In the last post, we started to fall in love with Colombia, its natural beauty, rich culture and its kind people. After a short stop in Medellin, we had a route planned that we were so excited about. This route was going through some mountainous rural roads in high elevation through coffee plantations to visit some small and beautiful towns. After experiencing San Roque, we were keen to visit more Colombian towns and villages off the beaten tracks.
The first part of the route was a combination of highway and narrow paved roads which were taking us to a town called Jerico.
After going through rolling hills, Jerico showed its all glory from the first view point. We found a place on top a hill with lots of coffee plants, a beautiful restaurants and a stunning Paragliding club just next to us to call it home. We could just sit and watch the clouds below us moving and revealing the beauty of the valley deep down below every now and then. Watching people running toward the edge with their paraglides and disappearing in the distance with such an amazing background was so fun too and we haven’t even got to the town to see its charm. I think we could just stay where we camped for days without doing anything.
The next day, we went to Jerico which was only 10 minutes Tuk-tuk ride from our camp spot. Like all the other Colombian towns, it was built on the slops and the elevation. created a stunning views with old colonial architecture intertwined with the lush green surrounding hills and the waterfalls. It just felt surreal to have a place like this in the real life and even better, it wasn’t spolied . It was authentic and real and people were having a normal life there. We started our day of walking and exploring in the main plaza of the town.
The first highlight for us in Jerico was the collection of mainly vintage Land Cruisers in the main plaza. There was just so many of them, beautifully maintained in amazing colors, all parked next to each other that we thought that we were lucky and got to a random town in Colombia just on the day that they had the vintage Land Cruisers gathering but then we realized that there’s nothing special for the locals. It was just the town taxi stop. Due to the tough terrain in the area, these Land Cruisers were used for local commute and moving loads arounds . Just this scene was enough to make us fall in love with this cute town. We have spent some time checking these masterpieces one by one and talk to the drives and take some photos.
Then we started walking around and get a better feeling of how the life is, in such an epic spot.
Like everywhere else in Colombia, people were kind and welcoming and it was easy to start a conversation with locals. We walked up and down the town and admired the beautiful architecture, vivid colors of the buildings, craftsmanship of the details and their slow pace of life.
When we were down in the plaza and before we started our walking tour, a street dog, started to walk with us and he never left us for the rest of the day! That was another highlight of our day in Jerico. It felt so good to walk and explore with your own dog! Since Mexico, we had many encounters with street dogs that stole our heart and we often try not to put name on them because it just makes it harder to leave but every now and then, there are some that we just can’t. This dog was one of them. We called him Oscar!
In Colombia cafes and bars are the main hubs to see people and socialize. So there are normally the places that we hang around alot. And they are always packed with locals, it doesn’t matter, which day of the week or what time of the day it is. At least it is our observation so far.We were walking for more than two hours and it was time to head to a local bar on the corner of the main plaza and have a drink, but before that, we bought Oscar some fried chicken and water.
It is interesting that in Colombia and as we learnt later, pretty much in the whole south America, it is so easy to take your dog inside the restaurants and bars and no one has problem with it. So we went to a bar with Oscar and had few Colombian beers.
There’s something about these bars that attracts us and I hope that it won’t affect our alcohol consumptions by the time we leave Colombia :).
We had a great time in Jerico. Walked for kilometers and had an amazing local lunch before getting on a tuk tuk, say goodbye to Oscar and head back to our campsite.
We decided to come back the following day and take some photos with Chaapaar in this beautiful town. So the next morning, we started early and drove to Jerico to take photos.
And finally after two beautiful days in Jerico, it was time to leave and explore more of Colombia. Like everywhere else we’ve been in Colombia so far, Jerico’s charm will stay in our mind for a long time.
So far, each destination that we reached in Colombia surprised us. It’s not just the destinations, the roads to get there as well and above all, like always, the main stars of the show are the people who make a place unforgettable.
Thanks Colombia for showing us all your glory and kindness and we can’t wait to see more of you.
In the next post, we’ll start to take more rural roads and see more of the Colombian countryside and its rural life. Till then take care and enjoy life.
