One of the best things about travelling is meeting new people, who sometimes become friends, and so we’re delighted when Sol messages us to say she’s going to be joining us for our drive south to the beautiful town of Jardin. She’s waiting for us at 8am with our new driver Jorge and we’re quickly on our way, avoiding rush hour traffic by heading straight out of the city.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous day with clear blue skies and bright, bright sunshine making the countryside appear even more beautiful. While yesterday’s drive east showcased some of Antioquia’s lovely scenery, it’s got nothing on the southern roads. Huge palms line the route while banana trees and fruit and vegetable farms fill the lush green hillsides and spectacular valleys.
Sol takes control of the stereo and we have pumping tunes from Colombia to accompany us as we drive. Colombia’s biggest superstar Shakira naturally makes an appearance as does lots of reggaeton, which first started in Medellin and has given birth to Colombia’s newest global sensation, Karol G, who comes from the city. We even have a singalong to Colombia’s New Year’s anthem, ‘Año Nuevo’ which is far more upbeat and fun than dreary ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
The further we drive the more jaw-dropping the scenery becomes leaving Coman and myself pretty much lost for words, superlatives - and photos - not doing it justice. It’s amongst the most remarkably beautiful landscapes we’ve ever seen. In Colombia the single range of the Andes, which stretches up to it for thousands of miles from the very tip of Chile in the south, splits into three and becomes known as Las Tres Cordilleras; west, central and east. We’re crossing the central Andes ridge, which is much lower than the snow-capped heights it reaches in the likes of Peru, and driving towards the western ridges in whose hills sits the town of Jardin.
Sol points out a particular mountain named Cerró Tusa which is shaped almost exactly like a pyramid. It dominates the horizon and was a place of special significance to indigenous people who believed it had magical powers. Recent excavations have discovered large amounts of crystals and quartz within it as well as archaeological sites which suggest a lot of ancient activity. Sol is keen to climb to the summit this year, which is a hike that can be done with a little training, and get the chance to see the ruins that are being uncovered on its slopes.
After a while we reach Rio Cauca, one of Colombia’s major rivers, and the road follows its path through the valley, surrounded by thick forest. Occasionally we see armed military at various points along the road, stationed to deter kidnappers from trying to stop vehicles, and they cheerily give us a thumbs up as we pass. We’re assured by Sol and Jorge that we’re not targets as victims are usually known to the groups and are specifically chosen, so we just put it out of our minds and remain transfixed by the absolutely glorious scenery.
We’re now in the southwest coffee growing region of Antioquia and soon drive past the little town of Hispania, towards our first stop in the aptly named town of Andes. Andes is the central hub for the brightly decorated Chivas buses that were traditionally used to transport workers and coffee around the region, servicing the plantations so they could deliver their crops to the trading points for sale. Plantations prefer to use their own jeeps these days so the Chivas now connect locals between towns and even run a little tourist bus up the mountainside from Andes to Jardin.
We stop for photos but thankfully have Jorge and our air-conditioned car to drive us uphill, rather than the slow, bone-rattling experience of a Chiva, and as we ascend the ever-more winding roads to Jardin, coffee plants are everywhere, growing wild on the side of the road, as well as in neatly planted fields.
Sol explains that all Colombian coffee comes from the Arabica bean and has to be assessed, regulated, graded and approved by the all-powerful Colombian Coffee Federation. The price they pay farmers who sell to them is fixed against the New York Stock Exchange, and they buy in bulk, taking care of the roasting and processing, and then exporting to the international market. However some farmers, especially those with lower yields but better quality crops, prefer to roast the beans themselves as artisans and sell directly in the local area to tourists and connoisseurs for a higher price.
They are still regulated and assessed by the Colombian Coffee Federation, who have the strictest guidelines in the world, and that is why Colombia is renowned for having the finest coffee on the planet. And most of it comes from the area we are now in, known as the Zona Cafetera, which stretches south from Antioquia through a number of neighbouring departments of the country.
