Saturday started out with a steady hard rain all morning but by the time we headed out to the finca(farm) it was turning nice. Mario and Lucero are childhood friends of Gloria and have invited us out many times. They live in town but have the finca for weekend retreats and family gatherings. Many rooms with lots of beds capable of sleeping at least 20. Not far from town it is a great place to enjoy nature. They have lots of flowers and fruit trees. Always fresh oranges, limes, plantains, bananas, mango, papaya and more. We were joined in the evening by Gloria's kids and two of Mario's also came out.
The night was clear and we grilled out and talked and just enjoyed being outside.
In the morning Mario and I headed out for a walk. Started on some hilly mountain roads, then some mountain trails through some of the jungle. Small time agriculture all over, lots of hilly orchards along with lots of natural growth. Part of our path took us through a neighbors yard and kitchen and led us to a trail down the valley and back up. The dirt had steps carved out that really worked well. Lots of steps... it was a big hill. After about 45 min. Mario says right is 15 min. back to finca, left about an hour. We choose left and arrived back about 3 hours later, 8.2 miles total of walking according to my phone.
As we are counting down to the last couple of weeks here before heading to the states for the summer and it was great to enjoy this time with Mario in this beautiful country. He is a lawyer by day but has a great knowledge of the area and helps me learn how to tell the difference between plantain and banana trees, what plant is used to make the coffee bean sacks and so much more. We even saw a farmer making charcoal this time. We were hot and tired by the time we returned but so happy to be able to enjoy the natural treasures of Colombia. Made for an awesome weekend.
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| Gloria's grandson Migue with Lucero's dog Canela |
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| Vermillion Flycatcher in one of the trees at the finca |
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| Just before bedtime |
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| Saturday evening |
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| Yellow birds but you probably guessed that |
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| Mario with these flowers that grow everywhere here |
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| Mario's finca from the back side across the valley |
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| Eagle |
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| The kitchen on the trail, complete with baby chicks |
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| Oranges growing in the back |
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| The dirt carved steps |
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| Heading up more steps, looking over the guadua in the valley. Similar to bamboo. I just love how they look. |
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| Still climbing more dirt steps |
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| Coffee growing on the left |
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| Below this church used to be train tracks. Taken out of service in the 70's. |
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| No words needed |
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| Plantains |
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| This was so cool. Making charcoal from old coffee wood and orange tree wood. Covered in dirt to burn slow. |
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| Buzzard |
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| This is fice. Use the fibers to make the sacks to hold the coffee beans. |
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| The local taxi came flying passed us |
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| Same taxi loaded with goods and passengers |
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| Lots of horse ranches. The paso finos are very big here. Fast paced beautiful gait. |
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| Jairo's new back yard |
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| Another finca owned by Mario's cousin, Jairo and Victoria. Just retired from UPS last week in Long Island, NY. Now happy to start this phase of life here in the coffee country. About a half hour of walk left to go to get to Mario's finca. |
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| Papaya |
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| Small mountain stream |
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| Sure footed cattle grazing on the hilly pasture |
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| Jairo and Victoria on the left, Mario and Victoria's mother on the right |
