The 5 hour bus trip from Medellin was incredibly scenic. We just had to take a picture of this very pointy mountain!
Arriving mid-afternoon in the bustling square flanked by colourful bars and shops, we were greeted warmly by the waiter who served us coffee as we sat on wooden chairs with backs of cow-hide. The local people all greet tourists, call 'Bienvenidos' (welcome) as we pass them in the street and ask where we're from. They are justifiably very proud of their town and very happy to have us there. We so hope it remains this way and does not become overwhelmed by tourism.
The chair backs are made from cow-hide
A welcome cup of coffee in the main plaza in Jardin, after a long bus ride
As directed by our personal travel agents, we headed by moto raton (literally 'motor mouse', as they call tuk tuks here) to our hostel, Selva y Cafe (forest and coffee), 15 minutes outside town, in the lush countryside.
The view from the upstairs toilet at Selva y Cafe hostel
What a friendly place this hostel is. It's small and rustic, with fairy lights, a pond full of fish and noisy frogs, Persian rugs, a cat and 2 dogs. The food is served in the outdoor kitchen, which is ideal to get to know the other guests, who were all chatty and welcoming. This'll do for a few days, we thought.
View from the balcony - Renault 4s are very popular in Colombia - love 'em!
A little street in Jardin at dusk, the church spires in the background
The beautiful setting of the main plaza, surrounded by hills, big church to the right
Jardin is in the coffee growing region (Zona Cafetera) of south-west Antioquia, Colombia and the countryside is beautiful, with a temperate climate: warm in the day and cool in the evenings, even quite cold at night, due to the altitude. We had been highly recommended by our friends a horseriding tour to a waterfall. They had been very impressed by their guide, very valuable information, as we had heard horror stories of inexperienced guides, resulting in injured tourists (sometimes very badly and even some deaths) in some tourist areas of Colombia. So, we tracked down Guillermo, who was indeed a very nice man, as promised, and booked a 5 hour trip for the following day, which would at least prise us out of our seats in the cafe overlooking the square, where we sipped more tasty black coffees or chilled coffee with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce than were good for us. We just love the plazas in Central and South American cities. They are the hub of the town and the plaza in Jardin has a great vibe, with people just hanging out drinking coffee and eating arepas from the little stalls, kids running around the fountain or chasing pigeons. At the weekend, the spectacle of gauchos in their finery parading their sleek horses, proudly (and loudly!) performing their rapid trotting steps, (known as paso fino, literally 'fine step'), which appears very strange to our eyes, but has been an iconic tradition in some Antioquian towns and villages for centuries, originating in Spain. On walks in the campo outside the town, we saw gauchos practising with their very well-cared for horses. They were happy to explain the different steps, which are so fast that it is difficult for the naive observer to tell them apart, unless you learn to listen to the different sounds their hooves make. They said that the ability to carry out the paso fino steps is genetic and that horses learn from their mothers as well as the gauchos.
We met Guillermo at 8am on the morning of the trip and were driven to a house high on the mountain, where we picked up our insurance and were provided with wristbands lest we get lost. Very impressive, reassuring and a total surprise. No helmets, though, which was a concern. From there we were driven, with a friendly German couple, to the stables where we collected our horses. Mine was a beautiful mare, Caramelo, and Alan's a handsome male, Pacheco.
Anna riding Caramelo (and studiously ignoring the 200m drop to the left!)
Caramelo was spirited and feisty, always jostling to be in front and cantering whenever she could (eek, it was only Anna's third time horseriding), whereas Alan's Pacheco was content to just amble along at the back, chomping on any greenery when he could get away with it.
View over Jardin from horseback
Three of the gorgeous horses waiting for us to return from the waterfall, where we continued up the steep path on foot
The waterfall - a challenging walk, crawl through a rocky tunnel and climb to reach it (and walk behind it) - well worth it!
Guillermo opening the gate for us and the horses after visiting the waterfall
Hanging nests of the oropendola bird along the way
Lunch - a veggie fiambre: veg and rice wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked over a flame - yum
What an amazing day. We returned the horses to the stable and visited a nearby passion fruit farm before heading back in the jeep, down the dusty, bone-crunching mountain road, tired and content.
