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So I am now at my next stop which is the small town of 'Jardin', between 3.5 and 4 hours from Medellin. I read about this place on someone's blog when I was doing some research/reading for my trip and noted it down in my guidebook as I liked the sound of it. I think I could have spent a few more days in Medellin but at the same time I was happy to move on so headed for the bus terminal on Thursday morning. Luckily I was just in time for the 10am bus and the bus was not full so there was plenty of space. The road to Jardin is rather windy, through the mountains- lucky I don't get travel sick! I didn't fall asleep on this bus so I got to see the beautiful views of the lovely green countryside. I also got to see how close the bus was to the edge of the mountainside and thought how easily the bus could fall over the edge if there was an accident….I also saw the road signs, which depicted head on collisions (the roads were quite narrow), falling rocks from the mountains above and falling off the side of the mountain- I am so glad none of the above happened! On arrival in Jardin I headed to a hotel I had read about on someone's blog and got a room for 15,000 pesos- about £5! A bargain, cheaper than my last dorm bed and I also had my own bathroom and a TV. The friendly hotel owner drew me a map of the main places in the town and local area. After speaking to my Mum I headed out for dinner at a restaurant recommended by the hotel owner, which was a big meal, lucky I'd had no lunch and was hungry! Then went and watched TV in my room and ended up staying up too late watching a film- the English one (with subtitles) didn't start til 10....
On Friday I took the cable car up the mountain to a look out point and restaurant. The cable car (a bargain at 5,000 pesos return, less than £2) goes up over the plantain trees and coffee plants. The view of the town was great and the restaurant owner pointed out the different places in the town, which you could see very clearly from up there. He explained it is a typical 'paisa' town and has 14,000 inhabitants- half of which live in the town and the other half live in the surrounding countryside. It was a very peaceful spot and for a while I was the only visitor up there. I had a drink and enjoyed the view and read my book. I decided to have lunch up there so had another typical Colombian meal but requested no French fries! The sun went in and clouds came over and I got a bit cold as I hadn't taken my jumper out. After a few hours up there I headed back down to the town and wandered around. It's a small town but very pretty, full of whitewashed houses with colourful doors and balconies. The square, the plaza principal, is a beautiful place and has been declared a National Monument. It is has a fountain in the centre and many benches as well as colourfully painted table and chairs from the cafes surrounding the square. The church is impressive, also a National Monument. There was a cycling competition taking place so I stood at the side of the road at the start/finish and watched the end of the first and then the whole of the second race. They cycled for 45 minutes! Have to admit to never having really watched cycling events before but it was quite exciting to see who had taken the lead as they passed the start/finish point as they went round and round the course. I was surprised by how closely they ride together too and not surprised when eventually someone fell off their bike. For dinner I had pizza then headed back to the hotel- this time rather than a late TV night I was reading til nearly 1!
This meant I slept late today (Saturday) and then I stayed in bed reading til midday- seems a long time since I did that and was nice to be able to! Went to the square and had a drink whilst finishing my book (was a good read) then went to the bakery to buy a few snacks for breakfast/lunch. After that I went to the museum and was given a tour to find out more about the history of Jardin. It was interesting but I have to admit I couldn't understand everything. I spent a few hours this afternoon sitting in the square people watching. There were lots of people also sitting in the square or wandering around, ranging from children chasing the pigeons to older men in their ponchos and sombreros sitting chatting. There were a number of horses about, where people had ridden in and tied them up while they went to a bar or café. I watched one man do just that! There was some kind of horse event today where people were riding in from Andes (a nearby town- about 40 minutes by bus) and I think I saw some of them arriving and they had rosettes. I had dinner at the same restaurant as 2 nights ago as although there seem to be lots of cafes with drinks and snacks I couldn't seem to find that many restaurants. I had trout this time and enjoyed it, especially as there were hardly any bones! :-) I then headed back to the hotel, determined to catch up on my blog! I probably should have been in the square people watching as I think there are a lot of people about on a Saturday evening, even now at almost midnight I am still hearing horses trotting by- I think people from the surrounding area come in on their horses on a Saturday evening. When I arrived I didn't really know how long I'd stay for but it is a really peaceful place to spend a few days so I will be here tomorrow too. I just need to make sure I'm a bit more productive, although just enjoying being here is also good too!
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