lightcycle
Nomad
Haha, it does look like that, doesn't it? 
[YEAR 7!] Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...
- Thread starter lightcycle
- Start date
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/139.html on February 15th, 2014
As predicted, we didn't make it very far outside of Bogota's city limits last night before being stopped by the darkness and the rain. We stayed for the evening in a cheap motel right on the main highway in a small suburb called Mosquera. The plan today is to try to head further west within the country.
If it looks like we're backtracking a bit, it's because we're totally backtracking a bit...
We've been squeezing our bikes into plenty of tight spaces lately...
Last night: Wet tires on slick tile = high pucker factor
We're kind of getting sick of the cold and the rain. It seems like the waterworks has been following us ever since last autumn in Guatemala. The rough idea we had in our heads was that because we were moving so slowly, the rainy season would actually overtake us. It would seem that this plan backfired spectacularly, as the rain has actually kept the same pace as us. So in fact, we've been traveling in a perpetual rainy season for the last 6 months... fml...
As we were preparing to leave in the morning, Juan and his dad stop by on their bicycles and pepper us with questions
All over Colombia everyone has been asking to take pictures of us and our bikes. It's a bit unusual because there are lots of larger bikes like ours all around the big cities. I think what draws their interest are the overloaded luggage hanging off our bikes... and the only Asian person within 100 square miles is piloting one of the motorcycles... Latin Americans are very curious about me. I feel like I'm 25% Celebrity and 75% Alien...
Juan's dad told us that he wants to do the same trip that we're doing with his son on bicycles one day. Cool!
Heading westwards towards the Coffee Triangle
The Coffee Triangle is an area in Colombia where cars, motorcycles and trucks mysteriously vanish. Oh, and they also grow a lot of coffee plants in this area as well.
Since we're descending from the heights of Bogota, the weather starts off cool in the morning but quickly heats up as we dip into the lush valley. Between cities, most of the major roads in Colombia are only two-lane highways which means that there is a lot of aggressive passing when cars and motorcycles get stuck behind slow-moving trucks. We're told that most traffic accidents in Colombia occur because of bad passes resulting in head-on collisions or vehicles rolling over in the ditch, especially in the mountain roads on blind corners.
This is where we got into a bit of trouble: Neda was leading for the day and we were following a truck that was crawling up-hill. As we hit a small straightaway, she pulled out to pass the truck over a double-yellow and I followed her... right in plain sight of a traffic cop who was standing on the side of the road.
He pointed at us angrily and motioned for us to pull over.
Uh oh.
This is not the cop, because I was too scared ****less to take any pictures of the actual incident.
But it gives you an idea of what it looked like...
This is our first ever run-in with the law since our trip started (if you don't count Neda's no-helmet transgression with the bicycle police in Medellin). We're very wary of crooked cops in Latin America trying to shake down tourists, so we've discussed various strategies on how to deal with the situation if we're ever stopped.
I've heard that a popular strategy is the "No Fumar Espanol" defense (translated: "I don't smoke Spanish"). Basically, you mangle and butcher the Spanish language so badly that the police officer gives up trying to communicate with you and lets you off in a fit of exasperation. We both agree beforehand that this is what we'll do because, quite simply, it's not far from the truth in my case.
So we pull off right beside the police officer and over the communicator I hear Neda speak, "Buenas tardes, senor. Hay algun problema?"
DAFUQ?!?!
Because I don't understand Spanish, I'll give you my point of view of how the conversation went:
A few minutes later we're on the road and I ask Neda, "What the hell just happened back there?!?"
She replied, "Okay, so he said the fine for crossing a double yellow is that our motorcycles would be impounded for five days".
(Five days? Is every punishment five days long in Colombia?)
"He said that we would have to turn back towards Mosquera and wait till Monday to plead our case with the judge. Then I asked him is there any other solution to this problem?"
(Did my wife just offer a bribe to a police officer?)
"Then he scoffed at me"
(Great, we get stopped by the most honest policeman in Latin America...)
"He went on about how this was a really serious offense. But then for some reason he seemed to think that you were leading and then told me to explain to you what a bad thing you did and what a mistake it was to follow you."
(What?!? I wasn't leading! I was following Neda! Did my wife just throw me under the bus?!?)
"So I just nodded my head and agreed with him."
