Bad Soup + Hellish Drive + Galloping Horse = Haven Amid the Coffee

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, amazing bird life, and - most importantly - Kate's revival all endeared us to the place.  Besides just relaxing in this coffee haven - complete with an anytime-you-want espresso machine - we birded, had a "tour" of rum making, and a horseback ride at a different finca in the area (on that "eventful" experience, more below).

     
We stayed in the Casa Principal, which had wonderful common areas on its wrap-around deck.

Iguanas entertained us, as did ...


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... about 25 peacocks.  A couple were introduced to the finca about 20 years ago, and they've prospered quite well; the male in this photo is all in for this female!  They made quite the racket, especially in the mornings when they flew down from their roosts.


Kate's artistic eye ...

The food was fresh and delicious

Lush gardens


After group dinners came group drinking!  We especially connected with the Swiss couple of the near left, he an academic economist on sabbatical in Bogota, she a teacher volunteering at a program that serves homeless youth.

We had arranged through our tour agency for a half-day horseback ride, which we thought would be on Hacienda Venecia.  When our riding guide, Julio, showed up, however, it turned out we were driving to his family's finca about an hour away.  It didn't make us happy to spend more time in a car, but we did get to see a bit more of the countryside.

After we arrived, had a short snack, a glass of fresh lemonade - yum! - and the requisite insurance liability forms (surely a worldwide phenomenon), we were introduced to our respective horses, and off we trotted for a roundabout tour of the fruit orchards that graced the hills.  Julio was a patient riding guide, telling us a bit about the ranch - which his family had purchased recently and sought to turn into a tourist destination - and giving us options for length and difficulty of the ride.

Guide Julio on his steed.

Julio explaining the view, looking north.


Cowgirl and CowbOY!

The ride lasted about an hour, ending none to soon, as it was VERY hot.  As we neared the small stables where we would dismount, no more than 50 yards ahead of us, Kate's horse decided it had to get there fast, and started galloping.  Julio took off after Kate, no doubt worried, but she's horse-experienced and was just fine.  My mount, which seemed happy to bring up the rear throughout the ride, decided that if everyone else was galloping, well it would, too!  My keen horse skills were, let's say, challenged, as I bounced erratically up and down in the saddle, just trying to hang on.  Going full speed, my horse realized the other two had stopped in front of the stables, and hit the brakes, yanking me and the saddle hard to the left.  I hung on to something, the horses neck? the saddle horn?  I have no idea, but whatever it was broke my fall, so I landed on the ground relatively softly.  

Within seconds, Julio jumped down between my horse and me, for which I was grateful.  It was clear from their faces, that the finca owners - who watched the episode from a balcony - and Julio were concerned about the extent of my injuries (would this gringo sue?).  I checked my hips (artificial), knees, back, everything seemed to work ok.  Julio gently cleaned the only visible damage, a long bloody scratch on my arm, with iodine(!) and bandaged me up.  An exciting end to the experience! 

Well, the end was actually this quite tasty, humongous lunch, which we'd come to learn Colombians ate three times a day.  The best traditional meal of the trip!




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