Hacienda Venecia coffee farm

My glorious return to Colombia started with a visit to a coffee finca called Hacienda Venecia. We took a tour of the farm and learned about the entire process, from the nursery to the harvest to the roasting. We also learned about different coffee flavors, which depend on the soil, altitude, etc. Coffee in Manizales has chocolate flavors, mmmmmm.... Part of this lesson involved sniffing extracts and studying flavor charts. I'm not sure how they decided that some coffee tastes like beef or rubber, but that must be some kind of specialized expertise.

The tour guide confirmed that the good coffee gets exported and the substandard coffee is made into instant coffee or is consumed by locals. He showed us how to sort the green beans by quality, then we roasted the ones we picked out and tasted them. The first picture is the roaster. We had some yummy espresso and then headed out to the fields to see the plants. The guide explained the planting and harvesting process. The hillsides are so steep in places, it looks like pretty dangerous work.

We also got to visit the actual hacienda, which is a very lovely bamboo house with a giant wrap-around porch. It featured a lovely view of the farm, beautiful orchids and other plants, and large fowl like turkeys and peacocks. We got to eat some starfruit right off the tree! Then we visited the processing center, where the beans are weighed, cleaned, and dried. When we got back to the beginning, we had another cup of coffee and chilled in the hammock until our jeep arrived to take us back into town.

After all of that, I headed into town with Yoly, one of the staff from the hostel, to look for a new suitcase. The one that I brought with me (Jesse's, actually) was destroyed on the flight from Bogota to Manizales. Avianca won't pay for it because it is an external piece that was damaged, even though a giant hole was created when the wheel was ripped off and I could lose all of the contents inside. I bought one that is made of fiberglass, so hopefully this one will survive the rest of the trip!

Amador Causeway

We had a couple of hours off in the afternoon, so a few of us rented bikes and rode to the end of Amador Causeway. It was a very lovely ride alongside the canal and the Pacific, and the weather was very nice. The first picture below shows where people who are in shape get to exercise. The second shows where people not in shape get to exercise, a little bit further down the causeway. The third picture is me biking past a nice view of the Panama City skyline. It is a pretty city, although half of it is under construction (many of the buildings have been under construction for decades, so something shady is definitely going on).

We passed a Gehry building under construction. One of the signs described what it will eventually look like as "a colorful sandwich." The building is so complicated that they are not using tape measures, they are using survey equipment to get a more precise placement of materials. Very interesting.

After our closing ceremony we went out for dinner. We walked along the causeway for the nice sunset view, and that is where picture 4 was taken. I sat down with my food and noticed the gorgeous moon, so I actually got up, left the restaurant, and walked across the street to snap photo number 5. It was worth it, although the photo really doesn't capture the scene.

Panama ended on a fairly good note despite all of the illness and discomfort of the trip. I spent some time with Javier and his friend who lives there before checking in to a hostel for the night. That place was okay, but they locked everything and I mean everything up for the night, and the owner doesn't hang around overnight so I had to leave my yogurt behind (awww) and climb over the fence to escape the place. But, I finally got to the airport and made my flight back to Colombia.

Isla Barro Colorado

I had the opportunity to take the trip to Isla Barro Colorado, which is by far my favorite part of Panama so far. The island was created in Gatun Lake when they built a dam for the Panama Canal. It is owned and maintained by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Center, so researchers can live on the island for a while or commute via ferry and do some fancy studies with tropical species. I'm not sure how I would feel about living or working there, since there are quite a few little critters that bite. I managed to get away with only some ant bites and one chigger bite, but there are some pretty venomous things out there as well.

We almost missed our ferry due to some intense rain and floods on the way. We made it and enjoyed a rather noisy but otherwise tranquil ride across the canal and Gatun Lake to the island. We got an introduction to the island and some of the research conducted there by our guide, Mauricio, and then started on a hike through the forest. The minuses first: it was so, so humid and the ants found me so, so delicious. We stopped a lot to talk about various plants and animals or research projects, and I suppose that we were close to an ant nest or something. They would go inside of my shirt a lot and bite there, but I even got a bite through my pants. Although they had wings and were really annoying, I'd rather be bitten by those ants than the bullet ants. The latter apparently have a nasty bite and the nastiest sting ever. I will take their word for it, the ant is gigantic (~1 in long) and fast. Check out the video on my picasa site, the pictures were all too blurry! The same is true for the leaf cutter ants, which are very cool to see in person but the video will have to do.