(My wife totally threw me under the bus.)
"It seemed to work, he let us go..."
I listened to Neda's entire explanation in stunned silence. Forget "No Fumar Espanol". Next time we get stopped, we're "Throwing Gene Under The Bus!"
Looking for a place to stay in Armenia
We tiptoed through the rest of the ride, camping out behind slow-moving trucks, inhaling diesel fumes until the next broken yellow line appeared to our left. The day stretched out incredibly long this way. We were hoping to make it to the pretty touristy town of Salento, but the daylight escaped us and we were forced to stop for the evening in Armenia.
Our hotel let us park our bikes in the spa! They slept better than we did!
Armenia wasn't even on our radar as a place to visit, but the next morning we walked around the small city to see what it was all about. It was surprisingly nice.
Medium size city, medium size traffic
There seems to be an artsy vibe around town
I do as instructed
#PopsicleEverywhereDontCare
Studies have shown that Omega 3 fatty acids from fish is beneficial for the heart
...which is totally what the artist was trying to convey. I'm sure of it...
Hangin' out, playin' tunes.
As if on cue, the afternoon brings rain...
Do you remember the kid in Charlie Brown, called PigPen? He had a perpetual cloud of dust hanging around him wherever he went. I feel exactly like that, as if we've got a perpetual rain cloud lingering over our motorcycles.
Our bikes reluctantly leave the spa
Okay, but seriously, enough with the cities, we're off to spend some time in the countryside!
As predicted, we didn't make it very far outside of Bogota's city limits last night before being stopped by the darkness and the rain. We stayed for the evening in a cheap motel right on the main highway in a small suburb called Mosquera. The plan today is to try to head further west within the country.
If it looks like we're backtracking a bit, it's because we're totally backtracking a bit...
We've been squeezing our bikes into plenty of tight spaces lately...
Last night: Wet tires on slick tile = high pucker factor
We're kind of getting sick of the cold and the rain. It seems like the waterworks has been following us ever since last autumn in Guatemala. The rough idea we had in our heads was that because we were moving so slowly, the rainy season would actually overtake us. It would seem that this plan backfired spectacularly, as the rain has actually kept the same pace as us. So in fact, we've been traveling in a perpetual rainy season for the last 6 months... fml...
As we were preparing to leave in the morning, Juan and his dad stop by on their bicycles and pepper us with questions
All over Colombia everyone has been asking to take pictures of us and our bikes. It's a bit unusual because there are lots of larger bikes like ours all around the big cities. I think what draws their interest are the overloaded luggage hanging off our bikes... and the only Asian person within 100 square miles is piloting one of the motorcycles... Latin Americans are very curious about me. I feel like I'm 25% Celebrity and 75% Alien...
Juan's dad told us that he wants to do the same trip that we're doing with his son on bicycles one day. Cool!
Heading westwards towards the Coffee Triangle
The Coffee Triangle is an area in Colombia where cars, motorcycles and trucks mysteriously vanish. Oh, and they also grow a lot of coffee plants in this area as well.
Since we're descending from the heights of Bogota, the weather starts off cool in the morning but quickly heats up as we dip into the lush valley. Between cities, most of the major roads in Colombia are only two-lane highways which means that there is a lot of aggressive passing when cars and motorcycles get stuck behind slow-moving trucks. We're told that most traffic accidents in Colombia occur because of bad passes resulting in head-on collisions or vehicles rolling over in the ditch, especially in the mountain roads on blind corners.
This is where we got into a bit of trouble: Neda was leading for the day and we were following a truck that was crawling up-hill. As we hit a small straightaway, she pulled out to pass the truck over a double-yellow and I followed her... right in plain sight of a traffic cop who was standing on the side of the road.
He pointed at us angrily and motioned for us to pull over.
Uh oh.
This is not the cop, because I was too scared ****less to take any pictures of the actual incident.
But it gives you an idea of what it looked like...
This is our first ever run-in with the law since our trip started (if you don't count Neda's no-helmet transgression with the bicycle police in Medellin). We're very wary of crooked cops in Latin America trying to shake down tourists, so we've discussed various strategies on how to deal with the situation if we're ever stopped.
