Armenia is a city located in the heart of Colombia’s Zona Cafetera, and it’s the place where my mom grew up. Minh and I spent 10 days in Armenia visiting my family. Armenia is a pleasant, small city with springtime weather year round. Several blocks of Carrera 14, Armenia’s main shopping Street, are pedestrian only and contain lots of nice little cafes with outdoor seating. Tourists come to Armenia to visit nearby coffee farms, the nearby colonial town of Salento, and the Parque Nacional del Café (National Coffee Park).
We spent a day at the Coffee Park with my cousin Laura. In the morning, we did a hike on a trail surrounded by coffee plants and local flora. Along the way there were stops where park employees demonstrated different steps in the coffee making process. We also walked through a small bamboo forest. In the afternoon we went on the rides in the amusement park section, including a really cool roller coaster. At the end of the day we rode a cablecar from one end of the park back to the main entrance, which provided great views of the park and the surrounding area.
We spent two nights at Finca Villa Martha, a coffee farm located about nine kilometers from the city of Pereira. We had a wonderful time! The owners of the farm, Martha and Rafael, are fantastic hosts! All of the meals they cooked for us were hearty, delicious, and accompanied by a glass of fresh natural fruit juice. They served fresh tinto (black coffee) sweetened with panela (a form of raw sugar) all day long. Martha and Rafael have very warm personalities, and enjoyed telling us about how they came to own the coffee farm, and some of the interesting guests they’d had over the years. Rafael also gave us a nice presentation on the coffee making process and showed us how coffee beans are dried, de-shelled, roasted and ground up.
The farm is a lovely property surrounded by lush green hills, banana trees and other coffee farms. The owners place birdfeeders with sugar water around the house and cabins that attract lots of beautiful little hummingbirds. The farm also has a nice swimming pool and jacuzzi at the bottom of a small hill. We found that the beautiful and tranquil surroundings made it a great place to relax.
We LOVED Medellin!!! When you visit Colombia, you should spend at least 3 – 4 days there. It’s a lovely city with spring like weather all year round. It has great museums, restaurants and nightlife. It’s easy to get around on the city’s great metro system, and taxis are inexpensive. There are also some nice day trips nearby. These are the highlights of our visit.
Museo de Antioquia
This museum has a wonderful collection of paintings and sculptures by Colombian artists, including an entire floor dedicated to the works of Medellin’s own Fernando Botero. Minh and I used the audio guide during our visit and it provided good historical and political background to the various works of art.
Plaza Botero and Parque San Antonio
Located in front of the Museo de Antioquia, Plaza Botero is full of statutes created by Fernando Botero. Parque San Antonio, located a few blocks away, contains Botero’s Pájaro de Paz (Bird of Peace). In 1996, the statute was severely damaged by a guerilla bomb that killed 25 people. Botero later created a new version of the statute, but insisted that the damaged one remain in the park as a symbol of the futility of violence. The new statute is located alongside the damaged one.
Catedral Metropolitana
This is a beautiful, brick cathedral located at the Parque de Bolivar. According to my guidebook, it is the third largest brick building in the world.
Cerro Nutibara
This is a park on a hill in the center of the city. There is a replica of a traditional Antioquian town at the top, but the best reason to visit the park is for the great views of the city.
El Poblado
This neighborhood reminded me of Adams Morgan in DC, though it felt about three times larger. There are tons of restaurants, bars, clubs and cafes, which all seem to get pretty packed on weekend nights. In the center of El Poblado is a nice little park called Parque Lleras. On the Friday night when we were there it was full of young people hanging out, listening to music and having drinks. The park also had some lovely Christmas lights, and there were several street vendors selling Colombian snacks, jewelry and handicrafts.
El Peñon and Guatape
El Peñon is an enormous rock located about a 90 minute drive from Medellin. We climbed its 635 steps and enjoyed the spectacular views that it provides of the surrounding hills and the Peñon reservoir.
Afterward we headed to Guatape, a lovely town located nearby, for lunch. All of the homes and buildings in Guatape have pretty designs painted on the bottoms of the fronts of the buildings. Unfortunately, it started to rain so we weren’t able to take many pictures.
Santa Fe de Antioquia and El Puente Occidental
Santa Fe de Antioquia is a well-preserved colonial town located about a 90 minute drive from Medellin. We spent a morning strolling around its streets and various plazas.
Located near Santa Fe is the Puente Occidental, a suspension bridge built in the 19th century across the River Cauca. Minh and I walked across the bridge and enjoyed the nice views it provides of the river and surrounding hills.
Our Hosts
During our visit to Medellin we stayed with my friend Monica’s uncle and aunt, Rafael and Teresa. They were wonderful hosts!!! They showed us around Medellin, drove us to the day trips described above, fed us a lot of very delicious food, and made us feel very much at home at their place. We are very thankful that we got to stay with such fun, kind and generous hosts. Muchisimas gracias Rafael y Teresa! And thank you Lina for putting us in touch with them!
For those who are thinking of visiting us (and you should be), here's our tentative itinerary including sites we're planning to visit in each country. If you've already visited these countries, please feel free to provide any suggestions as well.
January: Ecuador
- Quito
- Otavalo
- Baños
- Cuenca
- Guayaquil
- Galapagos Islands
February: Peru
- Lima
- Cuzco
- Machu Picchu
- Lake Titicaca
- Arequipa
March - April: Argentina & Chile
- Los Glaciares National Park
- Patagonia
- Torres del Paine
- Chiloé
- Lakes District
- Santiago
- Valparaiso
- Atacama
- Mendoza
- Buenos Aires
- Iguazu Falls
May: Brazil
- Curitiba
- Sao Paulo
- Rio de Janeiro
- Salvador de Bahia
- Fortaleza
- Amazon
