Hacienda Coloma

 

March 7, 2010

Now that we were free to take day trips again and knowing that our time in Colombia was coming to an end, there were still several things on our to see list that needed to be crossed off. Today we were going to tour Hacienda Coloma. It is a coffee plantation in Fusagasuga which is a couple hours south of Bogota. Katya had arranged for a driver and a van with an hourly price to pick us up at the Hotel Sunday morning. He arrived after breakfast and we filed into the van with the Ahern's, their parents, Rachel Thompson and her two children.

One of Dave's favorite sounds in Colombia came from the train that would pass not too far from Hotel Paris. A few miles from Hotel Paris he spotted the train that the soothing whistle belonged to. Oh the black smoke that billowed out of the smoke stack adding to the pollution smell.

 

Jacob and Luciana settled in for the long ride.

 

The first building that we spotted once we drove into Hacienda Coloma was a colonial style house where the caretaker of the plantation resides with his family.

Much to our disappointment, the plantation was closed due to it being Sunday. The caretaker told our van driver that we could walk through the grounds if that was our desire. We walked around that front of the house and stopped to pick a coffee bean.

These coffee beans remind me of the cherries that we used to pick off of the trees behind our house. The coffee bean is the pit that is inside of the red fruit.

The coffee plant starts inside the greenhouse where the seeds are planted in pots and then separated by seedling size and eventually transplanted outside.

This plantation has fully grown Arabica shade-grown coffee. The coffee plants are planted among citrus trees such as the lemon trees that you see here. Cross pollinating citrus trees with coffee beans influences that flavor of the coffee bean.

We walked amonst the coffee plants and lemon trees along a narrow winding foot path to the a house where the beans are taken after they are hand picked. At this point they are then washed and dried.

Jacob enjoyed cranking the handle to the tool that removed the outer shell of the coffee bean.

On the roof of the second floor of this building we could see where the beans are placed to dry.

Jacob was able to reach underneath the wall and scope a handful of drying beans for close inspection.

After the beans dry, they are brought to another building where they are roasted and then packaged to sell. We could only peer through the windows to view the equipment since the plantation doesn't operate on Sunday.

The last building on the premise that we toured was a small Catholic Chapel. Jacob left his print in the visitor's book along with many other people that came from around the world.

The tour was interesting and educational, but now for the good stuff....tasting the coffee! After we had walked the grounds a woman emerged from the caretaker's house with a tray of coffee.

It was brought to our attention that each cup of coffee contained a flavored liquor. Jacob expressed his extreme disappointment that he wasn't allowed to taste the coffee to Dave in a verbal and nonverbal manner.

After sipping our samples we had a group photo taken to remember the trip.

We left empty handed and disappointed that I couldn't purchase a couple bags of Hacienda Coloma Coffee (due to them not being open) but it was now time for us to find a place to eat. Our taxi driver brought us to a restaurant/hotel (I think that it was called Hotel Castillo) in the mountains nearby. Other adoptive families had told us that this was a beautiful place to dine. We were lead to two outdoor tables to eat lunch at. We were grateful that we could sit in the shade since it was much warmer hear (80's with humidity) as compared to Bogota.

Within 20 feet from our table was a welcome sight for Jacob.

It did not take long for two of the travelers to remove their socks and shoes and dip their feet in the pool. AHHH.... that feels good!

Having only the lower legs in the water wasn't satisfying enough so the upper part of the body joined the lower half.

Jacob did not have to say too many words to encourage Dave to join in on the fun.

They must have been thoroughly enjoying themselves and their happiness couldn't be contained because it did not take long before they had company in the hot tub.

If we had more time and knew about the adventure that awaited behind the restaurant/hotel we would have donned safety helmets and harnesses and walked the suspended bridge. We will have to remember this for the next time we visit Colombia.

Jacob was ready to walk the bridge but time was not on our side. We settled for a family photo overlooking the hazy mountainside before heading back to Bogota.

We traversed the same road back and passed through the beautiful country side. As we entered the south part of Bogota we were struck by how many homes were on the hillside. The taxi driver informed us that many of the homes were that we saw were built with left over materials that people would take home from their jobsites. Poverty was more prevelant on the south side of Bogota.

The closer we got to the outskirts of Bogota, the heavier the traffic became. Dave found humor in how one candidate campaigned for an upcoming election.....via small vehicle with posters attached to the outside of the car and a megaphone speaker on top of the car blaring out a distorted message in Spanish. I wonder if he/she won?

I had the pleasure of riding in the second row of seats with Jacob and Luciana while Dave sat in front. Jacob also experienced a first....

Luciana picking his nose with her toe. Fortunate for her, there was nothing to be picked.

We arrived back at the hotel and settled our taxi fare. Interesting...the price went up. We did not argue with our driver and paid him the rate he told us that we owed him. Later it was brough to Katya's attention and we were all refunded the difference.

It was a good day. We learned something new, saw something different, and enjoyed a day away.