Coffee 101

I have to admit that Coffee & I, well we´ve had a rollercoaster of a relationship. Strangely enough, we only started seeing eachother in China in 2000 when for all the tea in China I couldn´t find any I liked and figuratively dipped my toe into the world of coffee instead. Years later I learned that my personality doesn't blend well with caffeine. I love that so many of your probably roll your eyes, thinking you could have told me that WAY sooner.  

Anyways, the decaffeination process has once again brought us together and being in Colombia I was interested in how the bean; that is responsible for starting most of our days, is grown etc.  Luckily Salento is in the coffee area of Colombia so a group of us decided to take the tour. My expectations for the tour were pretty low and I was pleasantly impressed with all that we learned and had the chance to see first hand.

The photo to the left is a summary of all the stages but I'll elaborate further a little later in this post.
Allow me to first pass on some of my newly gained 'general' knowledge.
1. There are two varieties of beans... Arabia = high flavour but low caffeine at 2/3 of the world's bean production and Robusta = the high caffeine low flavour remaining 1/3.
2. Three top producers in order of volume Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia.
3. To decaffienate coffee the best way roast the beans over charcoal. Each time you do this 15% of the caffeine is removed so repeat as required.

Impressed yet? Didn't think so... you are a tough crowd (you take after me a little in that way) Okay... here let me try again.

After the hostel owner (a British gent who rambled a little but was full of info once he got warmed up) gave us the one hour english rundown on coffee plantations he sent us down to his farm to see it all first hand.

Obviously the process starts with a bean (all with the intention of ending with many of course)... and moves to become two little leaves in a few weeks. A plant takes 3 years to deliver any 'fruit' at which time beautiful plump 'cherries' are harvested by hand in either of the two annual rainy seasons and then a machine is used to 'pop the cherries' exposing the two beans inside the red skins.

The beans are soaked for up to 72hrs to remove the sugars (and any that float are separated for domestic sale as they are considered lower quality beans... which is why it is so hard to get a good coffee in a country that produces so much for the rest of the globe!), then it is off to the metal roof to dry in the sun before being sold based on weight.

The farm lead went so far as to take a frying pan full of beans off the drying roof, remove the second skins in the grinder with some help from Roma and myself, roast them on the stove and once again run them through the grinder (more finely this time) to brew some 'home grown' coffee on the spot.

Take that Starbucks!

Understandably the coffee wasn't decaf so I only sipped a small amount but overall it was a wonderfully educational and 'hands on' trip down coffee lane.
Gold star Salento.

The farm also produces fruit like lulo (similar in flavour to lemon), mora (blackberry), bananas and pineapples as well as tobacco and some pretty stunning flowers. If anyone ever offers you a lulo and mora fresh jugo... go for it and thank me later.

Tonight we leave for Medellin. The trip takes 7hrs so could be done during the day but after a week in Colombia all but two days have been spent on a bus, for some duration of time, and that just gets OLD. Better to take a night bus and not lose so much daylight.

We'll arrive at about 3am and pray that our chosen hostel will be open and have available beds!

Cross your fingers!
xo
b

The sound... of silence

Now this is what I am talking about!

Since I couldn't be home for this May long weekend, the Valley of Cocora, which is situated slightly outside Salento will forever rank highly in my memory as a terrific replacement. 

I spent a full day in the countryside and though I started out with two other travellers and later our group expanded to five with the addition of two Colombians visiting from Bogota I still managed to spend the majority of the day on my own (who knew I was such a speedy walker?) just enjoying the stunning scenery and contemplating all I´ve seen and done in the past 4 months.

The trail took about 5 solid hours for me to complete and was bookended with 45min jeep rides to and from Salento, but it was really a spectacular day. 

Walking in some seriously muddy conditions (check out the team to the left) I was very thankful our hostel provided rain boots for the adventure. Especially since many people chose to ride horses as opposed to walking and the cows and horses leave tons of ¨landmines¨. The trail takes you through cow fields, across rivers, into a nature reserve focusing on hummingbirds, up a ¨mountain¨ that rose to 2,950m (because what South American adventure is complete without a little thin air) and finally through the ancient wax palm forest I had truely been looking forward to.   As I walked into the valley for the last 90minutes it was like the trees were insulating the path and I was in another world.

