The Coffee Region of Colombia… Kind of

Coffee country. Yes, that was my plan when traveling to Colombia. Pereira was supposed to be my central hub for the coffee region of Colombia. After exploring Pereira and it’s food and night life it was time to explore the rest of the coffee region. That meant visiting coffee farms right? Well, that was the plan. But unfortunately it did not happen that way. Instead I got to meet some amazing people I enjoy some amazing views in some small villages.

One the amazing views was of Santa Rosa de Cabal. And now I understand why many people told me to visit this place in my previous visits to Colombia. Santa Rosa de Cabal is a small little village where you can just relax. The village has nice cobbled streets, places to just eat and small gift shops. That is not the real reason why everyone goes to Santa Rosa de Cabal. Everyone goes there for los termales. Los Termales is a hot springs and beautiful waterfall. Set amongst the mountains you can take a taxi or trip us to los termales just outside of Santa Rosa de cabal. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes by taxi from the main central hub of Santa Rosa de Cabal.

When you get to most los tamales, the entrance fee is 10,000 pesos for children and 20,000 pesos for adults. The termales is a cross between a nature park and a beautiful warm Springs where you can take a dip in. For anyone who just wants to relax, Santa Rosa de Cabal, and los termales are an amazing place to visit.

After returning from Santa Rosa de cabal it was time to check out of my hotel and to the next hotel which was going to be closer to all the nightlife in the city. The hotel was actually an apartment with the name of Monterosa Apartment Hotel. It was one block away from Circunvalar, which is the street where all the nightlife and food happens to be.

Monterosa has a beautiful has beautiful decour. It was very spacious provided me with the kitchen bathroom and a huge loft. The room I had was called a Penthouse room. It was not expensive as well. For the price of a four or five star Hotel in Colombia I was getting a full apartment but the service of a hotel.

The Service here was good. On our way out they checked with us every time to see if we needed a taxi. I just wish they would remember which apartment I was staying in every time. Because they never remember which key was mine. The apartment could use some work, granted it was beautiful. The bathroom was small and the water heater worked for a small amount a time, just enough for a short shower. There were no hangers in the closet for me to hang my items. Lastly there was no clock at all anywhere inside the apartment. These are small problems but enough to make me think about.

Who what I recommend hotel Monterrosa to? Well since the location is perfect I would recommend it for anyone who happens to be single, Were looking for the night life in that area. Check out more information on their website.

That day I slept to prepare myself for the next day in Armenia. Where is Armenia? No it’s not the country. Many as a city an hour south of that area. I was going to Armenia to meet a friend. I have no expectations of what we would do. The first thing we did was grab something to eat in downtown. We have pasta, I later found out my friend could not have. That is fine I could not eat it either. The environment of the place was very nice. It was a very café looking place. Unfortunately I do not remember the name of the place we ate. After our meal, or lack of, we went walking through downtown. Downtown is filled with many stores that you can buy lots of different things. This is not uncommon for many downtown areas in Colombia. We shop for some shoes. The reason? Well my friend how amazingly beautiful looking is on, but they were tough for her to walk in. So we bought some new boots. After some shopping team is time for some coffee. We walked to Parque Bolivar where we drank some Juan Valdez Coffee. I proceeded to take some photos. My friend was camera shy.

Afterwards what we did was wonder around the city, Just walking and walking and walking. That is one of my favorite activities. One of the places we wandered to was a park named Parque De La Vida (Park of the Life). Where we relaxed for most of the day. The place is like a botanical gardens with gorgeous views of nature and a man made lake. It is a great place to take family or a loved one.

After wandering around Armenia, hitting a mall and more coffee we said our goodbyes until the next day. The next day we headed to some small villages north of Armenia.

The first village we hit was Circasia where we had brunch my small panderia (bakery) and downtown. I like this town it was small but not too small. Town had a lot of things for you to purchase and a nice square in the very center of town. We were here only an hour before we moved on to the next town name Salento.

Salento is a famous town in Colombia. More so than the coffee region. It’s a great place for people go to relax to get away from the city of area and Armenia. We wanted the town and took some pictures. We also ate lunch at a fantastic restaurant. Camino Real Parrilla and Bar was it’s name. It is also known for its nightlife. The view here was fantastic. The food here was good, not easy for a vegetarian to eat since it is a parrilla, but there are some options.

Out we walked and up we walked to EL Mirador, the view, which is a gorgeous view of the mountains in the area. It was gorgeous and very pleasant to look at. We took a quick nap here and relaxed after eating. We walked around town before leaving back to our homes.

The next few days spent in Monterosa Apartment was just work. And enjoying some good food nearby. And another trip to MELMAC for some music.

Although there were no visits to Coffee Farms, it was still fun and relaxing stay in the Coffee Region. Meeting friends and relaxing in some small villages makes a world of a difference a great vacation.

What do you think? Do you find this review helpful? Do you have anymore questions? Let me know and what you think. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels

Erick Redcloud

A partially blind Graphic Designer, Freelance Travel Photographer, Artist, Buddhist and Vegetarian who loves to travel. Erick loves traveling by being with the locals and going off the beaten path. He is the founder and owner of Pathlesstravels and loves inspiring others to follow their dreams, whether it is to travel or something completely different. He started Pathlesstravels to hone is photography skills and to meet amazing people, and to help a friend break into journalism. Check out his photography at his link.

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Erick Redcloud