Reflections, A Colombia Blog

  Rufous-collared sparrow Acorn woodpecker Lovebirds - Crimson-rumped toucanets White-lined tanager (female) Torrent Tyrannulet Rufous-tailed jacamar Rufous-tailed hummingbird Black tailed trainbearer Yellow-backed oriole entering its nest White-sided flowerpiercer (?) Flowerpiercers help hummingbirds by piercing flowers closer to the pollen. Flame-rumped tanager Green honeycreeper Black-winged saltator Safron-crowned tanager Masked flowerpiercer American kestrel Caught in the act! Acorn woodpeckers Tropical mockingbird House wren Moustached puffbird Hummer faceoff! Steely-vented and Rufous-tailed Great-tailed grackle Green Hermit The End

Medellin is known for many things.  It's the "City of Eternal Spring," because of its temperate climate.  It's the namesake of what was the most feared drug cartel in the Americas. The drug and political battles of the late 1990s and early 2000s made it what some considered to be the most dangerous city in the world. Today, it has the only Metro system in Colombia and is known globally as a center of social and economic innovation. Despite its bad rap and rep, we found Medellin a vibrant city of 2.5 million people nestled high (5900') in the central Andes range. This was our last stop in Colombia, and our 6 nights there gave us opportunities for unhurried tourism ... selective sightseeing, seeing friends (a Seattle couple there for 3 months studying Spanish), and just relaxing. Getting to Medellin was, however, not relaxing.  From Hacienda Venecia near Manazales, the drive was a long, maddening slow, snaking route over mountains, along ridges, through river canyon...

We were slated to leave Salento at 9am, to make the long, mountainous drive to a coffee finca outside of Manazales. The previous afternoon, on a stroll through old Salento, we had stopped for lunch at a recommended restaurant. Shellfish soup and a burger (you can guess who ordered which). Less than 12 hours later, the poisoned clams or mussels laid Kate low.   We were able to delay our departure for a few hours, but with Kate still ailing a bit, we were picked up for our transit to Manizales.  Somehow, Kate managed to survive the drive, and 3+ hours later we arrived at Hacienda Venecia, a working coffee plantation outside of Manizales.  First impressions - as seen through the eyes of a tired and sick woman and her worried spouse - weren't great: a small room next to the kitchen and dining areas, no AC so windows had to be open due to the heat and humidity. But as time went on, the helpful staff, great food, interesting fellow guests, refreshing pool, lush gardens, am...