I also got some video of monkeys! We saw 3 different species throughout the hike, the only one missing was the tamarin. They are apparently very small and quiet though, so they are not easy to see. The spider monkeys and the whiteface capuchin were very active and super cute. They were definitely working the charismatic megafauna bit. We heard howler monkeys quite a bit throughout the hike and finally saw some towards the end of the hike. We also heard all sorts of birds that we couldn't see, including two species of toucan. I FINALLY SAW ONE!! They like to hang out in the canopy beyond the eyes of a land-bound human, but this one was hanging out in an opening. I included the photo here, but you will probably have to zoom way in to see it. Try picasa if it doesn't show up here. This one is a chestnut mandibled toucan. Among the creepy crawlies, we saw some HUGE golden-orb spiders, lots of ants, one large and one small crocodile, a boa constrictor, and a poison dart frog. Most of them were hanging out near the boat dock, ha.

One of the cool things that we learned about was their radio tracking research that they do. They showed us one of their very interesting maps, which showed the paths of a collared ocelot chasing a collared agouti (rodent mammal snack). Amazingly, the kill happened right near a motion-sensing camera, so they also got video of mama teaching the baby ocelot how to eat agouti.

If anyone is interested in conducting research in a tropical rainforest, you should consider applying. You're pretty much guaranteed permission unless you say you want to chop down the forest, introduce invasives, or something like that. Photos below are: the toucan (right fork in the branch, near the center of the image), a monkey (whiteface capuchin, I believe), all of us in front of the aptly-named Big Tree, the docks, and our ride to and from the island.

Ruins and markets

It is finally the weekend and we are free to leave the hotel and check out the sights around Panama City. Unfortunately, several of the conference participants have come down with either a cold or the flu. I'm included in those ranks, although mine is not nearly as bad as some others who ended up with a high fever. I took some cold meds and hit the road, not about to spend the 1 day I can leave in bed!

A group of us hired a van from the hotel and had the driver take us to see some of the sights around Panama. We mostly visited some artisans markets and bought some nice things made by Kuna or Embera-Wounaan indigenous groups. I got some molas and a couple of beaded bracelets. One bracelet is basically a string of beads that makes a neat design when it is wrapped around the wrist. I like it, but the very nice lady shown here tied it on too tightly so I ended up taking it off already. I've tried putting it back on, but it is proving to be a bit difficult to do so.

We also walked around some of the ruins of Old Panama (Panama Viejo). They were built in the 1500s but the city was sacked by Henry Morgan and mostly destroyed. The city was then moved to Casco Viejo, so the ruins are still hanging around, giving a nice contrast to the very modern Panama City. The second and third photos are the former convent of Panama Viejo, the fourth is me falling into a well.

We got some vegetarian food, which was fantastic and extremely cheap. After that, we tried to go to the fruit market next to the fish market, but it was pretty lame so we just came home. Leah and I will probably head to the supermarket tomorrow instead, and perhaps to the outlet mall. I normally wouldn't care much for a mall of any type, but I have heard some good things about this one so I would at least like to check it out. I was hoping to do a canopy tour, but they won't organize a tour for just me and no one else is interested. I guess I'll just have to come back! It's just as well, I still have more than a month to go on a limited budget!

A man, a plan, a canal... Panama!

Palindrome City! It is easy to forget that there were many men (75000), many plans, and even more than one attempted canal. At least that's what I learned today from the Panama Canal Authority, the folks who maintain the famous waterway since the US handed it back to Panama in 1999. We also learned that they are developing a new system for reusing the water that fills the locks so that they can let bigger ships through and conserve more water. The field trip was a very nice change. We finally got to get out and see something other than the conference room and the TGIFriday in the hotel! A few of us went to a grocery store as well so that we could grab some food that we can prepare with the microwaves in the room. I am looking forward to eating less expensively, and to eat some actual local food (especially the fruit and cheese)!

The first two photos are from the "cultural event" from the first night we were here. They performed some traditional folklorico dances (Panama-style), and I was one of the people taken from the audience to participate as well! No photos, unfortunately. The second two are from the Miraflores Locks, where we had lunch and got to hear about the canal. They told us about the history as well as the new plans to make the canal available for more transport while making it more sustainable as well. I guess it remains to be seen how that will turn out. We also visited the offices of the United Nations Environment Programme, which gave me a potential lead for some research in Peru. I'll have to follow up and find out!

Recorrido de Manizales

The first picture is the first time I have ever seen the top of Nevado del Ruiz from Manizales! It is usually shrouded in clouds, and in fact it was again when I went back out just a couple of hours later. It is so beautiful, it's a shame that you can only see it early in the morning!

Well, it certainly is easy to get a lot of interviews in when there is a room full of potential interviewees and program coordinators eager to help you out! I was able to attend a training session for the Guardianas de la Ladera, and then they allowed me to interview the women one at a time while the training was still going on. I am now up to a total of 25 interviews, which is pretty good for a 2 week period.