Passion fruit, or maracuya, one of our favourite juices, growing in abundance
Most evenings, due to the distance from the town and the lovely company at the hostel, we ate back at Selva y Cafe. One evening we cooked and ate a communal meal together, which was delicious, mostly due to the culinary skills of a young British guy, John, and his mates. We also ate breakfast there each morning, sometimes witnessing Fauno, the young black Labrador-ish dog, wade into the pond and attempt to catch a carp before being chased out! Hostels can be huge fun, or they can be a huge pain in the arse, this one was definitely the former! We met some really good people here, including an Australian couple, Alex and Todd, who are travelling through South America in a camper van they bought in Chile. We vowed to meet up at our next destination and spend some more time together.
Wherever we went, locals were eager to tell us about the gallito de roca, the local bird. So, armed with exact directions from Guillermo, we hiked to their nesting spot outside town. Hearing their distinctive cry before we spotted many, many of the comical-looking birds, flitting about from tree to tree and scrapping before settling down for the night.
Gallito de roca (cock of the rock)
For our last 2 days in Jardin we stayed in an Airbnb in town. We'd arranged for a moto raton (tuk tuk) to pick us up after breakfast. Walking to the end of the dirt lane where the driver was waiting, we were accompanied, as usual, by Juaniito, the little red dog at the hostel. Whenever we walked into town either he, or both he and Fauno, trotted ahead, springing through the fences to bother the cows and horses, then springing back onto the path, tails up, looking for their next adventure. They reminded us of a couple of cheeky teenagers out to make mischief and also of a dog we had when I was growing up - Buster- Juanito looks so much like him, too. This time only Juanito came, and, spotting the moto raton, jumped in, refusing to get out, or to look at us when we tried to persuade him to do so! Luckily, the driver thought it was hilarious and gently lifted him out.
Juanito, refusing to get out of the tuk tuk, or to look at us!
In our new apartment - can you spot Alan?!
I couldn't stop laughing when I spotted Alan's head behind the egg-box, for once the camera was handy at the right moment. 'Jejeje' as they would write for 'hee hee' in Spanish speaking countries!
The new accommodation was the polar opposite of the hostel; slick, urban, clean lines and brand new, with a washing machine, of which we took full advantage and, for the first time in a while, we had fresh smelling clothes!
Boarding the bus, as spotted from the balcony of Cafe de Los Andes above - bring me another chilled coffee with ice cream, por favor!
The town seems a very relaxed place to live - the men play billiards and drink coffee (called 'tinto' in Colombia) in their spare time
Women chatting in the plaza - the town has a timeless quality; I couldn't resist taking this photo in black and white
The plaza on our last day; even on a rainy Sunday, the balconies and doors still bright and colourful
Aside from arepas, there were not many vegetarian options in town. We had a fun evening at one of the two pizza restaurants, though, and to drink we had the delicious coco limonada, homemade lemonade with coconut cream and a little sugar. Soooo nice.
Arepas are eaten with breakfast, lunch and dinner and are the Colombian staple, the equivalent of Mexican tortillas. They are eaten as they are, or stuffed, savoury or sweet. They have a slightly 'gritty' or nutty texture from the flour. We love eating them accompanied by delicious Colombian hot chocolate. Here is a recipe for tasty cheese arepas. It is likely difficult to obtain precooked arepa flour outside S America, then cornmeal would probably be the best option.
Cheese arepas
Ingredients
(Makes 4 arepas)
- 1 cup cornmeal (or preferably pre-cooked white or yellow arepa flour if you can get it)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup white or cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp butter
- Pinch salt
Method
- Combine the cornmeal, warm water, cheese, 1 tbsp butter and salt, mixing thoroughly. Let mixture stand for five minutes.
- Knead with your hands for about 3 minutes, moistening your hands with water as you work.
- Form the dough into 4 small balls. Place each ball between 2 plastic bags and, with a plate, flatten to ¼ inch.
- Add the remaining butter to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Place the arepas in the pan, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until a crust forms or they are golden brown.
The basilica in the early morning sun
Little street in Jardin, from the bus as we left this gorgeous, friendly little town
As you may have guessed, we loved Jardin and its warm people and beautiful surroundings. We also met some lovely travellers, too, with whom we hope to stay in touch.
Next post: Salento, land of the big trees
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