No trip to Colombia should miss a visit to the verdant and vibrant green slopes of Zona Cafetera – the coffee zone. Producing half of the country’s coffee, the crops climb to the top of steep mountainsides, using natural drainage and altitude to their advantage. Part of our stay included a walk to an original farmhouse made of mud bricks and bamboo and crawling with giant black ants who found me of course. We saw coffee plantations, the processing and drying areas and finally enjoyed freshly roasted beans, ground and prepared in tiny cups. The resulting brew was dark, meaty and filled the sinuses.
We arrived at night which proved a good idea so we couldn’t properly grasp the challenge of getting Magaly the Tucan truck down and up the surprising driveway…including dropping a back wheel off the edge of the tiny bridge at the bottom between two slopes. Driving out when we left involved everyone walking to flat road beyond the driveway, the heady smell of burning brakes and clutch cable and picking up pieces of truck. The low lying branches caught the air horns and turned them backwards. It was a collective breath-holding exercise.
The Finca was beautiful and we made full use of the pool, sunshine and clothesline, BBQ area and kitchen, stereo, patio, hammocks and time to do little else but relax and get creative with our meals. We had a big shopping expedition leaving Zipaquira and cook group 2 pulled off quinoa salad, tuna pasta salad, coleslaw, lentil salad, two kinds of salad dressing, boiled eggs and greens for our truck stop lunch when leaving the Finca, we were very popular.
I find great joy in having good music on (of course it was time for my iPod to come out), a couple of cold drinks, card games and tall stories being shared and being in the kitchen cooking up a feast for all to enjoy with a few others. An added bonus was another group does the washing up…haha! We also put on a great hot breakfast on leaving day. Oh yeah, I knew those years in chef school would come in handy one day 🙂
I introduced some of the gang to the one and only “spoon donkey” – a card game that could also be classed as a contact sport. When people ended up on the ground, scrambling for spoons, I knew I had taught them well. Nan would be so proud. Perhaps not so proud of my efforts at the following night’s drinking card game where I believe I managed to conk out at the table. My family and Renae will know what that looks like 😉
After such a relaxing time taking in the lush gorgeous views from the side of the pool, preparing great meals, enjoying fab music and several adult beverages, it was a bit sad to leave. Sometimes staying still and making our own fun is the time we cherish the simplicity of just living.