Up to Montecristo

This post is a little delayed due to our limited internet connectivity 🙂 From last Tuesday Jan 7th….

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Thankfully, this morning was a little bit cloudy when Cristina and I left Minca’s city center to do the hike up to Montecristo again.  It seemed a little bit harder this time knowing what lay ahead, and the extra weight of our backpacks did not help either.  Still, somehow we made it in record time—43 minutes, without stopping once.  What is more incredible is that the family Orozco Vargas does this all the time several times a day, with or without a heavy load, and barely ever even breaking a sweat.
Once safely to our destination, we rested over a glass of panela (juice made from sugar cane extract) before setting off to tour the farm with Señor Angel (the owner) and Elianis llineeth (his youngest daughter) as our guides.  They showed us all of the different things that grow on their land, and we began to collect an inventory: coffee, bananas and all other kinds of fruit, varieties of flowers, etc.

Sr. Angel using a machete to clear a path

Sr. Angel using a machete to clear a path

The rest of the afternoon we spent brainstorming ideas for a potential business model, as Angel’s other sons helped to finish off the cabaña.  They built this little cabin to provide a spot for incoming tourists who want to stay overnight to take a break from city life and surround themselves in the nature and culture.  The result is a cultural exchange in a unique place (unlike any other place that either of us has ever been in any other part of the world), and we were honored to be the first two who will ever get the chance to stay there.

Manu finishing the cabana

Manu finishing the cabana

The cabaña was ready just in time to catch a breath-taking sunset.  A blanket of red and orange masked the sky as a burning orange sun slowly moved its way down out of view, illuminating the full majesty and depth of the mountains across the horizon.  To the right, the lights of Santa Marta appeared through the distance, and farther away to the left you could just make out the outline of Baranquilla.

-Arianne

no caption needed :)

no caption needed 🙂