After the interviews, I was taken on a tour of the city by another person who works at the local disaster prevention agency. First we went to Ingeominas and checked out the seismographs, then we drove around looking at homes on precarious hillsides. The second picture is a view of Manizales from a hilltop just outside of town to the south. There is some interesting stuff going on around here. The third picture is part of a neighborhood that they are trying to tear down. The disaster prevention folks say it is because they are in high risk zones, which they are, so it is basically another relocation program. However, it is a bit controversial because they are going to replace the homes with shopping centers and a major avenue. The construction has already started in Macroproyecto San Jose, which you can see behind the houses in the photo. The last photo is a building ready for demolition, you can see the red X painted on the side. Either way, many of these people have lived there for generations in homes that they own, and now they will have to rent somewhere else or in some newly constructed apartments.

There are so many interesting angles to these issues, I'm not sure what I will end up doing! I certainly do not have a shortage of contacts to help me out, either. I have learned a lot and look forward to more after the workshop in Panama. I am also really looking forward to Panama, if I can ever get there! My flight was canceled today, so I'm stuck in Bogota until the morning. Not too bad, though, I got a bed in the same hostel, ran over to the bike tour shop and talked politics with the owner, and then got some dinner. I met a lovely girl from Japan in the hostel, who is making and selling jewelry as she travels. She just started learning how to make the jewelry 6 months ago, but she does phenomenal work. I bought the only piece I could afford, since I wasn't planning to stay in Colombia another night and I am running out of COPs. Hopefully the flight tomorrow is still on! I do have a conference to attend!

Armenia

Armenia, Colombia is both tragic and beautiful. The countryside is absolutely stunning, so green and lush. I definitely saw all classes of coffee on the bus ride from Manizales, from full sun to partial shade (1 tree here and there) to shade grown under banana trees to shade grown under natural land cover. Oh, except that there is also a lot of bamboo, which is definitely not endemic but is a major part of the landscape. I should say that it is part of the natural landscape as well as the architecture. The first picture is the Rio Quindio valley to the east of Armenia.

I left for Armenia on a recommendation from someone in the city government office of Manizales. Armenia was devastated by a huge earthquake in 1999. Over 40% of the buildings completely collapsed, most had at least some damage, and 1000 people lost their lives. To make matters worse, the police, fire, red cross, and other emergency response stations all collapsed with much of the personnel inside. The second picture is one of the buildings that was severely damaged but is still standing, and I believe it was part of the old police station. Now the government buildings (and any new structures) are reinforced, and the communities are trained in emergency response in case the response teams are ever incapacitated again.

After the earthquake, there was an attempt to move people from the "high risk zones" in steep valleys to more stable ground and infrastructure. Apparently they did the job poorly. Families and neighbors were split up, and people found that despite the fancy new digs they were still too poor to pay rent and services, so they moved back and built homes in the valleys again. For some reason the population swelled enormously after the earthquake, but not industry, so unemployment and poverty are through the roof. You'd never know it if you stayed close to the touristy coffee fincas on the north side of town, though. The town is basically divided right along the fault line. The third picture is of a group of homes in a high risk zone. I actually accompanied some gentlemen from the local disaster management agency as they exchanged paperwork with a woman who has agreed to be part of the new (and hopefully improved?) relocation program, which appears to take greater account of people's needs. She is moving out, and they will be tearing down her old place.

The last photo is something that made me giggle. The seats on the bus had these pieces of fabric with the name and information of the bus company, but to me they looked a lot like gigantic underwear. Enjoy!

Cables and Infrastructure

My first meeting today was at the Institution of Environmental Studies (IDEA) at the Universidad Nacional de Caldas. I learned a lot about the meteorological observation network and the way that they issue early warnings for floods and landslides. Forecasts are basically worthless around here, they say, so they just go based on soil saturation as determined by amount of rain over the past month. If at least 200 mm have fallen, they start putting areas under "yellow alert" and start mobilizing emergency response teams just in case.

They also have a teaching model of all of the different types of landslide prevention infrastructure. The person I met with even demonstrated how they all work by turning on the water. Below, I am terrorizing the tiny inhabitants of the model houses.

My second appointment failed to show up for the second time in a row, so that was it for the day. I decided just to wander around the artisans market, buy a couple of things, and then head home. I walked past the cable that takes you down the mountain from the center of Manizales to one of the towns below and randomly decided to take a spin. It was pretty cool to see the city from above. I saw a bunch of abandoned factories, a lot of homes, pretty landscapes, and some real-life landslide prevention infrastructure!

