Calarca

     We have now moved from Medellin to Calarca. We are not in town, but staying on an eco-farm at the Combia Inspiracion. It's on the end of a very bumpy dirt road. This is the coffee triangle area of Colombia. The three main cities within the Triangle are Manizales, Pereira, and Armenia and they form the vertices of the triangle. Calarca is only about 2.5 miles from Armenia.

     The area is very picturesque with lush green hills and loads of coffee plantations. Our local guide said that Colombia has 5 coffee regions and 565,000 coffee plantations. Most plantations are just family farms and the average size is about 3.7 acres.

     After being in the big cities, being on a farm and at the Combia Inspiracion, we were delighted. The farm and hotel, or whatever it was, were small but very comfortable. You can see Vicky on the deck in front of our room in the first photo. In the second, we are both lounging on the deck.

     Vicky and I both liked eating breakfast on the edge of the dining area. They had a structure just off the deck where they fed the birds bananas and other fruits, so we had great breakfast viewing.

     We enjoyed our day trips while here but between hiking, picking coffee beans, and whatnot, we also enjoyed their swimming pool when we got back to the farm.

     We had the chance to grab a snack anytime that we wanted.

     One morning, I went to the office for something, and they were having a staff meeting. I waited a bit before interrupting their meeting. As you can see by the photo, the guy on the counter was in charge. Every time I came to the office, he was there while the rest of the staff fluctuated.

     We had plenty of entertainment, lectures, etc. on the farm, but I mostly enjoyed time on my own to wander about, take photos, and just enjoy the plants and scenery.