Last weekend we went to the Eje Cafetera in Quindio, Colombia with some of our very closest friends. We had a ridiculously good time. We got hooked up with an awesome 3 bedroom cabin on a commercial property that was formerly owned by a dude involved in some less-than-legal activities. For the record, those less-than-legal dudes created some awesome properties. I guess that’s what you do when you have more money than you know what to do with…. haven’t had that problem yet but standby… I’ll let you know when I do. While it was Memorial Day for us, it was a religious holiday for the Colombians… so everyone was in a party mood.
Friday we hung out at the hotel and relaxed. The kids played in the pool. We ate at the restaurant (Colombian food in general just doesn’t do it for us {apart from the fruit and veggies and sweet corn arepas}). We drank some beers and enjoyed each other’s company in a crazy little corner of the world.
Saturday we spent the entire day (9am – 6 pm) at Parque del Cafe. It’s an entire amusement park dedicated to coffee. Yes… please!! I agree wholeheartedly. There were rides and shows and shops. Scott and I had a blast. The kids had a blast. Our friends had a blast. Evie followed her favorite superstar buddy around all day. Jack got to ride in the backpack a lot (which was a good thing). We drank coffee. There were women and men dressed up in the traditional Colombian outfits (you know them… big skirts, Latin hats). How can you not love a place like that?!
By the time we left, Scott and I were exhausted. But on the way home, one of our friends had the genius idea to ask the driver if we could stop for dinner. Sure enough… we found a little candle-lit gem of a restaurant on the way home. The driver joined us. We ordered bottles of wine. We laughed. We all spoke Spanish (even those in our party that can’t). It was outstanding. By the time we arrived at the hotel (8:30 pm for all you wild and crazy guys out there) Scott, the kids and I were ready for bed. Our friends?!? Good on ’em… not so much. They went and partied it up with the locals. Where do they find the energy? I’m convinced it’s in the Latin blood or the hot peppers…. whatever. We hung with the sleeping kids.
Sunday we woke up late and planned to hang out at the hotel.
However, in a weird twist, they were making all the women in the pool were this Amish cap thing. Since they didn’t ask us to the first day, I was shocked when they tried to get me to put one on Ev… and then it dawned on me. They’re going to make me put on too. Ummmmmm…. one word…. one guess. No. Im not entirely sure why, but the American came roaring out. Do the men have to wear this monstrosity? No. Ok good…. **ck this. 🙂 Not proud of it, but no one puts an 1800s style Amish cap on me and my little girl. So… we opted to take the van and driver to the Santa Rosa thermal springs. Best… Decision… Ever.
The springs were totally weird and a great adventure. It was literally on some dirt road an hour outside the nearest town. We were in “Colombia”… the one in Romancing the Stone. Scott ate boiled cows feet (aka gelatin) on the way there and almost gagged in the van (so did I).
The spring themselves were giant pools of liquid goodness. And they were full…. at 8 pm at night. There was touching other people in the pool. Not in a weird way… but still. Touching strangers is super weird for us (#NuttyAmericans). We enjoyed them for about an hour or so and then turned around to make the trek home (more than 3 hours by car… *surprise*… they thought is was about an hour and half from the hotel). We arrived at 11:30pm or so. For us – that’s out WICKED late. For those of you not form New England, “wicked” is a place beyond crazy but before completely stupid.
What a great weekend. So glad we went. The whole region certainly lives up to it’s reputation. It’s a must see in Colombia.