As I close in on the final weeks of my trip I am often distracted by all I am missing at home by being here. Can you believe it! ´The grass is always greener´ theory is such a monster.

At home I can´t contain the excitement I build up when I start thinking about taking these trips and then when I am away I slowly start to think more & more of home.  Today, however, was an exception. Though I do miss home and am endlessly thankful to have a family, friends and a country I adore, today I focused on all the incredible memories I´ve accumulated through this 7 country adventure. I am really so very lucky. Make no mistake home was on my mind when I passed this insanely coloured mushroom & Eriskay´s smile popped into my mind. But, I know I will see her and V soon enough and for now there are a few more gems to try to visit before I board my AC flight for a summer in Canada!   

xoxo b

They call me ´Bozoman´ here in Colombia?

So after yet another 15 hour overnight bus from Quito, I have made it safe and sound to Colombia. The bus journey was completely miserable however and I will now make every effort to avoid any further experiences of the kind. Yes, yes I know you are all thinking ¨hey listen, at least you get to be out there exploring the world while I am here doing XYZ¨ but just give me a moment to elaborate.

I´m told they keep buses cold to stop people from getting sick due to the ever winding roads that the drivers insist on racing down but I was colder on this bus, for a solid 15 hours, than I am in a Canadian winter. That coupled with the most foul smelling bus toilet and you can imagine the thoughts that were bouncing around in my mind as I dreamt of home. I even had to buy a blanket from a street vendor conveniently situated outside the boarder crossing offices at 4.30am. Hmmmm conspiracy?

Okay so now that I am here, allow me to change gears and tell you about my first five days in Colombia. The wonderful land that brought us Latina Luis!

Our first stop was the city of Popayan. We were told this was once the capital of Greater Colombian before Ecuador and Venezuela gained their independance. At least this is what I think I was being told. Seriously my spanish has improved but some things remain out of my vocabulary. 

All of the buildings in the city center are painted in a spanish colonial white-wash, a requirement because of the city´s historical importance and gives the town a very classy feel. Hence the name 'ciudad blanco'. The majority of the buildings were destroyed in an earthquake on Good Friday 1983 and have been painstakingly rebuilt.

As one would expect there seems to be a ratio of 1 church to every 5 other establishments. My favourite is the San Francisco church because of the yellow contrast. I´m not really a church girl but I do love my architecture.   
 

What you probably didn´t expect is that this country is also the capital of plastic surgery with a major focus being placed on a specific version of beauty. The sign to the left, and many others like it, are found hanging inside those beautiful white buildings offering non-surgical options for enhancing one´s beauty.  Avisa (Aussie) and Estelle (French), who I was traveling with, found it impossible to ignore those in town who seemed to have ¨bought¨ into the lifestyle.

Check out the bum ¨plumpers¨at the bottom... I mean you can´t make this stuff up. I don´t feel a desire to plump anything sadly.

On our second day in town we took a local bus to the thermal spas ´Agua Tibia´, which weren´t as nice as those in Quito but did have a waterside that Estelle and I tried. Made of cement and angled quite steeply I´m not sure I´d recommend it since I found myself plummeting down the slide yelling in pain, trying to drag my feet along the dry sides to slow down, and then finally submerged under bog water! Bet you all wish I had a photo ... sorry to disappoint.

The three of us decided we weren´t yet ready to seperate so we then took a two day trip to Terradentro which is a seriously bumpy 5hr bus ride east of Popayan to see some precolombian ruins that it seems no one knows a thing about. The road was so rough we actually had to whisper with eachother for an hour afterwards because we were dealing with total sensory overload.

The ruins are basically about 10 statues like the one on the right and 30+ tombs. Sadly the statues were moved from their original locations and grouped together under a green corrugated roof to stop them from crumbling under the weather.

The tombs are obviously where they were originally dug with cool staircases leading into what seems the center of the earth.

Inside there are painted and carved little caves. Avisa and Estelle at the bottom of one of the tombs. They aren´t very deep and at the bottom of the stairs they are barricaded so you can´t damage anything. Sortof reminded me of a prison.

