Jericó & Jardín

It was a pretty relaxed day today. We took the time to enjoy our hotel in the morning before a late pick up of 11am. It was then more steep and windy roads to the town of Jericó. This was the land of Mother Laura, where Colombia's first saint was born! As a result this tiny town of 15,000 has a cathedral, a sanctuary, three churches and eleven chapels. Fortunately for us, today was not a church tour...

It seemed like every town we visit was described as the most beautiful and and best preserved town lol. We learnt today that this region has a republican style, typical of the Antioquian colonization. We see it as like the village in Encanto! Pablo took us for a stroll through the historic center, visiting the town museum, and the most interesting one of all, paying a visit to Ruben, the artisan at the carriel (guarnileria) workshop. The guarniel is the traditional leather bag carried by male farmers, with 5 main pockets and many compartments, some of which are hidden. In other words, a bag that my mother would love! Ruben's family has been hand making guarniel for 140 years and the gift that was given to the Pope on his visit to Colombia was made by him! Even Paris Hilton owns one of his bags. Jericó is one of the few towns left that has kept the skill to make these bags.

The morning view from our balcony

From the upstairs lounge area looking down at the grounds

Cauca River just outside the hotel. The mist has not lifted yet

Breakfast! Eggs were made to order

Mal at the children's balcony, trying to wake them up!

Relaxing by the pool after a morning swim

A free drink! And local candies to take away

Aerial view of Jericó

Strolling through the hilly streets with colourful buildings

Ruben showing us a traditional guarniel

Hidden compartments! Used to store photos of secret girlfriends!

Made by Ruben!

This guarniel is 110 years old!

The Chiva are all handpainted

Pablo then took us to a coffee shop with espresso machines and we had THE best iced lattes, made even better by cheese "sticks" (more than soft bread) just freshly made out of the oven. We started with 4 and ended up buying more!

Onwards we went towards Jardín. Guess what? Another beautiful and well preserved town! I jest, I actually think Jardín was the town I like most, with the best vibe. We took a quick walk around the town centre to ogle at the street vendor and pretty Cathedral lit up at night before returning to our hotel Casa Passiflora Hotel Boutique, yet another charming little hotel. 

Oh we did try to see the Andean Cock-of-the-rock! Alas our trek down the STEEP walkway was in vain as we just missed them. Pablo asked if we wanted to try again tomorrow, the answer was a resounding no. Pictures would do just fine thank you!

Omg so nice to have an iced latte

The cafe

Main square of Jericó

we were supposed to pose but everyone bailed...

Nativity scene on steroids

Where people recreate the artwork in a series called the people behind the canvas

Found a door that matched my outfit

So you can get an indication of the kind of steepness that we see everywhere here in the Colombian Andes

Good Asian children being able to squat to enjoy the view

I know it is all the same but I really like the bean soup dish!

Serious business...choosing ice-cream flavours! Mal chose guave and cheese

Mine is coconut and arequipe

The promise of Andean cock-of-the-rock. We would keep going down and down...to see nothing!

Our charming hotel in Jardín

Welcome drink! Made from a type of fruit belonging to the passionfruit family. Today I learned that what Mal told me was a Mexican passionfruit was in fact NOT. Grr...

Our room

As found in most traditional homes, the windows face into the courtyard

Very modern bathrooms though

More freebies!

The bird we were supposed to see. A photograph of it taunting us from outside our room

Jardín central square

The Cathedral

Jardín known for its street food