Trip to Colombo Armenia

On Tuesday I went to Armenia, about 2. 5 hours on very very curvy mountain roads from Manizales, to do a workshop on learner autonomy at the Colombo there. The workshop went well, and it was warmer in Armenia than here, so all and all happy.

The best part of the trip was the finca that I stayed at, El Balso. When I called to make a reservation the day before, one of the owners just laughed and said they would come get me at the Colombo and that was all the reservation I needed. Her husband, Don Julian, all of seventy-something years, came to get me, bought me dinner, told me about the plantation, and then drove me out to the finca in a downpour that didn't end for more than twelve hours.

The finca still produces coffee and platano, and is gorgeous to say the least. Even though the Panamerican was probably less than a kilometer away, the silence was deafening after the noise of my apartment. I don't know the last time I've had coffee that good, and breakfast was fabulous, with fruit grown right there. I love the architecture, the colors, everything. And all for $85.000 pesos (more or less $40). I'd just randomly picked the place, but turns out I'd read about it the Times several years ago (http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/travel/12coffee.html?scp=2&sq=el%20balso&st=cse).