Café Columbia – March 2019
I have travelled
to most of the South American countries except Venezuela
and Columbia. Now I was heading to Columbia!!
Travelled SNA to DFW and finally got to Bogota about 2 A.M. Taxi had a hard time finding my airbnb but
fortunately the host answered our call for help and directed us to a lovely
loft on the 29th floor of a very nice building. After a quick shower and rest I headed to the
hip Candeleria area of Bogota,
stopping first for coffee and cake at Oma Café, a chain of coffee cafes.
Walked down Calle
7 to Museo Botero to see many of his paintings and sculptures as well as works
by Renoir, Picasso, etc. Stopped for a
delicious lunch at Prudencia, a delightful restaurant filled with people. My three course lunch was tofu smoked with
fenugreek and date sauce/wood fired butternut squash, red onions, broccoli,
almonds and whipped feta/zucchini Caesar salad and chocolate mousse with orange
marmalade. Took some of the wood fired
bread and some local honey which they gifted and it was delicious for breakfast
the following day.
Walked to the Plaza
de Boliver surrounded by historical buildings and into the cathedral primada, Bogota’s largest and on to Museo Santa Clara, a richly decorated church and Bogota’s oldest, built between
1629 and 1674. The walls are entirely
covered by 148 paintings and sculptures of saints – pretty amazing. Stopped by Iglesia de San Francisco to see its gilded main
altarpiece and finally back down Calle 7 and up the hill to find where Azave
Azul, a fun little restaurant I was planning to go to the following evening,
was located.
After my delicious
wood fired bread and honey the following morning I walked to the Museo del oro
where I spent about 3 hours. It contains
more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from the pre-hispanic
cultures in Columbia. I also watched a video which showed how
figures were formed in bee’s wax, cast in plaster, filled with gold after the
wax melted out and then took a guided tour.
Needed a break so
walked to nearby Quinua y Amaranto, a vegetarian restaurant run by two ladies
in an open kitchen. Sat at a little
table with a Columbia
gal and we had a very fresh and delicious lunch, i.e. pumpkin soup, rice, red
beans and salad with avocado salsa and a couple very tiny candied oranges. Wandered around the mural covered streets and
shops and returned to the gold museum to learn more about the legends, shamans,
etc.
Later that evening
I walked up to Agave Azul and rang the bell on the door with no sign. My name was checked off the list and I was
admitted into the very cute little home with about 8 tables. I had a lovely meal which Chef Tatiana
Navarro prepared. The tasting menu was:
fried cheese/sesame dumplings with tomatillo salsa/ceviche with passion
fruit syrup/basket of homemade tortillas and guacamole/fried fish taco with
avocado sauce/crisp pork taco with cabbage on top/spicy lamb taco and a moist and very yummy slice of chocolate cake. A delightful evening. One of the waiters walked me partway down the
hill until it was lit and I knew my way back after that.
Walked to Azimos
café which I had seen yesterday on my way up to Agave Azul. A very ecletic café with great coffee and
delicious croissants au chocolat. Packed
my bags, took the tram to Calle 63 and checked into Hotel Villar in the
Chapinera Alta district of Bogota where our Intrepid group would meet that
evening.
Stopped for lunch
at nearby Cantina y Punto owned by Michelin star Mexican chef Roberto Ruiz and
had two delicious beef bricket tacos.
Took the bus to the Jardin botanico filled with palm trees, large ferns
and tropical plants and then met two young Columbia gals who walked to the nearby park
and around the lake with me for a couple hours.
Wish I could have understood a bit more of what they were saying but we
had a lot of fun.
Met our group of
12 that evening composed of Australians, Swiss, Americans and British. Our guide is a very enthusiastic Columbian
and will be with us the whole three weeks.
Decided not to dine with everyone and instead walked around the corner
to D Café Bar Universal recommended by Chef Tatiana and it was a bustling, very
busy restaurant with great vibes. I had
a very delicious tuna ceviche with shiitake mushrooms following by a warm
chocolate tart.
Took a walk around
this new area in the morning after breakfast and then we took a quick flight to
Armenia and on to the
beautiful village
of Salento. Had some free time to stroll through the
quaint streets and admire the unique colored buildings. All met for dinner at a cute little
restaurant and everyone had the grilled trout and crispy plantain “bread” which
was excellent.
Early morning
breakfast and then travelled by jeep into the Cocora valley, home of the towering
wax palm. Walked about 5 hours hiking up
to Acaime Reserve where the hummingbirds feed.
We rented “wellingtons” as it was pretty muddy. We Crossed some swinging bridges, climbed
some very steep hills and stopped for our box lunch and some local cheese. Returned to our jeeps and drove to the nearby
coffee estancia where dinner awaited us, i.e. pumpkin soup, chicken with rice
and vegetables and homemade carrot cake.
