Relaxing in the Colombian Countryside

by Dave on July 6, 2009 · 14 comments

View from Linas finca

View from Lina's finca

I was awoken way too early, around the hour of 7:30 am, by Max Blanco – slobbering canine friend.  Another smaller dog also made himself at home on my mattress, practically pushing me off of it.  Oh, the joys of living with dogs!

After awhile, I gave up on the idea of reclaiming my bed, and walked outside with my camera to capture the beautiful views while the sun was shining bright.  I can’t say enough about how picturesque it felt.  While everyone else was still sleeping off the night’s fun, I found my spot in a hammock on the porch.  It was an especially comfortable hammock, and allowed me to curl up and stretch without risk of falling out or feeling uncomfortable.

Stop...hammock time!

Stop...hammock time!

I used the time to reflect on my recent experiences, and take in the amazing view before me.  Hours passed and I remained perfectly content to spend the morning in this manner.  As the others arose slowly, the girls cooked up a typical lunch of chorizo and arepas (which were eaten with soft cheese and butter).  We finished off the rice from the night before as well.

Lunch is served

Lunch is served

Lunch consumed, Lina suggested we play a traditional Colombian board game.  The board was in the shape of a poker table, and was made of stitched leather with horses adorning it.  The rules were kind of like backgammon in that the goal was to move your four pieces all the way around the circumference of the board.  Of course if you landed on another person’s space, you sent it back to his/her starting point.  Once we got started, this rule would send people’s pieces back left and right.  At one point, frustrated by having to continuously start over from square one, I proclaimed in Spanish that the game was impossible!

Good doggie!

Good doggie!

We played for an hour and a half or so, before giving up on finishing it properly.  The sun was still out, and the air was warm.  Fincas often feature pools, and while Lina had an above ground one, I was too tired to jump in.  Instead, I enjoyed the two dogs who were alternating between playing with each other and resting, the salsa music on the radio, and the hammock with a gorgeous view of the green mountains across the valley.

The finca

The finca

As 4 pm rolled around, we cleaned, packed up, and motored back to Medellin.

The longer I stay here, the less I want to leave.

About the Author:

is the author of 1527 posts on Go Backpacking.

Dave (Editor-in-Chief) blogged his way around the world from 2007-2009, and then started Travel Blog Success to teach others how to do the same. When not writing, he can be found salsa dancing in Medellin. Follow him on Twitter @rtwdave or look for him on Google+

The Travel Blog Success community offers practical resources and personal support to help you build a better travel blog.

Whether you treat blogging as a hobby, or dream of building a location independent business, you'll learn what's required to create a name for yourself in the online travel world.

Benefits of Joining:

  1. Personal support from Dave, including site critiques and tips on negotiating advertising deals.
  2. Ability to learn from others' mistakes, and save yourself time, energy and money.
  3. Chance to network with other travel bloggers of all levels, from around the world.

Click here to learn more.

Categories: Colombia
Post tags: , , , , , , , ,

14 Comments

k July 6, 2009 at 8:08 pm

this contest was fixed!!!!!! hehe

Reply

k July 6, 2009 at 3:08 pm

this contest was fixed!!!!!! hehe

Reply

Dave July 7, 2009 at 1:12 am

Nope! But with only 5 entries, everyone had a 20% chance to win. Darn good odds in my book. :)

Reply

Dave July 6, 2009 at 8:12 pm

Nope! But with only 5 entries, everyone had a 20% chance to win. Darn good odds in my book. :)

Reply

k July 7, 2009 at 4:28 am

ah, i almost won then. more to come i hope?

Reply

k July 6, 2009 at 11:28 pm

ah, i almost won then. more to come i hope?

Reply

La Digue July 7, 2009 at 11:50 am

Nice story. The colombian Finca seemed pretty nice and the surrounding area, as seen on the picture appeared peaceful. You must have really enjoyed staying there.

Reply

La Digue July 7, 2009 at 6:50 am

Nice story. The colombian Finca seemed pretty nice and the surrounding area, as seen on the picture appeared peaceful. You must have really enjoyed staying there.

Reply

Dave July 8, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Yes, I’ll definitely have more contests in the future.

Reply

Dave July 8, 2009 at 10:16 am

Yes, I’ll definitely have more contests in the future.

Reply

Christian Haugen July 14, 2009 at 2:08 am

Love the Stop..Hammock time picture!

Reply

Christian Haugen July 13, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Love the Stop..Hammock time picture!

Reply

Dave July 17, 2009 at 10:01 pm

Thanks – I expect it will be shots just like these which keep me motivated to travel again once I’m back to working a regular job.

Reply

Dave July 17, 2009 at 5:01 pm

Thanks – I expect it will be shots just like these which keep me motivated to travel again once I’m back to working a regular job.

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: