Manizales, Pereria, Armenia...how are these places?

Simon says on Apr 19, 2007, 09:44:

Those places are very beautiful and safer than the large cities. I really recommend you go. As for things to do, for starters there's the National Coffee Park and Panaca Park by Armenia, a snow-capped volcano by Manizales and thermal waters by Pereira. Also, get ready to see some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere.

BTW, it's 'ColOmbiana'.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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ribman says on Apr 19, 2007, 09:55:

Contact Info Colombiacupido.com They will be glad to help you.

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Miguel says on Apr 19, 2007, 10:13:

Danger! You could OD on the greatest coffee in the world.

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Colombiche says on Apr 19, 2007, 10:21:

7 things you must do if you go to manizales - El paseo del Chico (caminando de Chipre hasta Coca Cola)
- Go to chipre, fly a kite and eat an oblea con arequipe y crema de leche.
- Go to la catedral and climb the wooden stairs to the top.
- Go to pollos Mario in la plaza de Bolivar, order half a chicken with arepita, ask them to fry the arepas.
- Go to la panaderia Suiza on avenida Santander, have dessert then run across the street to Juan Valdez for tinto.
- Go to Cable Plaza and ride the escalator, it's the only escalator in the entire city LOL.
- While in Chipre, don't forget to check out El monumento a los colonizadores.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 19, 2007, 10:35:

Two more, Colombiche: Go to La Plaza near la panderia Suiza and drink to your hearts content, including my beloved Coronas..they also have a deli...but if you think that drinking coffee at Juan Valdez after getting drunk makes you less drunk, and you attempt to walk to JV, good luck...you wont make it up the walkway...jajajaja....its too steep for balance challenged people...=)...and and the other is visit the Los Termales el Otono....a short hop outside Manizales, but a great place to relax, be pampered, etc....it has small cozy cabins for those so inclined...



Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo =)..aka, DragonSlayer...Colombia es pasión!

"F.A.R.C..S.U.C.K.S"

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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JMCana says on Apr 19, 2007, 10:57:

Gringo just returned No matter how I dress or act, I am gringo as gringo can be and just returned from walking around Armenia and Pereira without any problem. I also did the tourist thing to the thermals, the coffee park and Panaca. Thermals were very crowded, but had beautiful scenery therefore a recommended place to visit. Could not get a descent cup of coffee at the coffee park. But if you like theme parks and do not mind Disneyland wait times then you should go. If you are gringo, then remember your sunscreen and hat. Panaca was the best run tourist place I have visited in Colombia. Even if you don't like animals it is highly recommended to see.

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kentuckygreg says on Apr 19, 2007, 11:31:

COLOMBIA!!! Muchas gracias. That is the second time in two days I screwed up the spelling. Must be because I live in Kantucky. :)

Two weeks till KY derby. :)

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webmanco says on Apr 19, 2007, 11:49:

Parque de La Vida And if you go to Calarcá, near Armenida don't forget to drink Ponche.

And on the road to Bogotá, exiting Calarca ask for La Forcha, a regional drink that originate in Barcelona Caldas. Around same area is the Mariposario with a huge selection of butterflies, also in Armenia ask por el Parque de La Vida

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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JMCana says on Apr 19, 2007, 12:03:

yes, the Botanical Gardens Webmanco, I had almost forgotten about the botanical garden in the area. Wonderful place, enjoyed much the butterfly area as well as the suspension bridge over the jungle. Plus I got a guide who spoke English.

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scotty says on Apr 19, 2007, 13:05:

i should have I should have went to Armenia, i heard it is beautiful. Last time in Cali i told my girl "lets go to Armenia". She said "no no its dangerous for gringos there, you can get kidnapped in that area". So we stayed in Cali.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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Simon says on Apr 19, 2007, 13:10:

"Last time in Cali i told my girl "lets go to Armenia". She said "no no its dangerous for gringos there, you can get kidnapped in that area". So we stayed in Cali."

I think your girl got that backwards.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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EMAN says on Apr 19, 2007, 13:30:

Eje Cafetero is becoming popular with people from all over When I checked into my finca -they have a registration book and I was surprised to see people from all over had stayed there. Definitely not as many foreigners as Cartagena but this area is the # 2 tourist destination in Colombia.