Then I took the bus back to the neighborhood that I am staying in, which is named El Cable after the original cable that was built here. The tower still exists, but the only riders are some art statues dangling from a model of the old cable. Right next to the tower is a Juan Valdez Cafe, which is the Colombian version of Starbucks. Juan Valdez Cafe was one of the first to figure out that the money is in the roasting, so they started cashing in and opening the cafes all over the country.

I really like Manizales. I could live here, and unless Peru knocks my socks off I probably will!

More trabajo

Today I started off with some interviews in CORPOCALDAS, the environmental agency of the Department (state, sort of) of Caldas (where I am). I was a bit concerned to find out that the person I was scheduled to meet with this morning was out of town, but everything turned out for the better. On my way out of the building I was recognized by someone that a contact from last week had introduced me to, and she offered to introduce me to some other people in the same agency. So, instead of meeting with someone about infrastructure, I met with several people about some actual participatory programs that the agency is involved in. It was very informative, and they gave me a huge pile of documents to peruse. Who knows, instead of hazards I may end up studying water or environmental management after all. Actually, it might be interesting to compare those programs to the Guardianas, since that seems to be the only one they run that isn't participatory. The first two photos are taken from the CORPOCALDAS office I was hanging out in, on the 12th floor of the tallest building in Manizales. It is a shame that the new building under construction blocks the view now.

After that I treated myself to a fancy lunch. I've been cooking in the hostel most of the time, so I figure I've saved up a bit of money. It still wasn't that expensive, only $8 US. The restaurant had a buffet for the same price, but I couldn't resist when I saw that they had Mexican-style fajitas served with guacamole. The tortillas were deep-fried, which was odd, but overall the meal was quite delicious. It was the first time I've had Mexican food since I arrived. I've also been surprised at how many Chinese restaurants there are. I have yet to meet a Chinese person, but I also am not getting out into town much aside from these offices.

After that I had a meeting in Aguas de Manizales. They have an education program about water and environmental management that they do for children and professors. The point is to diffuse information to the community about conserving water and not exploiting natural resources. The kids are supposed to tell others what they learned in a year-long series of training workshops. I've been invited to join them on Friday at Rio Blanco. The painting represents the history of Manizales. It was apparently a very sexual history.

I had a kind of crazy bus ride home. I guess I got on the bus headed in the wrong direction, and once I realized that I just decided to stay on and check out the town while I did the entire loop. Unfortunately, it ended at the terminal and I had to change buses. The last photo is a view out of the town from the terminal. The next bus that I took got stopped by the police to investigate the driver, so the poor guy had to give us all our money back so we could catch another bus. I finally made it home, and I am trying one more time to make the colombian beans. So far so good!

Nevado del Ruiz, 5125 m (15,375 ft)

Still taking advantage of the 3-day weekend without a possibility of interviews, I decided to climb a volcano! Los Nevados National Park is fairly close to the city of Manizales, and they have tours that take you to Nevado del Ruiz, one of the highest points in Colombia.

We made several stops along the way, including a fruit stand, a restaurant where we ate breakfast, and the entry to the Nevados. Some of the cooler places we stopped were a cliff where the water condenses and drips down, Laguna Negra, and another cliff that was completely enveloped in the clouds. Laguna Negra (Black Lake) was interesting, even against a blue sky it appeared black. Naturally the phenomenon didn't turn out as well in the photo below, it looks kind of blue.

The landscape around the top looked very much like the moon, mostly gray with some rocks and a lot of sand. It was pretty foggy by the time that we got up there, so it was hard to see very far. We only know that we visited a second cliff because we threw rocks off of it and never heard them hit. The tour guide suggested we do that and make a wish instead of what a lot of people do, which is to stack rocks on top of each other and make a wish. So, you end up with a bunch of cairns that don't look "natural."

We finally got to the part where you climb the volcano on foot. Unless you have the necessary equipment to climb a glacier, you have to stop at the glacier's edge. That was fine with me. The climb was slow and difficult due to the steepness of the slope and altitude. On the way up it was quite common to see people leaning over to get blood to their brains or ease their heart rate. Not being able to breathe is such a weird feeling, like you're doing something wrong or trying to breathe through a pillow. The altitude didn't affect me as much, so I was able to make a pretty steady climb to the top. I liked the signs that they had posted there to tell you which way is up. I don't see how you would get confused unless you actually read one of them, which is upside down (below).

