[posted on a blog, too much work to include all the photos here, though I included my favorite]
October 8, 2020
Number one on my list of places to visit for the longest time has been Jardín. A trip in March with buddies from the US had to be cancelled for obvious reasons. Finally, the country is starting to open up, so off I went with James and driver/friend Juan. It was a four-hour ride from Medellín, mostly incredibly scenic. For the most part, the views along the way were of steep mountains, rivers and a huge waterfall. However, construction marred part of the trip. But in retrospect, it was only a minor inconvenience. We also stopped at Jericó on the way back, another quaint colonial town, 2 hours from Jardín. Its claim to fame is the production of leather goods and pretty pastel colonial buildings like Jardín. There is a street in Jericó consisting mostly of stores selling leather products. I bought a hand-made belt there for about $5 and some other things.
First, a little background. El Jardín, or Jardín, is a town and municipality in the southwest part of Antioquia. As a reminder, Colombia is made up of departments or states, very similar to the US. Similarly to the US, departments can vary tremendously from one area to another. Medellín is also in Antioquia… there couldn’t be a starker contrast between Medellín and Jardín. It’s akin to comparing NYC to a sleepy hamlet in the Adirondacks in upstate NY. Two different worlds.
There are rivers that flow nearby with trout in abundance. Jardín is most known for its preserved colonial architecture, lush vegetation, abundant rivers and streams and of course, mostly the coffee fincas (farms).
The area is dotted with coffee fincas and you can see coffee plants everywhere as well as banana plants. The banana plants are used to protect the coffee. The nearby area known as Cafetero or the Coffee Axis has long been considered to have the best coffee in Colombia. However, the owner of the finca (Jaime) we visited tells me that Jardín has overtaken Cafetero in terms of best coffee, though produced in smaller quantities. The reason – climate change. The major factor in determining the coffee quality is the elevation, followed closely by amount of rainfall and temperature. Of course, Jaime may have been a little prejudiced in his assertion. While I have not been to Cafetero (yet), Jardín is considered by some to be the nicest pueblo in Colombia. It’s the nicest I’ve visited so far.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/travel/colombia-coffee-country-andes-mountains.html
Many of the stores and restaurants in both Jardín and Jericó were closed due to the pandemic. The towns were mostly empty, which was fine with me. But there were enough stores and things open to pique our interest. Sitting outside drinking great coffee is one of my favorite pastimes. Surprisingly though, many cafés still serve the junk coffee found most everywhere in Colombia. It’s due to the culture, which I won’t get into here.
Temperature ranged from the 50s early in the morning to the mid 70s in the afternoon. Perfect, at least for me.
The coffee tour at LaMariana included an excellent education about coffee in general, including the process - from picking beans to processing them for sale to the Federacion and privately. We picked beans and amateurishly processed them. We were bummed out to find that coffee fincas are closed by the governor to protect the workers from covid. However, Juan’s contact, Gustavo – our coffee guide and possible future mayor of Jardín, found LaMariana to be without workers and owner Jaime welcomed us. We were very lucky. The finca was relatively small and hosted by a very hospitable family, and wife and son. We were first treated to an incredible breakfast which of course, included coffee from the finca. See photo. We were then given a lecture by Gustavo about all things coffee. It was highly educational not to mention entertaining. Then we went on to pick coffee beans and process the beans.
The farm was incredibly beautiful. There were fruits growing everywhere including mandarin and orange trees, banana plants, gorgeous flowers and plants as well as a trio of parrots. And of course, it was dotted with coffee plants. This is la vida. We enjoyed breakfast so much that we went back the next day just for the meal. Again, another amazing meal was served including chocolo arepas. Unknown to any of us beforehand, they are also a bed and breakfast. It doesn’t seem they push that very much.
Cost of breakfast was about $4 the second day. See photo. The first day, the coffee tour and breakfast cost 60.000 pesos, or about $18 – for about 3 hours. The second day, I bought 2 huge bags of mandarins, oranges and bananas (for the 3 of us plus an army!) and breakfast for 56.000 pesos, about $17. I was amazed at the prices, even for Colombia.
The highlights for me were visiting the finca and going for my early morning exercise. I added a little running to my walks. The walks ranked up there with my most scenic walks and were perfect. Views included high peaks everywhere, coffee plantations, cows, you name it. Everyone I passed said “buenos dias.” And perfect weather. What more could you ask for? While I wanted to continue my walking/running pace, I couldn’t help but stop frequently to admire the views and take photos the walk consisted of a steep descent/ascent of 1000 feet. The temperature, when I started out was 52F.. by the time I descended to the bottom, I felt hot. For that matter, the climate in general in Jardín was more perfect than Medellín, at least for me. Low 50s in the early morning and evening and 70s during the day.
We stayed at Hotel Jardín, right in the middle of the center. Every pueblo in Colombia seems to have a center with an Iglesia (church). Jardín was no different except it was one of the nicest I’ve seen. The hotel is normally very noisy from the outside noise since it’s so close to the center. Reviews of the hotel warned about the excessive noise. However, there were virtually no tourists due to the pandemic and it was a weekday, so it was relatively peaceful. Add to that, there is a 10pm curfew. Jardín is not as popular as some other areas due to the difficult and amount of time it takes to get there, or so I’m told.
The hotel was fine, though as basic as it gets. But for 50.000 pesos or $15, it’s difficult to beat. Surprisingly though, Jaime (the farmer) only charges a few dollars more to spend the night at his finca. That includes breakfast (worth the price alone) and a coffee tour. I will be back to stay at the finca. Soon, I hope. I asked for a little fruit to take with me from the finca. Who would’ve thunk I’d get enough not just for the three of us, but also to feed an army. The porters in my building were very happy as I gifted much of it to them.
There’s not a whole helluvalot to do otherwise, which suited me fine. We mostly relaxed and wandered around town. We probably would have stayed another night, but Juan needed to get back to Medellín. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
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