President Uribe was in the area at Termales - Santa Rosa De Cabal
http://www.hoteltermales.com/index.html

There have been a few articles about this great region including the below NY times article and many foreign visitors are now coming to this area:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/travel/12coffee.html?pagewanted=all

By coincidence I happen to use the driver that was written in this article - very good and if you need contact information - please let me know. I also used Claudia at
http://www.turismoquindio.com/
for my finca and they have many different options to choose from.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

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Robert Jorge says on Apr 19, 2007, 13:39:

Hey KY. You've actually repeatedly misspelled Colombia in other posts, but nobody has called you out on it. But thanks for admitting the mistake and having a sense of humor about it. Just keep thinking "O", not "U"! You'll get it soon. I have to bust on you a little, being that I am a Hoosier.

He who farts in church, sits in his own pew.

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tomtom33 says on Apr 19, 2007, 13:46:

I spent one night in each city while riding the bus from Medellin to Cali. The only place I felt danger was in Cali.

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JMCana says on Apr 19, 2007, 13:55:

I thought there might be a good one Eman, glad you got a good finca. I went with a group that included people from 3 different countries plus Colombia. Our bus (which leaked when it rained) pulled into a nice looking well painted finca with a beautiful fountain and immaculate landscaping. After that it went downhill fast. To call the food bad (remember I live in Colombia and eat Colombian food all the time) would have been to compliment it. (I was wishing for a McDonalds within walking distance and I don't even like McDonalds) On 50% of the nights we were there they did not have milk or anything else for the coffee - it was either a smaller size than normal portion of tinto or nothing. The beds were worse than sleeping on the tile floor. Which I might have done but the rooms were so small there was no room left to lay down. You only got 1 bath towel per person daily, no wash clothes or hand towels. The rooms were so poorly insulated and the community area placed so that it was almost impossible to get any sleep before 2am and then only to be awakened by some tour guide at 5am yelling at the top of his lungs for the people with his group to get up and ready. One can expect complaints from foreigners, but when the Colombians start complaining, then you know it is bad.

So, thanks for the info because I plan to return to the area and discover more of the beauty it offers. Right now I am debating whether to include the finca in the travel article that I am writing for publication in a US magazine.

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EMAN says on Apr 19, 2007, 15:43:

JMCana - Sorry to hear about the bad finca I got lucky as my GF was trying to find a finca and she was not having luck, then I tried to find a few but with my mediocre Spanish - it was not happening - then I found Turismoquindo.com
They are the American Agent for Armenia and have a bilingual staff and handle more then 30 very nice fincas. Claudia helped me plan out my trip, got me a driver and only suggested fincas she felt would be best for me and my girlfriend. We didn't go with the HUGE Campestre style fincas/hotels but with a very nice 6 room finca with great food, great atmosphere, and it was perfect for my needs.

I have heard a few recommendations for another Finca outside of Pereira which is uppose to be amazing. A guy who has a hostel in Medellin and been to every great place in Colombia - puts this in his top 3 - Finca Villa Maria.

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bufalo says on Apr 20, 2007, 07:13:

The botanical gardens are a bore (as well as most of the parks) go to a regualar, real farm, not the touristy ones with pools. the best ones are northward where you'll find real farmers, swimming holes and such. the touristy places are colombia's version of disney.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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JMCana says on Apr 20, 2007, 07:43:

Your interests Bufalo - I found the botanical gardens fascinating. But I guess it is different for each person. For instance, I find sitting in a chair and watching American football a complete waste of time. But there are many others who disagree with that.

What I found interesting at the botanical gardens is the fact that Colombia has 160 different varieties of palms and is 2nd in the world in that. Plus the guide was excellent at explaining how the different palms were used in terms of building, healing, etc. Also was fascinated by the fact that Colombia has 47% of the different varieties of butterflies in the world. And the butterfly house easily matched and exceeded those I have visited in other parts of the world.

