so much and enjoyed this tour beyond words.

The bamboo forest - it grows something like an inch a day

A newer shoot among older ones

Surrounded by bamboo

Camilo offers cold drinks and fruit in the jungle

The "Night" monkeys far above in the trees

A photo of a Colombian night monkey from the web - the only truly nocturnal monkey in the world!

Randy enjoyed the break in the jungle

A new bamboo sprout emerges. They are harvested as huge ones suitable for building after four years.

Back at the hacienda we gratefully received the cold washcloths, bought some cocoa and coffee (from a nearby hacienda) and reluctantly said good bye to Hacienda Bambusa. All of us are looking forward to returning and staying for a longer duration to enjoy this remote, super luxurious and magical place!