Category: Travel

Flying Above Medellin 

I took the bus again this morning and this time it was totally worth it! Brian and I went paragliding in the mountains outside of Medellin and we both loved it. Read on for more about our experience flying above Medellin.

Leaving Medellin

It helped that the bus ride was under an hour. Quick and easy bus rides are the only bus rides for me. We left the city at around 9:30am and by 11am we were flying!

Why Paragliding

The mountain locale, weather, and air climate of the region makes for perfect conditions for paragliding. There are a number of businesses offering the service for a really inexpensive price. We paid $95,000 COP each for 10 minutes plus $10,000 COP for a video. Convert the currency and for the low low price of $87 Canadian two of us paraglided and we each got video and photos from the gopro they gave us to use on the flight. How could we NOT do it?!

Paragliding and Flying Above Medellin
View of some of the paragliders

Zona de Vuelo

We flew with Zona De Vuelo because they were the business who confirmed with us online. We probably could have just taken the bus to the drop-off point where all the businesses are and any one of them would have accepted our money. They all charge the same amount and they all fly from the same point of the mountain.

Me Paragliding
Me Paragliding

At Zona de Vuelo, they were very nice and organized. They checked us in, had us fill out some forms and pay of course, took our bags and secured them for us, gave us the photo cards, and pointed out where to walk up the mountain. We walked uphill to the takeoff and landing area and checked in there. We met our pilots – mine was named Jaime and Loves his job! – and got geared up. The mountain was amazing. We joined tens of other people who were just watching and/or getting ready to go on their flights. Everybody was happy and excited. No wonder Jaime loves his job.

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Manizales to Medellin, Or I Hate the Bus

I hated it. To begin with, I am not a bus person. I need gravol for my motion sickness. This bus ride was supposed to take 4 hours and it ended up as 6 1/2. Plus it was 6 1/2 hours of windy roads. This happened to me already in Colombia and now I’ve learned my lesson. Non stop windy roads through mountains. The trip from Manizales to Medellin via bus reminded me that I hate bus trips.

The Roads from Manizales to Medellin via Bus

These roads were filled with trucks. Trucks that can’t handle windy roads up and down hills, so have to stop and wait at every single turn until there is enough room for them to navigate. Some of these waits lasted 15 minutes. Some felt like they were taking 30 minutes.

Brian said it was going to be worth it for the views. Nope. This wasn’t an epic road trip like The Garden Route or the Ring of Kerry. Not worth it. Hated it. Should have flown.

Losing my Book

Plus in all the desire to leave the most hated bus ever I left my Lonely Planet Colombia behind. I packed light but that was one of my prized possessions. It served its use and I am fine without it. It was pretty thin on Medellin – really? Only 4 pages for the 2nd biggest city in the country? Fine. We’ll use our wits and we’ll see how that goes! Maybe some good stories ahead!

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Life on a Colombian Coffee Farm

After a long wait for a flight this morning, and another wait for a ride, we made it to Colombia’s famous Zona Cafeteria! We will be enjoying delicious fresh coffee for the next few days from our base on a coffee farm (finca) outside of Manizales. The finca is called Hacienda Venecia and it is proving to be a lovely place to relax after the hectic pace of our city stays the past week. We are experiencing life on a Colombian coffee farm.

Coffee Farm Location

The finca is outside of the city of Manizales. We flew from Bogota this morning and took a very winding cab ride through the mountains to get here. I should have taken a pill before the drive because it was worse than a roller coaster, but we arrived safe and not sick.

About The Coffee Farm

This is a working coffee farm, with a hostel and two guest houses. They offer tours every day to the public, and three meals a day. There are birds and wildlife, green trees everywhere, an orchid house, hammocks for resting, trails for hiking and pools for swimming. We will be here for 2 nights and plan to experience as much as is on offer, which includes the coffee tour, 7:30am yoga and free coffee all day long! (I’ve already had an espresso and it is delicious!)

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