I've heard that a popular strategy is the "No Fumar Espanol" defense (translated: "I don't smoke Spanish"). Basically, you mangle and butcher the Spanish language so badly that the police officer gives up trying to communicate with you and lets you off in a fit of exasperation. We both agree beforehand that this is what we'll do because, quite simply, it's not far from the truth in my case.
So we pull off right beside the police officer and over the communicator I hear Neda speak, "Buenas tardes, senor. Hay algun problema?"
DAFUQ?!?!
Because I don't understand Spanish, I'll give you my point of view of how the conversation went:
A few minutes later we're on the road and I ask Neda, "What the hell just happened back there?!?"
She replied, "Okay, so he said the fine for crossing a double yellow is that our motorcycles would be impounded for five days".
(Five days? Is every punishment five days long in Colombia?)
"He said that we would have to turn back towards Mosquera and wait till Monday to plead our case with the judge. Then I asked him is there any other solution to this problem?"
(Did my wife just offer a bribe to a police officer?)
"Then he scoffed at me"
(Great, we get stopped by the most honest policeman in Latin America...)
"He went on about how this was a really serious offense. But then for some reason he seemed to think that you were leading and then told me to explain to you what a bad thing you did and what a mistake it was to follow you."
(What?!? I wasn't leading! I was following Neda! Did my wife just throw me under the bus?!?)
"So I just nodded my head and agreed with him."
(My wife totally threw me under the bus.)
"It seemed to work, he let us go..."
I listened to Neda's entire explanation in stunned silence. Forget "No Fumar Espanol". Next time we get stopped, we're "Throwing Gene Under The Bus!"
Looking for a place to stay in Armenia
We tiptoed through the rest of the ride, camping out behind slow-moving trucks, inhaling diesel fumes until the next broken yellow line appeared to our left. The day stretched out incredibly long this way. We were hoping to make it to the pretty touristy town of Salento, but the daylight escaped us and we were forced to stop for the evening in Armenia.
Our hotel let us park our bikes in the spa! They slept better than we did!
Armenia wasn't even on our radar as a place to visit, but the next morning we walked around the small city to see what it was all about. It was surprisingly nice.
Medium size city, medium size traffic
There seems to be an artsy vibe around town
I do as instructed
#PopsicleEverywhereDontCare
Studies have shown that Omega 3 fatty acids from fish is beneficial for the heart
...which is totally what the artist was trying to convey. I'm sure of it...
Hangin' out, playin' tunes.
As if on cue, the afternoon brings rain...
Do you remember the kid in Charlie Brown, called PigPen? He had a perpetual cloud of dust hanging around him wherever he went. I feel exactly like that, as if we've got a perpetual rain cloud lingering over our motorcycles.
Our bikes reluctantly leave the spa
Okay, but seriously, enough with the cities, we're off to spend some time in the countryside!
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/140.html on February 18th, 2014
We've been spending a lot of time in big cities lately and while it's nice having all the amenities nearby (shops for food, motorcycle parts, government offices for getting our paperwork done, etc), the downside is that there is always the constant background noise of trucks, the honking of traffic, car alarms, etc. Plus, we're getting a bit tired of sightseeing as well, so we're heading out to the countryside to escape from the big city din.
Ah, the tranquil countryside!
Salento was the destination we were headed towards before we were forced to stop for the night in Armenia. It's only about an hour away, but the narrow, twisty road through the lush scenery is better enjoyed during the daytime.
Neda takes time to make a feline friend
Happy canines roam the streets
Neda really wants a dog.
We've been talking more and more about it lately. She used to own a dog while growing up in Croatia and she said it was her best friend. So it seems that if and when we settle down, the first thing we're going to do is not find a place to live, nor find a job... we're going to get a dog.
Priorities, you know...?
Like all touristy towns on the Gringo Trail, the buildings are painted bright colours
Salento attracts a lot of tourists, local and foreign. It's recently been added as an attraction to the Gringo Trail, which like Antigua, Granada, etc., has become one of the popular places for foreigners to get a taste of Latin America outside of the beachside resorts. However, being a Gringo Trail town greatly changes the atmosphere: souvenir shops abound, pricey restaurants at every street corner and all the buildings are painted in colours that I'm sure they didn't have back in colonial times.
It's the Heisenberg-GringoTrail Uncertainty Principle...
Big guy straining at the leash!
