Jardín, Colombia
THE STORY
Four hours after leaving Medellín I stepped off a mini bus into the city center of Jardín, Colombia. I waited to receive my backpack from under the bus, strapped it on, and began walking towards a hostel named Sgt. Peppers. I walked across the main plaza in awe of not only the beautifully colorful cafes surrounding the square, but the multitude of older men in cream cowboy hats drinking coffee, or perhaps something stronger. Evening was approaching after all.
I walked a couple of blocks before stepping through the threshold of the hostel. I knew it was going to be a good one simply because it’s named after everyones favorite Beatles album. Once a private house, the first floor of the hostel was centered around a courtyard filled with plants basking in beautiful evening sunlight. I was lead upstairs to the second floor and into a dormitory flooded with natural light and with high wooden ceilings above. Just outside the dorm hung a beautiful white swing chair on a gorgeous balcony overlooking the courtyard below and the hills beyond the city.
I dumped my things neatly by my bed, grabbed my camera, sat in the swinging chair for a second, and then went for a walk around town. Instantly, Jardín was my favorite place in Colombia so far.
The air here was fresh and ever so slightly chilled. Evening light moved across vibrant green hills covered in coffee and banana farms that surrounded the quaint city. Though small, especially after Bogota and Medellín, I spent a couple hours walking around taking pictures. The streets of Jardín are lined with colorful homes, rad cars, many sweet dogs, and every so often the distant sound of horses lead by cowboys trotting along.
As the sky grew darker, the streets began to buzz with evening activities. My walk ended with some dinner at a cute little pizzeria, no queso of course. Not exactly the most Colombian meal, but the place had so many rave reviews I had to sample. The pizza was small but fresh and very delicious. Back at Sgt. Peppers I hung out with some hostel homies, nicely wrapping up my first day in Jardín.
The next day I spent the morning lounging on the balcony of Sgt. Peppers, enjoying the views and morning sunlight. I was enjoying myself so much a self portrait was apparently necessary, hence the very dorky picture above.
It felt amazing to be in the country, the air just smelt so good. Free from the big city’s lingering smell of diesel. I used to think I was a city person, but I'm not so sure anymore. At ten sharp I made moves towards a new plant based restaurant that had pancakes. Consoled Vegetal is the stylish creation of a lovely young couple and only just opened last June. Interestingly most vegan places I ate at in Colombia opened in June or July of last summer. If there is an entirely plant based restaurant in this tiny Colombian town, I think its safe to say the world is changing. Not only were the pancakes satisfying, but the whole vibe they have created was super chill. With soft white walls, lots of green plants, an open kitchen, and three circular whicker lights hanging over the bar, it could have been Brooklyn. I my true creature of habit way, I went back for lunch and had a lovely beans, rice, guacamole situation.
Unfortunately, I have misplaced most of my pictures of the two beautiful meals I had here, a rookie mistake. But I do have a little video of my pancakes.
I spent the rest of the day with a hostel homie from Belize.
We walked through the city, across a very large, yellow bridge, and into the surrounding farm lands. Desperate to dip our toes in a river at the bottom of the hills we snuck under some barbed wired into a pasture with two grazing cows. On the way to the river I made friends with one of the cows, who followed us down to the river.
We spent an hour or so climbing boulders and jumping from rock to rock until thunder in the distance interrupted our play. Several very dark clouds started moving towards us, so we walked quickly back to the hostel, making it just before the rain. A big storm occupied the late afternoon, giving permission to resume my position on the balcony.
In the evening I figured I should cook myself some dinner.
While I love experiencing and supporting local plant based restaurants, it’s not always easy on the travel budget. As much as I love a beautiful plant based restaurant, I also love checking out local markets with local produce. I put on my rain jacket and wandered around until I found a tiny fruit and vegetable store. I grabbed as many tiny yellow potatoes as I could carry, some avocados, a lime, a white onion, and some carrots for tomorrow.
Back at the hostel I boiled the potatoes until they started falling apart and then added them to sautéed onions. The little potatoes were so flavorful and turned the most beautiful soft yellow color, almost resembling eggs. I had heard about the delicious Andean potato and these little ones were particularly delicious. I topped my potato mash with avocado and a generous squeeze of lime, always lime. It was a simple but effective dinner.
After dinner I met an American dude heading to Salento the next day and decided to join him and his two french friends for the six hour bus ride. I could have easily stayed in Jardín for a week. Though small it had a classic Colombian feel, fresh air, beautiful views and delicious food. Highly recommend it if you find yourself in Colombia.