The walk was beautiful and the lady at our hostel was the cutest thing. She even made us popcorn one night because there is NOTHING to do in Tierradentro but stare at your neighbour after 7pm.

Once again took a 5hr rock n´roll bus back to Popayan at 6.30am the following day. Below is a photo of the local bus I only slightly wish we were on... amazing paint job but with the rain I was glad we had windows in ours!

The girls have now left for Cali. The city people describe as being dirty, boring and dangerous by day and the capital of salsa by night. Hence why I gave it a pass.

Instead I´ve purchased a ticket to Salento, 7 hours north of Popayan so I can enjoy the coffee plantations Colombia is famous for and some ancient palm forests people have highly recommended seeing. As I glance down at my ticket I realize that the agent has finally spelled my first name properly and not added the standard E in front Estacey as they normally do...  BUT I am now BOZOman. Oh Colombia thanks for the chuckle. 

Sad to be missing the May long weekend and the sunny weather up at Rose with my family but with only a few weeks left I´m off to continue the adventure. 

Take Care & See you soon

b

Surviving the Amazon

It must be said, though it sounds ridiculous, but the Amazon... yah it's a pretty damp and buggy place. There are almost no mosquitos in the area where we ventured, so that was a huge win but when out on a night walk on our first evening we saw our fair share of giant crickets, grasshoppers and spiders! Yes Nicola this is not the place for you!

We also saw many frogs... in all sizes... some so small you would never notice them without a guide, and loads with plenty of poison in their skin to ruin your day if you touched them by accident so I wont suggest Franklin add this location to her list of must do's either. Will be sure not to post any photos of frogs either since I know what they do to you darlin!

For context Lago Agrio is located in the North East of Ecuador and thou I flew there from Quito on a 35min flight (my 11th and later 12th and  shortest flights to date) it still took 2 hours via mini bus and then 3 hours by motorized canoe to get to Siona Lodge on Lago Grande which was homebase for four nights.

Through the five days we saw anacondas and boas but I expected them to be way bigger. I mean this is the Amazon right???



I still find it hard to believe that we took a sunset dip in the AMAZON one night and then went fishing for piranas the following evening but I wasn't alone when I jumped off the side of the boat and I didn't see or FEEL anything scary when I was in there.

I even did my favourite under water somersaults during my dip!

Went on a long walk one day as well and our guide Luis showed us how tribes use the biting claws of one type of ant to sew wounds. It is a little hard to see here but close up you could clearly see them piercing through his skin...eeeeewwwww!!!!!!

I loved these little mushrooms growing on a tree trunk (so rainforest) because they, like all mushrooms, remind me of Skavie!!! Miss you my dear.

On the last day we visited a shaman to hear how he "trained" to be a healer (aka took hallucinagenics since age 8) as well as a local village to learn how to make yuka bread. Tastes like crisp/crunchy nothing and not in the celery with an ice cold Bloody Mary kind of way :(  These kind of experiences never feel very legit but hey when in the Amazon you just go with the flow.

At least I got to see the smallest monkey in the world (or so we were told and I therefore chose to believe). I never understand why people pet wild animals least of all monkeys. I steared clear of direct contact but it is pretty crazy to see how small this full grown ¨pocket monkey¨ gets.

That basically sums up our time in the Amazon except that we also saw, albeit briefly, the pink river dolphins which so many people are drawn here to catch a glimpse of. You only see their backs or ripples in the water where they have been so I almost forgot to mention them at all. The Galapagos will spoil you!

We also saw Snakes, giant bugs, caimans, piranas, monkeys, more birds, plants that will either kill you or save your life... the usual.

After five days Avisa and I were ready to head back to civilization where we would once again shower in water not drawn from the lagoon or worry about fist size bugs inside our mosquito nets... AND be able to buy bus tickets to COLOMBIA!

I did manage to get some allergic reaction rash slash souvenir on my neck that I really wish would go away but that was probably to be expected and it is pretty minor.  Still I would appreciate any positive vibes you could send my way towards it clearing up soon!

Okay well one more boarder crossing to do and I will be in my 43rd country and the last leg of this adventure. I promise to be safe and look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!!!

xox
b

Middle Earth

To be truthful, [aren't I always?] I actually spent one day in Quito before I headed to the Black Sheep Inn so this entry is really acting as the bookends for my time in Chugchilian... shoot me for being out of sequence. 