The stairs in the background are part of the Alta de la Cruz, 250 steps that lead up to a nice viewpoint of the town and the surrounding valley. (Just another GringoTrail example: these stairs weren't painted until just a couple of years ago, I checked online!) At various points along the stairs there are tiny vestibules containing crucifixes - 14 of them, called "Stations of the Cross" - exactly like the Salt Cathedral in Zipiquira. Except these were tiny and not made of salt...
We didn't get half-way up the stairs when the skies darkened quickly and the winds picked up. So we hurried back down and ran back to the shelter of our hostel just as the first massive drops of rain started hammering down on the roof. We watched the torrential rain mercilessly pounding away at the streets and anyone unlucky enough to be caught outside.
The daily afternoon rains are forcing me to become a morning person, which is quite an unnatural act for me, since I don't normally get to sleep till around 2-3AM. No me gusta...
Hanging out with more GringoPaint
I'm only half-joking about all the touristy touches in town. Salento was a huge step up from the big cities we've been staying in, full of character and such a peaceful place to stay. And Neda loves poking around all the souvenir shops, playing with the curios and trying on the multi-coloured fabrics that the locals wear. We're certainly not snooty and above acting like tourists because quite frankly, we are.
It's just nice to be the *ONLY* tourists, and not part of a load of Gringos that a tourbus vomited out onto these painted streets. LOL! So hypocritical!
Walking the pretty streets of Salento
We're not actually here to see Salento, tranquil as it is. Neda organized a hike (ugh.) of the Cocora Valley a few kms outside of town. It's part of the Los Nevados National Park and is a popular place for hikes and horseback rides.
I just can't seem to remember the name Cocora, I keep calling it Carcosa. You know, the place where black stars hang in the heavens, and strange moons circle through the skies. Now where did I put my pallid mask...?
Early morning hike to beat the afternoon rains
All over the area you can see tall palm trees!
The Los Nevados National Natural Park is designated a sanctuary to an endangered species. What are they trying to protect? It's these tall wax palm trees, which are Colombia's national symbol. And what are the threats to these magnificent, yet meek and mild trees? Palm Sunday. Seriously. Every Palm Sunday, people cut down the branches of thousands of these trees for their religious ceremonies. So the government has set up a palm sanctuary here, not just for the trees, but also for the plenitude of wildlife who depend on the palms for shelter and sustenance - parrots, butterflies and hummingbirds.
As if to prove my point: Does not need palm trees and *not* an endangered species...
Enjoying a Palm Sundae
What a nice break from the city. All I needed was a golf cart... 4WD of course...
Muddy from the previous day's rain, so the hostel lent us some rubber booties
Great for not getting dirty, but not so good for hiking. Many blisters later...
Lot of bridges over streams in the interior of Cocora Valley
Resting the dogs
As we climb up the hill overlooking the valley, we encounter mist. The palm trees look otherworldly!
Quit horsin' around, Neda! Lot of four-legged animals in this blog entry...
Some of these palm trees grow as tall as 60m (200feet)! These are the tallest palm trees in the world
Down at the valley floor. A little bit of scale.
Neda says, "Great hike!" Gene replies, "Ok. Bedtime."
tldr; Here's a video instead
I hope there are no Spanish speakers watching this video, because the music has nothing to do with riding or hiking or dark stars over Carcosa. It's just because Shakira is crazy hot and she's on the cover of every magazine and on every TV station here in Colombia. And her hips are telling the truth...
No loud diesel engines, no cars honking in traffic, no alarms, just peace and quiet. Buenas Noches.
We've been spending a lot of time in big cities lately and while it's nice having all the amenities nearby (shops for food, motorcycle parts, government offices for getting our paperwork done, etc), the downside is that there is always the constant background noise of trucks, the honking of traffic, car alarms, etc. Plus, we're getting a bit tired of sightseeing as well, so we're heading out to the countryside to escape from the big city din.
Ah, the tranquil countryside!
Salento was the destination we were headed towards before we were forced to stop for the night in Armenia. It's only about an hour away, but the narrow, twisty road through the lush scenery is better enjoyed during the daytime.
Neda takes time to make a feline friend
Happy canines roam the streets
Neda really wants a dog.
