Join in 7 seconds.. Existing users: sign in.

all forums, active | friendly talkzone, travel tips, visa & paperwork, renting, selling & meetups, politics & the war, espanol

TRIP REPORT...(yes,another).............Los Lomas Finca Hotel

It's only 45 minutes from Medellin to the Los Lomas Finca Hotel, but it took all day for us to get there. A couple of weeks ago, the two dogs, myself and " herself " headed off bright and early. The trusty Moto, once again, being the mode of transport.

This hotel is located just outside of La Ceja, on the road to La Union. There are several ways to get there. I chose the long way, up in the direction of St Elena, a beautifull area up the hills, just outside Medellin. There is a really nice National Park, probably only about 30 minutes outside the city, Parque Ecologico Piedras Blancas. The drive from the main road takes you through some lovely forest areas, which daytrippers use for cook outs and walks through the forest. You can also camp here, under the trees. A hotel is being built, expected to be completed next year.

Further up you come to the main part of the park. There is a small entrance fee. Once inside, you walk down these paved pathways, past all sorts of schrubbery and plants and flowers of all kinds. They have two specially designed butterfly houses, or whatever the right word might be. They contain a vast collection and as you walk through, you get really close to a huge variety of species. Do I have a picture of the butterfly houses ?, of course not, but I took some pictures of the park area itself. In the first picture you can see someone careering down one of those cable things, whatever they call that activity, not for me today, thanks.

.

.

There is a restaurant here and some nice seating areas by the lake. People come up from the city to spend the day. You can also do your own BBQ in the supplied equipment. Really a lovely spot, lots of families and groups, but not overcrowed. They cook, eat, drink and go for wanders through the many walking trails.

.

.

.

.

So, after spending a suitable amount of time there, pretending I was interested in the butterflies and expressing the wish to come back and do that walking stuff, we headed off.

Eventually we arrived in the little town of San Antonio. This is a very typical rural town, with the square, the church and a little central park. Depending on which direction you take from the city, it is not very far. On Sundays, a lot of couples on motos, come here to spend the day. There is always a lot of activity at the week-ends and a good collection of stalls are set up, selling all sorts of food, crafts, hand made jewellery and other things.

Instead of continuing on the main road to La Ceja, I turned back in the direction of a particulary nice back road. The most famous motorcyle ride in the US is " Tail of the Dragon " at Deals Gap NC. It is only 11 miles long and motorcyclists from all over the country come to experience it.

.
The back road into La Ceja is probably more spectacular. The road surface, curves and scenery are amazing. At the beginning of this stretch of road there is a very nice restaurant that attracts a lot of people from the city because of it's waterfall. The dining tables are all outside, dotted around the property, facing the falls.

.

.

.

.
After filling my belly with beer, we headed off on that lovely road into La Ceja. This is another fairly small town where people come to spend the day on a Sunday. But it's late afternoon now and I want to get to the hotel. After leaving La Ceja you go in the direction of La Union. It's just a little bit up the road when you see the sign. There is a little back road to take for a bit, before arriving at this small hotel. It's really out in the countryside, with nothing around but some small farms. There are also some very small flower operations, whose flowers are all exported.

This little hotel has 13 cabins and a few small rooms in the main house. They have a nice restaurant with the seating on a sort of a patio. Hanging plants and a view of their two little lakes makes for a lovely ambiance. The bar is small, with a bar counter and a few stools. There is also a wood burning fireplace. They have a spa, which is set up in a double cabin.

.

.

.

.
One of the young ladies brings us to our cabin. They are not very big, but come with a fireplace and wood to burn. It has a decent sized shower and hot water. There is direct TV and a DVD player. They have a good collection of movies to rent at a small fee. Each has a seating area outside where you can look at the fish jumping in the lake. The mountain views combined with a starry night would make you thing you were 100's of miles from the nearest city, but it is only about one hour away.

They charge 40,000 cop per head for each night including breakfast. It rises to 70,000 at the week-end. I forget how much it was for the spa session, but it was'nt a lot.