All particularly tasty after such a long day…
Very nice
breakfast of boiled eggs, toast and lots of fruit. Took a beautiful walk up into the hills and
then we all met for a tour of the coffee plantation. Thanks to its tropical altitude and fertile
volcanic soil, Colombia
is one of the world’s largest coffee producers.
We learned so much about how the beans are grown, harvested, processed,
dried, roasted and ground and even had a lesson on preparing different types of
coffee. Once home I discarded my
electric coffee maker and now grind my own beans and use a French press!! Another delicious dinner awaited us upon our
return, i.e. pork with mashed potatoes and rice pudding.
After breakfast we
took a very long bus ride to Medellin,
stopping for a quick cheese pastry for lunch.
Arrived in town about 5:30 p.m. and had an orientation walk in this very
beautiful city. At one time it was
considered one of the world’s most dangerous cities (thanks to Pablo Escobar’s
infamous drug cartel) but has turned itself around to become one of the most
exciting cities in South America. Had a lovely rice dish with octopus, shrimp
and plantains served in a coconut shell at Restaurant Alambique followed by a
little chocolate dessert.
Took the bus in
the morning to the Minorista market where we visited the fruit section and
bought some exotic local fruits, i.e. feijoa, araza, guanabana, maracuya and
lulo which we tried fresh and also in drinks.
Some were quite nice!!! Took a
cable car ride up to San Javier, sailing up the mountain over brick houses and
corrugated metal roofs and met a hip hop guide who showed us around Comuna 13
which was at one time a very dangerous neighborhood. It has undergone an impressive transformation
especially the area around the escaleras electricas. There are beautiful murals and graffiti
surrounding the six sets of escaleras and guys doing break dancing, singing hip
hop, etc. everywhere. Stopped at one of
the little cafes for banana cake and coffee while our guide sang hip hop for
us!! It was great fun.
In the evening
several of us walked nearby to El Cielo where we had an exquisite dinner, i.e.
9 courses plus 6 flights of wine. We
started with crisp pastries with cheese and mushrooms, plantain rolls, salmon
with crisp blue rice crackers, chicken in a rich sauce, pork with cheese and
flowers on top, crisp thin meringues with ice cream and fruit with custard and cookies. One of the most interesting courses was warm
chocolate which they poured over our hands (over a bowl), sprinkled them with
sugar and asked us to rub them together and lick off the chocolate. Fabulous!!
In the morning we
drove to a flower farm in Santa Elena where we met a local “silletero” (chair
maker). The silletero makes the flower
displays that compete every year in the “fiesta de las flores”. We learned the history and evolution of the
“silleta” culture, where the flowers grow and saw how a small chair of flowers
was made.
Back in town I had
a wonderful lunch at Carmen, i.e. grilled octopus in peanut sauce with
cauliflower and a pecan nut tart. Took
the metro to berrio park to see the Botero statues and then visited the Museo
de Antioquia to see more of his paintings and sculptures. Wandered around the area to see a couple
churches and the Bank of Murals depicting antioquia’s history and development
created by Pedro Nel Gomez in 1956. Took
the metro back to town, stopping at a little café for coffee and cake.
Met a couple
travelers from our group later in the evening and we took a taxi to the
Medellin Teatro Metropolitano where we heard a some hip hoppers sing and break
dance to the music of the Orquesta Filamonica de Medellin which was very
interesting.
Early breakfast
and to the airport for a flight to Cartagena. Our hotel is outside the walled city so we
took a walking tour inside to get familiar with all the little streets. The town, founded in 1533 by Spaniard Don
Pedro de Heredia, was a major center of early Spanish settlement in the Americas and
its walled fort was built to protect both shipping and the slave trade. Stopped for ceviches at El Boliche with a few
others and shared three excellent seafood ceviches and then wandered around a
bit. Stopped at Iglesia de Pedro Claver,
a Spanish monk who helped the black slaves.
There was a wedding in the church next door but very few people were
there. Our guide later told us that the
church was cursed and most of the people who married there divorced!!!
Dinner later at
Interno, a 60-seat restaurant in a prison that is the last stop for women
before they are released. It has helped
inmates learn skills designed to aid reintegration into society and some were
trained under Michelin starred chef Koldo Miranda. It was an interesting experience but the
food was mediocre at best…
After breakfast I
walked to the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas which dominates an entire
section of Cartagena’s
city scape today. Construction began
in 1762 and it was truly impregnable and never taken. Walked around the walls of the city and then
got in line for lunch at Cevicherie, a very popular café. Had delicious ceviche with fish and shellfish
in a citrus marinade.
Later that evening
I walked back into town to visit the Modern
Art Museum which was
quite small but interesting. Dinner at
La Perla was delicious, i.e. grilled octopus with mashed yucca and banana cake
with ice cream and candied fruit. I will
be sad to leave this very interesting city…
Walked to the
clock tower in the morning before taking a bus to Tayrona
Park where the second part of the Colombia trip
would begin…
No comments:
Post a Comment