We've been talking more and more about it lately. She used to own a dog while growing up in Croatia and she said it was her best friend. So it seems that if and when we settle down, the first thing we're going to do is not find a place to live, nor find a job... we're going to get a dog.
Priorities, you know...?
Like all touristy towns on the Gringo Trail, the buildings are painted bright colours
Salento attracts a lot of tourists, local and foreign. It's recently been added as an attraction to the Gringo Trail, which like Antigua, Granada, etc., has become one of the popular places for foreigners to get a taste of Latin America outside of the beachside resorts. However, being a Gringo Trail town greatly changes the atmosphere: souvenir shops abound, pricey restaurants at every street corner and all the buildings are painted in colours that I'm sure they didn't have back in colonial times.
It's the Heisenberg-GringoTrail Uncertainty Principle...
Big guy straining at the leash!
The stairs in the background are part of the Alta de la Cruz, 250 steps that lead up to a nice viewpoint of the town and the surrounding valley. (Just another GringoTrail example: these stairs weren't painted until just a couple of years ago, I checked online!) At various points along the stairs there are tiny vestibules containing crucifixes - 14 of them, called "Stations of the Cross" - exactly like the Salt Cathedral in Zipiquira. Except these were tiny and not made of salt...
We didn't get half-way up the stairs when the skies darkened quickly and the winds picked up. So we hurried back down and ran back to the shelter of our hostel just as the first massive drops of rain started hammering down on the roof. We watched the torrential rain mercilessly pounding away at the streets and anyone unlucky enough to be caught outside.
The daily afternoon rains are forcing me to become a morning person, which is quite an unnatural act for me, since I don't normally get to sleep till around 2-3AM. No me gusta...
Hanging out with more GringoPaint
I'm only half-joking about all the touristy touches in town. Salento was a huge step up from the big cities we've been staying in, full of character and such a peaceful place to stay. And Neda loves poking around all the souvenir shops, playing with the curios and trying on the multi-coloured fabrics that the locals wear. We're certainly not snooty and above acting like tourists because quite frankly, we are.
It's just nice to be the *ONLY* tourists, and not part of a load of Gringos that a tourbus vomited out onto these painted streets. LOL! So hypocritical!
Walking the pretty streets of Salento
We're not actually here to see Salento, tranquil as it is. Neda organized a hike (ugh.) of the Cocora Valley a few kms outside of town. It's part of the Los Nevados National Park and is a popular place for hikes and horseback rides.
I just can't seem to remember the name Cocora, I keep calling it Carcosa. You know, the place where black stars hang in the heavens, and strange moons circle through the skies. Now where did I put my pallid mask...?
Early morning hike to beat the afternoon rains
All over the area you can see tall palm trees!
The Los Nevados National Natural Park is designated a sanctuary to an endangered species. What are they trying to protect? It's these tall wax palm trees, which are Colombia's national symbol. And what are the threats to these magnificent, yet meek and mild trees? Palm Sunday. Seriously. Every Palm Sunday, people cut down the branches of thousands of these trees for their religious ceremonies. So the government has set up a palm sanctuary here, not just for the trees, but also for the plenitude of wildlife who depend on the palms for shelter and sustenance - parrots, butterflies and hummingbirds.
As if to prove my point: Does not need palm trees and *not* an endangered species...
Enjoying a Palm Sundae
What a nice break from the city. All I needed was a golf cart... 4WD of course...
Muddy from the previous day's rain, so the hostel lent us some rubber booties
Great for not getting dirty, but not so good for hiking. Many blisters later...
Lot of bridges over streams in the interior of Cocora Valley
Resting the dogs
As we climb up the hill overlooking the valley, we encounter mist. The palm trees look otherworldly!
Quit horsin' around, Neda! Lot of four-legged animals in this blog entry...
Some of these palm trees grow as tall as 60m (200feet)! These are the tallest palm trees in the world
Down at the valley floor. A little bit of scale.
Neda says, "Great hike!" Gene replies, "Ok. Bedtime."
tldr; Here's a video instead
I hope there are no Spanish speakers watching this video, because the music has nothing to do with riding or hiking or dark stars over Carcosa. It's just because Shakira is crazy hot and she's on the cover of every magazine and on every TV station here in Colombia. And her hips are telling the truth...