Jardin is known as the most beautiful town in Antioquia and it is a feast for the eyes, not only due to its incredibly attractive architecture and main plaza but for its spectacular location on the side of a mountain above a beautiful valley. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Hotel Balcones where we are staying for the night which is about as no-frills and rudimentary as it gets but does have its advertised balcony, opening out on to the edge of main plaza, Parque El Libertador.
The plaza is gorgeous, lined with cafes and restaurants with guayacane trees in the centre boasting yellow flowers, around a fountain. It’s filled with locals, many of them old men in traditional hats and ponchoes watching the world go by, as well as lots of Colombian tourists from all over the country, who come here during the holiday season. Unfortunately for us that means the plaza is essentially one big fiesta every night at this time of year and the party carries on at ear-splitting volume until the early hours. Our old hotel, with traditional balcony, may as well be open air such is the noise this evening.
However the plaza does boast a stunning and rather unique church. Built less then one hundred years ago the local priest told his parishioners to bring a stone for every sin they had ever committed and they would be forgiven. The townsfolk, being extremely religious, soon had enough rocks to build this enormous church, and it’s now famous across Colombia as the church built by sinners. We sit next to it at Cafe Salome, having a very good coffee with Sol before we all drive into the countryside to have a (very) leisurely lunch at the bohemian vegetarian restaurant Revolución Bananera.
Housed in Hostel Encanto La Salada it’s rustic and surrounded by nature but its laidback atmosphere seems to have affected the couple preparing the food as we wait almost two hours for it to be served. Fortunately it’s huge and utterly delicious and means that when we visit a nationally famous, family-run sweet shop called Dulces del Jardin soon afterwards none of us are tempted to buy anything.
Our final stop is up above the town on the other side of the valley where a statue of Christ welcomes visitors to a lookout point next to a rickety old cable car crossing that’s thankfully been disused for a number of years now. Jardin is laid out below us with the rolling hills and mountains of the western Andes filling the horizon. It’s indescribably picturesque.
We say farewell to Sol and Jorge, and wander the colourful streets in the late afternoon sun, before settling on a lovely restaurant called Mambrú for dinner. There’s no point in trying for an early night with all the noise from the bars surrounding the hotel so afterwards we sit in the plaza drinking wine and people watching until we’re tired enough to sleep through the din.
Next morning we have a much-needed coffee on the plaza before our new driver, Andres Castaño, meets us and we set off on an epic drive, heading even further south into the heart of the Zona Cafetera to our destination for the next two nights, the tiny village of Salento. Andres is lovely and very chatty, so the perfect companion for us to practice our Spanish skills with. He’s also packed us a cool box of water, fruit, Coca Cola and local guava sweets for the journey ahead.
We retrace our route yesterday for about an hour, back through Andes and Hispania, to connect with the main highway towards the cities of Manizales and Cali. It’s a speedier route than continuing through the increasingly more windy and untarmacked back roads across the mountains but is plagued by roadworks that mean we often sit, sweltering, in large traffic jams.
After a few hours we stop for lunch at El Llanerito, a roadside restaurant where huge slabs of meat are being grilled in a ferocious looking chamber full of smoke and flames. Andres tucks into a massive plate of pork, chicken and beef while Coman and I make do with salad, fries and rice and pitying looks from the waitress. The fruit juices are delicious though and as we continue on the fields become filled with orange, mandarin, lemon and lime trees along with vast guaudua plants, Colombia’s own native bamboo.
After five hours we leave the main highway and pass through the city of Pereira, the capital of the Riseralda department, before entering the Quindio department and arriving at its most historic and famous village, the enchantingly pretty Salento, where we will be spending the next few nights. Andres assures us it’s “muy tranquilo, mucha calma,” as we have also read previously.
However, as often happens on our adventures, the reality is anything but. Salento has for the week after New Year been turned into a huge non-stop fiesta and is swamped with thousands of Colombian tourists who have come to make the most of the final few days of the holidays. Thankfully the sanctuary of our hotel awaits…