Unfortunately the clouds beat us up there, so there wasn't exactly a spectacular view. At the clearest point we could see about 50 meters away to the cloud curtains. It didn't really matter though, to get a good look at a glacier that won't be there in a couple of decades and to reach the highest altitude I have ever been on foot was totally worth it. The way down was much easier. Normally the descent is more frightening and difficult for me, but the lunar sand was quite comfy and you don't slide like you do on rocks or gravel, so I jogged most of the way down.

Most of us slept on the bus on the way back down from lack of oxygen and exhaustion. I tried to stay awake to take in the view a bit longer, but gave in eventually. We stopped for lunch and then topped off the day with a soak in some hot springs. The water wasn't too hot, just like a bath, and filled the pool through some pipes that worked pretty well for a massage. The only drawback was that the minerals in the water burned sooooo badly in the eyes. It took me a while to figure out the trick (with help from someone else), which is to rub your eyes once to get the excess water off and then just wait for the burning to stop, and never touch your eyes otherwise. It is hard to take in the gorgeous view through tightly closed eyes. It was a great soak/water massage, though, and I would certainly return and do it again. I almost did just because I left my jacket there (ugh), but luckily they found it and the tour that goes up today is going to bring it back for me. Otherwise it would have been an expensive taxi ride all the way out to the hot springs and back!

People are so insanely nice and helpful here, it's a shame that the country has such a violent image. They also care a lot for the environment. The environmental protection laws are apparently very progressive - the air is clean, the water is clean, trash is rarely a problem, and they protect a lot of their natural resources from exploitation. If I understood correctly, export of timber products is illegal, so the main threat to deforestation is the expansion of livestock production. When the clouds disappear and you can actually see the sky, it is shockingly deep blue. The photos don't do it justice.

Welcome to the jungle

I am taking advantage of the sunshine every chance I get, so today I went with a very nice Swiss family to the Rio Blanco Ecological Reserve. This place is incredible and very important. The river provides 40% of the water supplies for Manizales, and it is reputed to be the cleanest water in the world. It is also a biodiversity hotspot with hundreds of different kinds of birds and butterflies, not to mention the insects, mammals, and plants.

I missed the toucan, but I did see some other parrot-type birds, some loras, and tons of hummingbirds at the top. There are a couple of buildings for people to hang out, take photos of the hummingbirds at the feeders, and use as a base for their ecological studies. There was a photography class there at the time, and I hope they got some better photos than I did. I had much more luck with the flowers, which were not afraid of me and didn't move so quickly. I heard one type of bird that is apparently notorious for being rare AND difficult to see. They say that the call is saying "compra pan!" (buy some bread!) and that the other bird responds "ya compre!" (I already bought it!). I also saw a bear that they have in an enclosure there, but apparently he was a bit upset from a recent medical exam and was hiding out too far for a photograph to pick him up. Sorry!

It was quite warm out, but the scenery was amazing. The tour guide lives at the top of the mountain, and I must say that it seems to be a pretty idyllic place to live. The road is long and a bit rough to get there, but if you want to get away and be surrounded by plants and birds it is a great choice. For now, I'm going to get some work done tonight so that I can justify another excursion tomorrow to the Sierra Nevado del Ruiz...

Also, can I just say that my hostel is fantastic? I had the dorm room to myself, but since a bunch of guys are coming in this weekend they let me move to another room with only 2 full-sized beds and a much better view. They didn't have to do that, but they didn't want me to feel uncomfortable. People in Colombia are seriously over-the-top with the hospitality and the niceness.

Swiss dad (Oliver), tour guide (Albierto), siblings (Marisa and Bastian), and me.

Productivity and pretty city

Today I had an extremely productive meeting and managed to get some further meetings lined up for next week, including a trip to a nearby city called Armenia to see how they manage hazards there. So, after a few hours of discussion and plan-making, I was able to take in some of the sites around Manizales.

First stop the plaza near the cathedral. The military is on the steps there preparing for an event for the Environment Week. The second photo is right by the cathedral, an awesome bird-man statue.

The next stop was the Torre al Cielo (Tower to Heaven). I suppose that if you don't actually intend to reach Heaven it isn't sacrilegious. It wasn't even that tall, just well placed on the highest point in Manizales. You get a nice panoramic view from there, so I took several photos. Apologies for the repetition if you're checking out the photos I'm posting on picasa, but I was also waiting for a break in the clouds to catch some of the bright green countryside when the sun shines.

The sun finally DID shine, so Andreas and I went to the Bosque Popular, a large and very lovely park on the edge of town. Bosque is misleading since there aren't THAT many trees there, but it was still very nice to get some sun and some fresh air. I read through some of the grammar lessons and lists of irregular verb conjugations in my Spanish dictionary to pass the time and work on my Spanish, which is gradually improving.

I swear I am working very hard.