• Panama and Columbia
    1Chinese EVs at a rest stop
    1The panoramic view from sameTwo types of Columbia's national flower, the Christmas Orchid1The Hacienda GatoHummingbirds1Equal time for the Hacienda PeroA coca plant which has gotten out of handTiny Orchids #11OrchidsMore orchidsTiny Orchids #21Tiny Orchids #3An ebony tree providing shade to the orchidsCalabash PlantOne of the few butterflies at the FincaCactus Flower #1Cactus Flower #21The multo famosa sculpture of Bolivar as a wounded condor (Columbia's national bird)

    Salento to Manizales

    February 18 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We bid farewell to Salento and motored to the Finca Romelia which is in the District of Manizales but a long way from downtown. Enroute we passed the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano which in 1985 killed 23,000 in the town of Armero (this is a story of a needless tragedy) and the former estate of Carlos Lehder (Pablo Escobar's partner).
    The Finca has a huge collection of orchids and was an amazing experience. Orchids are bromeliads and most were growing off a slab of wood. The tour and lunch took up a good chunk of the day.
    From there to Manizales which is perched on a mountain top and is the center (and capital) of Columbia's coffee triangle. We took a windshield tour of the burg and given the this was Ash Wednesday, the natives we're out on force. The going was slow (today is also the start of Ramadan but I don't think that had much impact here).
    Tomorrow we continue on to Medellin.    Read more