On that first day, I am glad to report, I came across more brilliant grafitti close to the hostel and the Basillica which has gargoyles of animals from the amazon and gallapagos like the ant eater below... weird


 







 I had heard only negative feedback from travellers about this capital city and it made me fearful to even walk down the street alone let alone really investigate the bus system or city sights. It felt strange to have this outlook after spending four months traveling South America solo but the volume of stories really had me on edge. One girl I bunked with on my first night in town told me earlier that day she was walking down the street and a guy came up and grabbed the thin gold necklace off her throat. While this is probably what most people who haven't travelled to South America would envision of the continent as a whole I can honestly say no other place I have been has given off this vibe.

Here is a photo of the city from the hostel rooftop bar... where I did feel safe.

The two Quito "must do's" for me were to spend a day at Papallacia thermal baths and then have one foot on either side of the equator at the Middle of the Earth monument. With both in my back pocket, I would be ready to leave without regret. 

Papallacia is located 2hrs away from Quito in yet more cloud forest. There are about 15-20 thermal baths of varying temperatures throughout the spa and I had no trouble knocking off three hours "soaking" in the views and hopping from the cold river back into the steaming baths. I figured I needed that kind of soak time to come close to cleaning off so many weeks in shared dorms and coed shower stalls. As much as I appreciate that it can be part of the adventure I often fantasize about being at home in my own clean digs...soon enough. 

Most people visit the thermal spas in Banos, five hours to the south, but with murky waters, filled with 50% of the town's population and made to look like three cinder block pools, I am happy to have made the choice I did.   

The Middle of the Earth aka "Mital del Mundo", if you can believe it, is an underwhelming place. Thinking back I can't tell you what it was I expected... Thunderbolts and zero gravity? A circus? Wildlife with multiple heads? Whatever it was I had hoped for, the yellow painted line on a path outside a stone monument didn't captivate. Especially when you are told that since the invention of GPS they realized the actual equator is about 250 meters away. Wwwwaaannn Wwhhaannn.

A museum has been set up on the "real" equator and in true developing country form has super random activities and exhibits set up side by side. You first learn about tribes who practiced shrinking heads to ensure that their knowledge was never lost and then do your best to balance an egg on the head of a nail? Rrrriiiiggghht. Reminded me of the time I applied to work at a fake haunted house near Lennoxville, Quebec. I have to stifle a laugh when I recall considering a summer pretending, in french, to believe in ghosts. I wonder what these guides think when they leave for these jobs each morning. 

Now that I have checked off my two Quito activities I am happy to leave tomorrow morning for five days in the Amazon. Meeting back up with Avisa, who I met in the Galapagos, we plan to watch each other's back for tarantulas and then head to Colombia. That should make you all feel comfortable with my safety!
xox
b 

Cloud Nine

In order to get to the Black Sheep Inn, I had to travel something close to 120KM from Quito to Chugchilian, but when you are talking about the Andes that actually translates to over 6 hours of travel via three different modes of transport. Thankfully by my third transfer I located another traveller. This was probably one of my more remote adventures and with the reputation Ecuador has for theft on buses I was most nervous about this journey over any other. I have never clutched my bags more closely to my chest and prayed for my big bag to be under the bus when we disembarked each time. It was as if I was practicing my role of 80+yr old racist granny for a future academy award winning feature film. Move over Meryl Streep. Admittedly, having arrived without any issue whatsoever, I did feel mildly embarrassed at my behaviour but better to be safe than sorry I suppose. Plus everyone needs to have a fall back career plan right?

Chugchilian is most well known to traveller's, who have heard of it at all, for the Laguna Quilatoa. One can either hike the Quilotoa track, through local villages for up to five days, or do day trips to the Quilatoa crater, to see the intensely aqua blue lake and then do a five hour hike back to your lodge. Like my parents did eight years ago, I opted for the day hike. As much as many of you consider me to be an adventurer I do really enjoy a comfortable and clean place to chill out at the end of a day.

Here's a look at where we started our walk at 3,800M... a relatively rare photo of me standing with my guide Miguel on the crater's edge.

