We arrived at Casa Don Carlos Lodge soon after three. Here we say goodbye to Freddie. Wonderful hotel with poor staff on reception.
Our reception was not good and we were kept hanging around for half an hour or so, then sent to room 204. We went up to this and discovered it did not have a good view and went to examine other rooms and found that our original 208, which had not been ready, did have a good view so we went back to reception and agreed to wait for it to be made up. What was odd was that there were only us and five Italians in the hotel for the night so why could they not allocate us a room that was ready?
We went down to a gorgeous pool for an hour or so, and Chris enjoyed a swim yet the Jacuzzis were not functioning. Back in the room Chris wanted to wash her hair, but there was no water, in the taps. and this did appear for about half an hour. We sat out on the communal balcony on a comfortable sofa reading for awhile.
Then at 8 o’clock went down to the spacious open air restaurant which had had such bad reviews on Tripadvisor. So we decided on just a starter, and a Pizza . This was still too much for us. We washed It down with a delicious Pina Colada And a Pisco sour.
Next morning, a refreshing swim before breakfast, which was very pleasant. Away with a new guide, Claudia, who was not one of the best, quite difficult to understand her, and no compensating features. She took us to a coffee plantation. Then back in the minibus to the hotel which we reach just before 2 pm. Chris went for a swim
We found that our request for the television to be looked at had been ignored, and were told we could speak to the manager at 3 pm. . Then to reception where the lady manager spoke little English and used the original receptionist who Chris was suggesting was pathetic as a translator: not a good start point for a discussion. The result of this conversation was that we got upgraded to a large room. This taking up some time to transfer all our possessions.
Then read until 5 pm When Chris went for another swim, and also a spell in the largest Jacuzzi that did, in fact work, the smaller one being broken.
Back to our pleasant balcony where we had some cold Pizza before going to the bar/restaurant for a drink. We found the drinks were on the house so we had two each
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Next day, we arrived at the coffee plantation Venecia after just over a pleasant drive of an hour. Here we were offered a cup of coffee and then asked to pay for it: not a good start. Also they wanted our passports, I have no idea why, and this was the only time it happened with an excursion in Colombia. . Then we had a sample of four filter coffees, all very insipid and an explanation of how they got these four. this by Matthieu, a guide in the plantation. Then a walk through coffee bushes, with explanations of the seasons, the pickers, the diseases, et cetera. At the end of this, we were picked up by our minibus and driven to the Casa Principal. Here we were shown the effect of roasting the beans before walking round their five bedroom hotel.
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Fri 1 Mar Day trip to Cocora, a touristy site with wax palms, and to Salento
Chris had a poor night's sleep due to a cold and struggled to stay awake during most of the day, but did have a swim before breakfast. And then we went out on a full day's tour to Cocora at 9 am. We drove through Salento and on the hills of the Wax Palms, this was very scenic, but also over touristy. From a giant plastic hand to take your Instagram to giant Cocora signs It is basically a family day out in a Disneyesque location. If that is what you want, then this place will be fine for you. But if you want to see and understand Wax Palms, then there are better places in the area
We had pleasant cane sugar, warm drink before we started off the hill. But Chris had to stop after a while, as she did not have enough energy to climb. David and Claudia continued to the top to the Instagram inspired giant hand, where everybody was queuing to get their photos taken
The Wax Palm is Colombia's National Tree
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After this, we stopped for a ritual which consisted of planting a six year old wax palm sapling, and shouting for Columbia, England and Ireland. Really odd and aimed at the mass tourism market rather than us. We had a mango and maracuya fruit juice.
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Then down to the town of Salento, where we had a 15 minute walk after being taken to El Mirador, a viewpoint over the valley. Unfortunately the valley is nearly always covered with mist.
Salento is known for its coffee estates and verdant scenery. East is Cocora Valley where lofty wax palm trees, a national symbol, are home to rare parrots.
The town is a gateway to the snow-capped peaks of Los Nevados National Natural Park, to the northeast.
In Salento, Calle Real has colourful buildings and is packed with "craft" shops.
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We are back at the hotel by 3:30 and Chris struggled to stay awake for the rest of the day. David had bought some rum and Coke, and we enjoyed this outside the room with a sandwich and some coffee biscuits. David also went to the restaurant and had a pasta. Hopefully tomorrow Chris will be fighting fit