No loud diesel engines, no cars honking in traffic, no alarms, just peace and quiet. Buenas Noches.
lightcycle
Nomad
We still have the gear, so if the opportunity presents itself, we'll be ready. I've never camped before this trip, so we were worried that I wouldn't like it, but we spent 9 months living in a tent every single day, and although there were some days that I was not happy (rain and snow), most of the time I loved waking up to nature.
Thanks! The palms in the mist were super-cool!
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/141.html on February 20th, 2014
No, the map isn't wrong. We're headed north again... And back to the city as well. We're less than 200 kms away from Medellin. Perhaps we can get our old apartment back again?
Rolling through the streets of Manizales
We're not really here to see the city, it's just a sleepover stop so we can visit some of the coffee farms in the area. But we did make it out for a walk in the centre of town and we were surprised that just like Armenia, the city was very vibrant. So this is just a quick update to show you a little bit of Manizales:
Main street is designated pedestrian-only. We rode down it. Oops...
This was the church right beside our hostel: La Iglesia La Inmaculada Concepcion. Beautiful wood detailing!
At first we couldn't understand how this guy was floating.
But after careful inspection, we figured it out: Magic.
Blogging. Old School.
The Cathedral of Manizales. At 113 meters, it's the third tallest in Latin America
Pretty stained glass windows
"I'm Batman."
Something about candles in churches makes me feel like I'm back in Medieval Times.
Staring out into the main plaza from the Cathedral. The statues, I mean.
All dressed up for her christening
Young explorer
Very bizarre statue, it's a guy with a condor head and wings for arms. And then his face is mounted below.
It's meant to symbolize man's inability to create art that can be understood by anyone.
Home-cooked spaghetti in our hostel! My favorite meal!
Of course it rains all evening. Of course...
Tomorrow: Coffee! We'll need the caffeine because it'll be an early start to beat the afternoon showers. And then after that we're going to fly us and the bikes to the Sahara Desert. So bloody sick of all this rain.
No, the map isn't wrong. We're headed north again... And back to the city as well.
We're less than 200 kms away from Medellin. Perhaps we can get our old apartment back again?
Rolling through the streets of Manizales
We're not really here to see the city, it's just a sleepover stop so we can visit some of the coffee farms in the area. But we did make it out for a walk in the centre of town and we were surprised that just like Armenia, the city was very vibrant. So this is just a quick update to show you a little bit of Manizales:
Main street is designated pedestrian-only. We rode down it. Oops...
This was the church right beside our hostel: La Iglesia La Inmaculada Concepcion. Beautiful wood detailing!
At first we couldn't understand how this guy was floating.
But after careful inspection, we figured it out: Magic.
Blogging. Old School.
The Cathedral of Manizales. At 113 meters, it's the third tallest in Latin America
Pretty stained glass windows
"I'm Batman."
Something about candles in churches makes me feel like I'm back in Medieval Times.
Staring out into the main plaza from the Cathedral. The statues, I mean.
All dressed up for her christening
Young explorer
Very bizarre statue, it's a guy with a condor head and wings for arms. And then his face is mounted below.
It's meant to symbolize man's inability to create art that can be understood by anyone.
Home-cooked spaghetti in our hostel! My favorite meal!
Of course it rains all evening. Of course...
Tomorrow: Coffee! We'll need the caffeine because it'll be an early start to beat the afternoon showers. And then after that we're going to fly us and the bikes to the Sahara Desert. So bloody sick of all this rain.
lightcycle
Nomad
Haha .... you will miss the rain a day after touching down in the desert
Ha! No doubt!
Just venting. Gonna stick it out in South America for a bit longer.
Si, claro!
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/142.html on February 21st, 2014
The Coffee Triangle consists of three departments: Caldas (where Manizales is located), Quindio (where Armenia is) and Risaralda (see map above). We've ridden through all the departments in the last few days, taking in our surroundings of steep hills lined with regular dots of coffee plants. Today we're going to visit one of the bigger fincas (farms) in the region to learn about what makes Colombian coffee the best in the world.
On our way to the coffee farm!
Hacienda Valencia is one of the largest coffee farms in the area and we heard they offer a great tour of their operations. It's only 20 minutes away from Manizales, so we hop on our bikes real early to try to get to their farm on time for their tour. Unfortunately due to a GPS problem, we get lost trying to find our way out of the city. Neda was leading and she was cursing up a storm as we backtracked from a very long dead-end road. What should have been an easy 20-minute ride turned out to be a 40-minute rush.