Though I admit that the Parque Nacional del Cafe is a little bit Disney in nature I appreciated the way they presented the different varieties of coffee plants and the ability to see the differences in their leafs, stems, berries, etc.

On my next trip I would like to visit a working farm though to see how the process is and how it compares to farms of different types in other parts of the world.

It is good that we can both present different views so that other readers can make wise choices.

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Simon says on Apr 20, 2007, 10:01:

You tell 'em JMCana! I also found the botanical gardens and parks to be very interesting. I highly recommend them all.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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bufalo says on Apr 22, 2007, 08:11:

You can see much more on a real farm or in the real forest. I remember going to the Museum of NYC once, saw more about NY on the subway getting there.

I'm bored watching football as well, I think of how much more information can fit in my head without having to remember all the statistics that those guys always seem to know about (not calling them dopes by any means, just amazed that they can remember so much info about a game).

Reading your post again... it doens't seem that the conditions were that bad. One of the things I don't like about tourism is that people (tourists) always come to an area and want to experience it, yet they really want to experience a cleaned-up version. The gardens are OK for information (although you can find that info other places as well) but you are surrounded by so much non-setup nature, why not experience that? My daughter loved the butterflies (so did I) and she's going back this week on a school trip.

El Quindío is one huge botanical garden, why send people to a small, comfy fixed-up version of it - hit the mountains and walk! Feel free to ask, I'll tell you where to go around here.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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David in Idaho says on Apr 22, 2007, 09:12:

The great thing about Disneyesque parks is that they attract and congregate all the super-tourists in one place, leaving the actual countryside open and free for people like bufalo to explore. Gotta agree with you there Bufalo. I'm not knocking the parks at all; they serve a great purpose, and obviously a lot of people prefer that kind of experience. Furthermore, the parks boost the local economy, since everything is always overpriced in such areas.

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bufalo says on Apr 22, 2007, 09:23:

And the prices are going up! I can't remember how much it is to get into the parks, but way too expensive for the locals. The parks do serve a purpose, I agree. We went to Disneyland and had a blast last year. My daughter didn't get such a kick out of the Amazon Jungle section, mostly because we had just gotten back from living there. We actually swam in the river all the time (piranah don't bite - usually), hung out with a lot of the indigenous and "lived" with plenty of wildlife in our own livingroom.
For a quick passerby, the parks are a good introduction (with rides for the kiddies) but I always get a kick out of talking to people who have "been to colombia". Some come and stay on a luxury farm, hit the parks, a day or two in a luxury hotel in Cartagena and the same in Bogotá - they have no idea about Colombia.
I know that if my parents ever came down here to visit, I'd probably bring them to the parks as well, considering their age and that they aren't the most travelled people - but when they go I'll go back to the mountains, cock-fight rings in the middle of nowhere (don't like the fighting, but afterward the store turns into a club and all the campesinos dance until the police show up about 2 AM), and who knows what else.

David - What'd you do in Santa Marta? Haven't been there in 5 years, almost to the day.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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adrimm says on Apr 22, 2007, 09:32:

Real forest - this only if you can have someone accompanying you and explaining everything in context.

I think experiencing thing both in a natural setting and botanical-garden setting each have merits,

But where you have tons of people in one area Botanical gardens are like galleries of flora, lots in one place, explanatory materials in several languages, an easy way to introduce people to flora without setting them loose in the bush (where they might be tempted to bring back souveniers or inadvertantly cause damage). Plus having tourists go to Botanical gardens can also be an important revenue stream to help maintain the facility and thus support other stuff that goes on there - like research.

We have some very heavily visited forest parks where I live and the stress on the areas where visitors (mostly tourists) just walk down a trail is visble - soil compaction, bare spots from trampling etc. They've had to gradually close sections of trails and put in boardwalks with rails just to keep people contained so they don't wander.

Ideally, -well my ideal world- visitors with keen interest would go on a guided day hike further out of town.. It puts things in better perspective ie - gives a better ecosystem-network understanding and can generate more interest in natural areas........ but in reality not everyone is able to do that for different reasons, time, physical ability, etc. Wishing more people would do this is like wishing people would stop taking bus-tours of places.

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