The hike took us past hours of stunning views down to 2,800M and back up to 3,300M and a few landslides as well that had me chuckling about how I get into some unique situations when I travel. Below is a photo of part of the trail.




My travel companions were 60 year old twin sisters from northern England celebrating their birthday, who loved to hike and take verbal jabs at each other continueously - I mediated. I'll give you a moment to picture my day and all that it included. You can't make this stuff up right? 

The second Chugchilian adventure was spent mostly on horseback the following day through the Cloud Forest. My horse, Sol, was five years old and liked to lead the pack. I think he and I had a silent bond. He didn't race ahead unless any of the other horses threatened to try to take over and then it was game on. Fun times thanks to the anti-allergy pills I was given by a french girl back in Argentina months ago. Being in the cloud forest is magical. If you get te opportunity one day. Take It.
I can't imagine anyone regretting the experience.

Our guide Humberto was one of the best guides I have ever encountered and though he didn't really speak any English he was able to understand my spanglish and explained about the medicinal plants, hallucinegenic mushrooms and the lives of the native peoples clearly enough.

The cloud forest was one of my favourite patches of travel on this journey and I am thankful that my parents suggested the journey. After three nights in this slice of paradise it is sadly time to head back to Quito. In my way of feeling a little bit closer to B, I spent my last morning practicing some yoga as I mentioned in my last post...miss you B. xox

Black Sheep Inn - EcoLodge

One of the little missions I was given before I left for South America was from both my parents. They challenged me to stay at the Black Sheep Inn in Chugchilan, Ecuador which is located in the Andes.

I hope, through my previous posts, I have proven how much I like a mission so, here you go Mammacita and Daddy-O!

One 40min taxi ride, two buses (only one of which had another tourist aboard) for a total of 6hrs and I HAD ARRIVED at 3,300m on the doorstep of one of the world's 50 BEST EcoLodges (According to National Geographic).   

             Yeah Baby!

 

Not only did I get to up to some amazing adventures, here in the Cotopaxi Region of Ecuador'so Andes (see future posts) but when I wasn't hiking around yet another crater/lake or riding horses in the clouds for the day... This is where I was staying.

To the right here is the three storey thatched roof, A-frame "dorm" where I stayed as the only guest. So from now on I will refer to it as the EcoCottage I rented for MYSELF in the Andes.

I considered staying on the top floor but remembering I am still plagued with the nucence of late night trips to the bathroom I thought better of it. How will I ever survive pregnancy one day?!

To the left of my EcoCottage is the solar heated shower and compost toilet area.



The deal with the toilet is you throw a scoop of wood chips in after any "visit" and then wash your hands in a basin fed with rain water caught on the roof (combined with the use of biodegradable handsoap of course) and that then feeds into the garden in the same little room.

Here, on the right, is a view of the little garden you look onto when you "use the facilities".

Seriously, this is taken from the "throne" and while I wouldn't normally take a camera with me into such a locale and then publish it to the world, in this instance I thought you'd be interested. (Shoot me a comment if I am wrong... so I can reconsider our friendship :) )


Anyways, I'm 92% sure it is why my mother thought I should make the trip. Well, that & the showers.

So, now let me tell you about these classy duchas.

The shower is designed with wine and liquor bottles cemented into the wall to wash the stall in a glow of circular rainbow colors.

- Left is a view from outside.
- Right are of the inside.



The Black Sheep Inn also specializes in vegetarian fair which they grow on the premises and serve as part of the cost to lodge here. The new managed Eduardo was terrific, planning and coordinating excursions around the area, keeping the fire going (being at 3,300m makes for chilly nights), playing some great tunes and even getting me a hot water bottle nightly.


On my last morning here I ventured down to the yoga room (panoramic image below) and spent a quiet hour stretching and absorbing the last moments I had in this oasis. Below the yoga room photo is the view from inside. Stunning.

More posts will probably need to come from Colombia because so far I haven´t found a good place to hunker down and load photos that doesn´t take a full 30 seconds to register each click.

Ahhh the things I have done to keep you all informed. Home in about a month!  Looking forward to catching up on what I´ve missed! 
xox b