Back to the colourful Colombian Coffee Axis

This year I returned to the coffee region.  Whilst some of the areas I visited were already known to me, this time I did get to see some new places.

We did the journey by car and started in Pereira, making our way towards colourful cities, like Salento, and finishing just outside of Armenia.

The irony is we didn't once visit a coffee farm, nor did we buy coffee to take back.  Guess I'll have to return again. 😁 

Pereira is basically a large city in the mountains of the coffee Axis.  We decided that rather than enter the busy city we'd take an arial view using the Mega Cable (cable car).

Oliverio on Mega Cable in Pereira

From Pereira we did a few day trips.

We started off with the San Vicente thermal pools.  The road there was pretty treacherous but stunning none the less.

And then we arrived.

Termales de San Vicente

It was a misty, cold day, but the thermal water was just perfect!

We finished off the day with a typical Colombian meal of frijolada at a colourful restaurant (La Ruana) in Pereira.

La Ruana restaurant

Frijolada on right, with plantain, avocado etc.  Grilled chicken breast on top left.

Another day we went to Cartago (known for Bordados (embroidery) de Cartago).  This is handmade embroidery, passed down from the Spanish women who accompanied their husbands during colonial times.  

https://colombia.travel/en/blog/cartago-embroidery-hispanic-arab-legacy-north-valle-del

The city is nothing special but we went for shirts and to see the work.  Unfortunately there didn't seem to be a workshop or something we could visit.  Just shops.  I found a museum too, so next time: https://museodelbordadocallerealcartago.com/el-museo/

We did get to see a double rainbow on the way back though.

One day we just took a drive and came across this small town of Buenavista.  

Buenavista town square

We were mostly enjoying the countryside and views

and then saw this hotel (Casamalva Villas).  Way too luxurious to stay but a perfect place for a coffee with a view!

Our next stop was Salento

 

Wheelies in Salento

Hotel terrace with view over Salento

Relaxing with Oliverio on the terrace.  It was a bit cold so the hotel provided Ruanas (typical Colombian wraps)

view from Salento Mirador (viewpoint)

From Salento we went to the Cocora National Park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocora_Valley

entrance to the park (after which it's no longer paved)

Oliverio wrapped up, ready to hike!

spooky looking!

From Salento we had lunch in Filandia, another colourful town in the coffee Axis.

Jose Fernando restaurant

Marranitas

Canilla de Cerdo

Our final stop was near Armenia.  We stopped by the Gold Museum.

As you can see, it was pretty rainy that day!

Finally we got to enjoy our last few days in the sun.

Cannatel Exclusive Hotel

Our journey home was through a series of tunnels and we passed all sorts of vehicles.

bananas anyone?

On the way back we stopped in Ibague for lunch.  

Calming Canada

This summer, I decided to travel to Canada for my summer break.  I went to Western Canada, I'd been before, 30 years ago as a backpacker, but this was a very different trip, not least because this time I caught up with friends.

Firstly I saw Michéle and her family in Vancouver. She is a professor at the university of British Columbia, so we started there.

Michéle & Amanda

Michéle & Amanda by the Truth & Reconcilliantion totem pole.

They took me to various sites in Vancouver and I was lucky with the weather to be able to visit them at leisure.

One of the most visited places is Stanley Park.  There's a seawalk path which I took, enjoying the views along the way.

totem poles in Stanley Park

'girl in a wetsuit' representing the close connection between Vancouver and the sea

Another place we visited was Granville Island.  

Granville Island market

Chris & Michéle

Walking around we saw houseboats and water taxis.

people relaxing on their dockside terrace

And there were some great views of downtown, 

including some scary looking buildings (not sure how safe I'd feel in the one on the left!).  Vancouver House (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_House)

One of the great things I thought Vancouver had to offer was its proximity to the sea.  There were many city beaches to visit for fun trips out.

There also seemed to be many rabbits there for some reason.  Maybe a pet one got loose and they procreated?

Apart from visiting Michéle and her family, I realised that there were people I knew from my time in Fiji that were there too.  I met with one couple for drinks by Stanley Park and visited a family I new well (we'd spent a lot of time together in Fiji and I'd visited them when they lived in Dubai too) at their home on Vancouver Island.  It's such a beautiful area and one night we even saw deer pass their window (sorry, no pictures)!

Taiya, Adiya, Amy, Amanda, Chris

On Vancouver island we visited the beautiful Butchart Gardens (https://www.butchartgardens.com/).

This was a stunning place with beautifully manicured gardens and views.

Another fun thing to do from this area is whale watching.  I was there in the peak season for whales so I went on a boat trip and I was lucky enough to see lots of whales!

It was pretty cold on the boat (though of course I still got sunburnt, even with factor 50 spf!)

Orcas/killer whales

Humpback wales

We also saw Minke whales, but no photos/videos.

On an island of rocks, we also saw a bunch of sea lions sunning themselves.

The dock had lots of restaurants and houseboats.  

I liked how they stored their bikes. 😊

The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, on Vancouver Island.  From Amy and Chris' house there was a sea walkway into town, so I did that.

Apart from seeing geese, when I arrived in Victoria, I also saw water taxis and seaplanes.  

I watched them land a take off for a while.

I'd arrived by ferry, passing the multiple Canadian and US islands...

But seeing the planes enticed me to return to Vancouver by plane.