Before dinner we tried it out. The spa, that is. After getting the two dogs fed and watered, we went to the Spa cabin. They have two massage tables. two whirlpool tub thingys and those old fashioned box saunas. These things were fantastic. You are sitting in a wooden box, with a lid that covers the top, leaving your head out in the open. The temperature really gets up, but you feel comfortable, as your head is outside.

This was after the massage, which for me, was performed by Paula, who also doubled as your waitress in the restaurant and the bar-maid and the housekeeper. " Herself's " massuse doubled as the cook and housekeeper. Both girls were great. We still had to experience their cooking, but they made for very good massage therapists.

The dinner was very nice, the night was beautifull. Going to sleep with a fire burning was a nice touch. The bed, a little too hard for my liking, but hey, it's often hard to get comfortable beds in Colombia.

Breakfast was served next morning on a gazebo area overlooking the lakes. They have all sorts of animals running around. Chickens and ducks, cats and dogs. Cows looking over the fence and two horses that they rent out. You can fish in the lakes. They charge to cook the trout, if you want to eat a poor wee fish you just murdered.

I decided against the fishing. One of the horses was making a bit of a racket, so I rented him and his friend out, to punish him for all the noise. Away we went, in the direction of them far off hills. Poor horse.

.

.
You can take them for a spin through some fields. My horse was none to happy having to carry me, so we stuck to a lane-way. Along the way, you pass some of the large flower gardens. There are the normal great views, which you just keep getting, in this part of the world. In the distance you can see the town of La Ceja. All in all, you are pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, but yet, so close to the city.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It makes for a nice day-trip or overnight, if you happen to come to this part of the world. Of course you get to meet the people as you ride along. For all the beautifull places that this country has to offer, nothing is quite as good as meeting the people. As in everywhere in Colombia, they make you feel so welcome and seem happy that you chose to spend a little time among them.

Viva Colombia

.

By RAAAY on May 13, 2008, 22:53 in Friendly Talkzone.

RAAAY says on May 13, 2008, 22:55:

Where's my beer....??

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

Lcacique says on May 13, 2008, 23:09:

Great post RAAAY!

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

Lisa Zee says on May 13, 2008, 23:10:

very nice pics, El Tequendamita! Oh the memories, I used to go there very often with my family when I was a kid, we had some primos that had a finca very close by. And all those places you show here, I was just there not long ago. Nice time you are having RAAAAYYY...

huskie says on May 14, 2008, 04:46:

Wow this is a beatiful post with pictures, cannot wait to retire in Antioquia! BTW Ray, if you know of a house or good flat in Llano Grande, or anybody here on PBH, let me know. I am very interested in buying. We are planning on a move in Sep 2009. We want a house or flat with 3bdroom,3bath, at least 200mts built space.
Thanks for sharing
Cheers

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds-"

Nextstep says on May 14, 2008, 04:57:

Makes me want to leave today, your pictures capture a beautiful landscape and reminds me of peaceful times. Never been to Colombia your post motivates me to continue to dream about it. Thanks for the inspiration.People think I'm crazy when I tell them I want to travel to Colombia and possibly live part time.Its interesting post like this fits into my vision then I read about the paramilitary Farca, and the scams its so contrary.

Life is for the moment. Smile be happy enjoy and enrich others.

Brians says on May 14, 2008, 05:28:

Nice stuff RAAAY.

El Polo says on May 14, 2008, 05:57:

What the deal with the cow in the pic? he looks like he had one too many tintos jaja. nice shots

Frank Rizzo says on May 14, 2008, 06:55:

Awsome pics Ray !!! TALAPIA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jaramillo says on May 14, 2008, 07:01:

ditto Lisa Zee! I know those roads by heart. Countless times, countless fincas in my childhood. If there's a patch of world to which I'm attached by the heart, that is it. Nice post.

robert555 says on May 14, 2008, 07:21:

excellent post. posts like yours keeps the forum alive

robertscotland

slguy says on May 14, 2008, 09:15:

polo's right! that cow's a little incredulous.....what exactly WERE you doing behind that camera, raaay? ;)

and - why would you ever leave Herself behind on your trips? :-0

another graaayt post. thanks.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

spigrimace says on May 14, 2008, 09:28:

I cabled once in Colombia. Unfortunately but funny now, they assume youre 5 foot 7 and weigh 170 pounds. But when youre 6 foot 1, 240, the bend of the cable goes a bit lower and they didnt clear the brush beneath so good and when I saw the dead tree limb I wasnt goping to clear coming at me while whooshing along, I pulled up on the cable with all my might, burned a hole in the leather glove and swung my legs above me theu expsoing my rear end and I took a whack in the arse harder than Babe Ruth could have swatted it. I was sore down below for a week.

jonas says on May 14, 2008, 09:33:

No sheep? Good thing you took the Misses with you.