We got to the farm 15 minutes late for the start time. Neda was very upset. However a guide from the farm approached our bikes and told us the tour started an hour later than we thought. We were 45 minutes early! Neda's mood visibly improved and I was happy. Because happy wife = happy life!
Not 5 minutes into arriving, we were handed these espressos
I have to preface this blog entry by saying that neither Neda or I are coffee drinkers, me especially. Besides the odd sip, I've had maybe two whole cups of coffee in my life and one of them was an Ice Frappucino... However, I am a Diet Coke addict, so I wasn't really overly worried about my caffeine intake for today. Bring it on, Hacienda Valencia!
The first sip of the day - perfect for calming down Neda's frayed nerves from this morning's frantic ride!
We were led to an outdoor "classroom" where we were given a brief history of coffee farming in Colombia. The espresso I tried was a bit sour. I'm not sure what to compare it to, never having had an espresso... I didn't like it too much, but our guide says that some people prefer the tart taste. Okay, I'll try a second cup to see if it grows on me. Free coffee throughout the tour! And I'm a sucker for free stuff.
Our guide gave a very comprehensive explanation of why Colombian coffee was the best in the world, but for some reason, all I could focus on was how my right knee was tapping out a frenetic message in morse code against the underneath of the tabletop. Strange. Dot-Dash-Dash-Dot-Dot... I wish I knew morse code.
From what little I got from the presentation, the Coffee Triangle in Colombia is special because it receives two rainy seasons every year, as the annual migration of the clouds follow a close pattern in the region. Apparently this makes for perennially fresh coffee. But when I hear two rainy seasons, the biker in me just gets mad. We rode all the way to an area with two rainy seasons?! On motorcycles?! ******? I drown my sorrows with another free espresso.
Just thinking about Two Rainy Seasons is making my head pound and my heart race. TWO RAINY SEASONS! I think I might even be feeling a bit nauseous...!
Walking around the coffee farm
After the presentation, we get to tour the farm itself. It's not that warm outside, but all this walking around seems to make me sweat alot, especially my palms. Weird.
We got to hear about the lives of the migrant farm hands who work on the farm. They follow the harvest season as it moves across different areas. Colombian coffee is famous around the world because of the manual process these workers provide to sort out different quality of the beans that they pick.
One coffee bean ripe for picking
I seemed to be more interested in these plants that curled up when you touched them! Neat!
The tour was very informative, but there was a lot of information being given to us. It kinda made my head spin, like physically, my brain was dizzy from information overload. I think I needed to sit down to process all this knowledge transfer. Yes, sitting down seems like a good idea right now.
Oh look, peacocks! So... what was I saying...?
And lilypads too!
At the end of the tour, we were led to the main building where we saw our lunch being prepared. It felt good to rest up a bit and I was able to take some pictures of more than birds and lilypads (why was that so interesting 15 minutes ago?!?)
Hacienda Valencia is also a villa where you can stay. It's super nice, but super expensive too.
Kitchen reflection
Pollo
Lunch was good. Digesting food and information made me feel a lot better. I walked over to the espresso machine for more free java but Neda stopped me, "I think you've had enough".
"What are you talking about? I've had like 5 cups and the stuff hasn't even affected me one bit!"
Mexican Jumping Gene
On our tour of the processing facility, we asked where they shipped Hacienda Valencia coffee beans to. Our guide replied, "All over the world!" Since we've been accused of traveling too slowly by motorcycle, I thought we could ship ourselves to our next destination by coffee bean bag instead. We're going to use a courier company called "Federal Espresso"...
Just a little dip in the pool before heading back to the daily Grind
Great day! Great tour! Not a coffee convert though. Just didn't provide the same kick as my Diet Coke habit.
Oh look, a bird!
The Coffee Triangle consists of three departments: Caldas (where Manizales is located), Quindio (where Armenia is) and Risaralda (see map above). We've ridden through all the departments in the last few days, taking in our surroundings of steep hills lined with regular dots of coffee plants. Today we're going to visit one of the bigger fincas (farms) in the region to learn about what makes Colombian coffee the best in the world.
