Colombia-Joyas y Cafe Day 6
Colombia-Joyas y Cafe
Day 6 - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - In Medellin Visit the Antioquia Museum & Plaza de Botero; Fly to Pereira, Part of the Coffee Triangle; Lodging at a Hacienda Built in 1737
We had a more relaxed morning, as we did not have to leave the hotel until 8:45. Edgar gave us water as he generously does each day.
As Raul drove, Edgar told us more about this city. We drove through the industrial area; and then up to Cerro Nutibara Hill, with a 180° view of Medellin below. At the top there was a small park and a little town of Pueblita Paisa.
We climbed to the top for the views and to take panoramas of the city. Although it was hazy, there was still a good chance to see Medellin from two different viewpoints.
Raul picked us up and we continued our mini-tour and Edgar told us more about the famous artist Fernando Botero who was born in this area. He never lived here, as he was a very famous artist in Europe.
In 1999, Botero made a substantial donation to Colombia. In Bogota and in Medellin there are two large museums of his major works and also his own private art collection. A foundation was set up so that people from those two cities never have to pay an entrance fee.
Our first stop downtown was at San Antonio Plaza, displaying several of Botero's large bronze sculptures. In 1995, during a political speech, a bomb went off destroying one of the sculptures, The Pigeon. Botero replaced it with another in memory of the 25 people killed in the bombing.
As we walked into the plaza containing the Museo de Antoquia, the home of the major exhibition of Ferdinand Botero we saw the 23 huge robust statues, which are his signature style. In front of the plaza is the museum, once a government headquarters.
We had almost two hours to enjoy the plaza and the museum before we walked to meet Raul. On the way, Edgar asked us if we would like to meet one of the ladies of the street.
We all agreed that this would be a unique learning and discovery so we began to talk to Lina. A single mother of two children, she has been in her profession for four years. Prostitution is not legal but it is widespread in the whole country, especially on the busy streets of Bogota and of Medellin.
We continued our walk to go to El Covacho, a balcony restaurant above the commotion and the noises of the streets on this Saturday afternoon. We are getting smarter; we ordered one meal of Eggplant Parmesan and shared it.
When we finished our lunch we met Raul who took us to the downtown Enrique Olaya Herrera airport. Edgar checked our bags and gave us our boarding passes. We did not have to linger at the gate, it was just a short time and they called our flight.
The Dash 8-200 with only 37 seats, left at 2:15, right on time. We were only in the air for 45 minutes, another short flight that avoided hours of driving through the mountains. We landed at 3:00, thank goodness, as the plane’s AC was not working and people were all hot with some complaining more than others.
When we got off the plane, we were met with a blast of hot air! We knew it would be warmer here, but 87° and 55% humidity with a heat stress factor of 93 was a big surprise.
We met our local guide, Alejandro Garcia who will be with us for the next few days. He gave us a little information about this leg of the coffee triangle we are visiting now.
Although coffee is king, they also have textile industries, auto, bus, and motorbike assembly plants, vegetable farms, as well as cattle ranching. We also saw fields of pineapples and passion fruit vines.
Hector, our driver, took us on a one lane, bumpy road past gated communities to Criadero Providencia, a large show horse ranch. We saw small ponies, donkeys, and cattle as well as the show horses, the famous Colombian Creole.
Daniel, the rider, demonstrated the five gaits of these spirited horses. The mare, a nine-year-old award winner was worth over $300,000 and the stallion worth over 1 million dollars. He is retired now, but still used for breeding.
The vaqueros, or cowboys, brought out another gentle horse and both Edgar and Mary Jo took a ride around the yard on the horse while we admired their equestrian skills.
After leaving the estancia at 4:30, we drove back to the main road and then on to our “hacienda”, which was built in 1737. This was an unusually hot day and the rooms have no AC but they do have a ceiling fan and we had another floor fan to keep the air circulating.
Our dinner was cooked and served by Claudia, on the patio by the swimming pool. At 8:00 we came back to the room to finish up the journal and the photos from today.
A refreshing shower and good night’s sleep was welcome after our busy day of travel.
Accommodations: Hacienda Castilla - - - Meals included: B, L, & D
To receive $100 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062
OAT's - Colombia's Colonial Jewels & the Coffee Triangle
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