Armenia is located in a valley between two mountain ranges that are part of the Andes. The elevation of that valley was lower than Bogotá, but still fairly high. The region has the perfect mixture of soil, sun, and rain to produce coffee. Colombian coffee is considered one of the best in the world, so we learned all about it here. We also went to an area that contained wax palms, the tallest palm trees on the planet at over 150’. We stayed in the Hotel Mocawa, which was a quaint, brightly-colored hotel, but it had a great game room and pool for the kids, and restaurant and bar for the adults.

Armenia

3/14/25—3/23/25

We had one last breakfast at the Sofitel before it was time to leave Bogotá. It was St. Patrick’s Day, and we weren’t the only ones dressed in green. Yohany dressed by accident, but Summer-Rose wore her socks on purpose. We got to the Bogotá airport and boarded our Avianca plane. The flight was only about a half hour in the air, over a range on the Andes. We landed in the rain and boarded a bus, where we were introduced to our local expert, Jeorge. Yohany was also from this region, so they both proudly spoke of it as we made our way to a farm and its outdoor dining area. We saw some beautiful birds eating in the rain, and soon we had our own delicious food to eat.

The region was all about coffee, though, so after lunch we went into another hut and learned about the Aribica coffee beans. We sampled the difference between a really good bean, and one that was less than perfect. Colombia exports primarily the excellent beans and it’s actually difficult to get a really good cup of coffee in the country. The rain was gone, so we took another group photo in front of the farmhouse. Next, we moved into another area where we got a great glimpse of the plantation. We sat in a room and learned how every plant has a purpose, including bamboo, which is made into baskets. All coffee in Colombia is hand-picked, and they place them in baskets while they work the field.

After a restroom break, we split into two groups and started trekking through the plantation. Yohany and Jeorge taught us why the valley was perfect for coffee, because of the soil, the sun, the rain, and the animals that help pollinate and disperse seeds. We walked through the rough terrain and saw banana and plantain trees, too. We ended in a hut to make coffee mugs and drink more coffee.

After a long day of travel and hiking, we made it to the Hotel Mocawa, a quaint, colorful, hotel that unfortunately had a plumbing problem when we got there. We eventually all made it to the open-air restaurant and Disney made up for a lack of hotel water, by giving us alcohol. It was a fun meal with our new friends.

The breakfast buffet at the Mocawa wasn’t as good as the one at the Sofitel, but we ate and then got on another bus. We drove through Armenia and out to Cocora Valley. There was a private park in the valley that Yohany worked at when he wasn’t a tour guide. He immediately told us about how this valley was home to the wax palm, the world’s tallest palm tree at upwards of 150’. We saw the palms all around the lush green valley, and even though it was overcast, it was all beautiful.

 

After a group photo on a jeep, and a couple photos of just us, we began walking up the hillside. We saw more palms, flycatchers, one of the smallest orchids on the planet, and a treehouse that the kids thoroughly enjoyed.

 

We then sat on a fallen palm tree log and discovered that Lin-Manuel Miranda was brought to this very valley and sat on this very tree, getting inspired before he started writing the songs for Encanto. As we sat there, a man came down the hill with a donkey. He looked just like Juan Valdez. Sure enough, we were told the story of the coffee pickers and what there life was… and still is… like working in the region. All along, Jeorge was still very conscious of Madeline and her walking struggles. I went with most of the group further up the hill, taking a photo next to two of the tall trees. Meanwhile, Madeline went back to the main building.

 

 

We went to another open-air restaurant that had the largest plantain chips we had ever seen. Afterwards, we walked around and planted our own wax palms. When asked to give our trees a name, all I could come up with was Amaya. Next we went to Sorento, a small town with colorful buildings and a nice plaza in front of the church. We went into a bar and learned how to play Tejo, which is sort of like cornhole, only you throw heavy pucks into a board of mud, trying to hit the gunpowder chips in the center.

 

We ended the day with an outdoor asado dinner, or barbeque. The food was excellent, including the special chocolate dessert they brought Madeline. We finished the night closing the bar with our friends.