On our way to the coffee farm!
Hacienda Valencia is one of the largest coffee farms in the area and we heard they offer a great tour of their operations. It's only 20 minutes away from Manizales, so we hop on our bikes real early to try to get to their farm on time for their tour. Unfortunately due to a GPS problem, we get lost trying to find our way out of the city. Neda was leading and she was cursing up a storm as we backtracked from a very long dead-end road. What should have been an easy 20-minute ride turned out to be a 40-minute rush.
We got to the farm 15 minutes late for the start time. Neda was very upset. However a guide from the farm approached our bikes and told us the tour started an hour later than we thought. We were 45 minutes early! Neda's mood visibly improved and I was happy. Because happy wife = happy life!
Not 5 minutes into arriving, we were handed these espressos
I have to preface this blog entry by saying that neither Neda or I are coffee drinkers, me especially. Besides the odd sip, I've had maybe two whole cups of coffee in my life and one of them was an Ice Frappucino... However, I am a Diet Coke addict, so I wasn't really overly worried about my caffeine intake for today. Bring it on, Hacienda Valencia!
The first sip of the day - perfect for calming down Neda's frayed nerves from this morning's frantic ride!
We were led to an outdoor "classroom" where we were given a brief history of coffee farming in Colombia. The espresso I tried was a bit sour. I'm not sure what to compare it to, never having had an espresso... I didn't like it too much, but our guide says that some people prefer the tart taste. Okay, I'll try a second cup to see if it grows on me. Free coffee throughout the tour! And I'm a sucker for free stuff.
Our guide gave a very comprehensive explanation of why Colombian coffee was the best in the world, but for some reason, all I could focus on was how my right knee was tapping out a frenetic message in morse code against the underneath of the tabletop. Strange. Dot-Dash-Dash-Dot-Dot... I wish I knew morse code.
From what little I got from the presentation, the Coffee Triangle in Colombia is special because it receives two rainy seasons every year, as the annual migration of the clouds follow a close pattern in the region. Apparently this makes for perennially fresh coffee. But when I hear two rainy seasons, the biker in me just gets mad. We rode all the way to an area with two rainy seasons?! On motorcycles?! ******? I drown my sorrows with another free espresso.
Just thinking about Two Rainy Seasons is making my head pound and my heart race. TWO RAINY SEASONS! I think I might even be feeling a bit nauseous...!
Walking around the coffee farm
After the presentation, we get to tour the farm itself. It's not that warm outside, but all this walking around seems to make me sweat alot, especially my palms. Weird.
We got to hear about the lives of the migrant farm hands who work on the farm. They follow the harvest season as it moves across different areas. Colombian coffee is famous around the world because of the manual process these workers provide to sort out different quality of the beans that they pick.
One coffee bean ripe for picking
I seemed to be more interested in these plants that curled up when you touched them! Neat!
The tour was very informative, but there was a lot of information being given to us. It kinda made my head spin, like physically, my brain was dizzy from information overload. I think I needed to sit down to process all this knowledge transfer. Yes, sitting down seems like a good idea right now.
Oh look, peacocks! So... what was I saying...?
And lilypads too!
At the end of the tour, we were led to the main building where we saw our lunch being prepared. It felt good to rest up a bit and I was able to take some pictures of more than birds and lilypads (why was that so interesting 15 minutes ago?!?)
Hacienda Valencia is also a villa where you can stay. It's super nice, but super expensive too.
Kitchen reflection
Pollo
Lunch was good. Digesting food and information made me feel a lot better. I walked over to the espresso machine for more free java but Neda stopped me, "I think you've had enough".
"What are you talking about? I've had like 5 cups and the stuff hasn't even affected me one bit!"
Mexican Jumping Gene
On our tour of the processing facility, we asked where they shipped Hacienda Valencia coffee beans to. Our guide replied, "All over the world!" Since we've been accused of traveling too slowly by motorcycle, I thought we could ship ourselves to our next destination by coffee bean bag instead. We're going to use a courier company called "Federal Espresso"...
Just a little dip in the pool before heading back to the daily Grind
Great day! Great tour! Not a coffee convert though. Just didn't provide the same kick as my Diet Coke habit.
Oh look, a bird!
lightcycle
Nomad
Thanks guys, appreciate it!