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

Mononoke28 says on May 14, 2008, 09:52:

Nice pics. Is that a Bronco shirt you have on? =D

Diana

mranderson says on May 14, 2008, 10:05:

Thanks for the post. I'll be buying a bike within a week so this looks like a fun excursion that I may try.

vicshere says on May 14, 2008, 10:19:

Mr A what have you decided on for a bike?

listo

Mr. Hollywood says on May 14, 2008, 11:14:

Raaay, that's a lovely dog caddie you travel with.

Medellin Traveler says on May 14, 2008, 15:28:

RAAAY,
Great trip report and pictures!

That little hotel looks great as well................

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

GHoffer says on May 14, 2008, 17:06:

Nice post, I want to try it on my moto. What routes/roads did you take out of Medellin?

Gary in Medellin

morphus says on May 14, 2008, 17:10:

Great Photoshop RAAAY!

Morrongo says on May 14, 2008, 18:54:

Thanks for a great trip report and Fotos.......the second good field report on PBH in a week.....where the hell do the dogs travel? in the pannier?...thaks Raay

bopenyan says on May 15, 2008, 10:14:

Thanks RAAAY for the post. Can hardly wait to check out Antioquia.

dwmte7 says on May 16, 2008, 18:34:

my part of the world raaay...excellent. just goes to show folks why i've spent the last 12 years out of the last 19 up country in and around llano grande rather than back in medallo with the family.

someone asked above about property in llano grande. my suggestion would be to go to gualanday--close to tutucan--and ask the folks there. they know everyone. i've been friends with them for many years. tell any and all, 'hello' from douglas martin. in my personal opinion, it is the best centro comercio in all of colombia.

dwmte

billyb says on May 16, 2008, 22:50:

great pics Ray, but that cow did look scared as shit, you weren't trying to pull an Elmo on her were you?

CatGirl says on May 16, 2008, 22:55:

Raay - thanks for sharing your adventures. The horseback riding looked like fun!!

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

PALEOLITICO says on May 17, 2008, 08:02:

Que paseo tan delicioso!! El sr. RAAAY se goza Colombia!!!

"Amar a las personas y usar las cosas; y no amar a las cosas y usar a las personas"

tejasmarcos says on May 17, 2008, 08:09:

estoy celosa......

my glass is getting shorter on whiskey, ice and water...

PALEOLITICO says on May 17, 2008, 08:13:

"celoso", NO "celosa" o tu eres una mujer?

"Amar a las personas y usar las cosas; y no amar a las cosas y usar a las personas"

tejasmarcos says on May 17, 2008, 08:23:

si - soy mujer! ;)

my glass is getting shorter on whiskey, ice and water...

Frank Rizzo says on May 17, 2008, 08:42:

billyb.....did you say "pull an elmo" OR .."pull an EMO".....jajajjaja

PALEOLITICO says on May 17, 2008, 08:57:

Ahhhh O.K. disculpeme señora tejas.

"Amar a las personas y usar las cosas; y no amar a las cosas y usar a las personas"

docwilliam says on May 17, 2008, 10:41:

Great Post Ray! What type of camera do you use?

"There's no time to panic"

Cali2005 says on May 17, 2008, 13:38:

way to go ray! they ceja was a place known for guerilla / para military, looks fine now. Riding across colombia on bike is alot of fun. Just have to be carefull of those semis passing each other on blind curves. This can keep you on your toes, but hey at least the shoulder is big enough to fit a motorcycle when they run you off the road. hehehe

THE BIGGEST ADVANTAGE IS YOU DONT HAVE TO PAY THOSE TOLLS ON THE ROAD IF YOUR ON A BIKE!

Viva Medellin