Today I woke up in Shire. At least it felt as it, as I spent the night in a mud house. It pretty much could have been Frodo's house in Lord of the Rings.
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| The mud house |
Out on the porch at 6 am, I faced the view of a a lush valley with trees of mandarin, orange and coffee, while the sun slowly rose over the mountains and exposed Cachipay, the village on the other side.
We arrived yesterday to this very special finca, and believe it or not, but the house was built entirely of clay, and its shapes were similar to the works of the Spanish architect Gaudí; not a single even line. Even the mosaic was in place.
The constructor and architect, my guide's friend with the coolest name ever, don Segundo, had no idea who Gaudí was. But this was not his first mud house, he had also built a mud mansion, a much bigger one than this, in Villa de Leyva, a village a few hours away. He showed me pictures on his cell phone as proof.
"Did you have foreign journalists visiting you?" I asked. Yes he did. He even said that they shot an American film in the mud mansion. I'll believe that when I see the film...
The mud house where I spent the night is situated a 40 minute meandering walkway from the village Anolaima. I know this because I made the trek yesterday, here and there being chased by barking dogs.
The constructor and architect, my guide's friend with the coolest name ever, don Segundo, had no idea who Gaudí was. But this was not his first mud house, he had also built a mud mansion, a much bigger one than this, in Villa de Leyva, a village a few hours away. He showed me pictures on his cell phone as proof.
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| Wild mandarin |
The mud house where I spent the night is situated a 40 minute meandering walkway from the village Anolaima. I know this because I made the trek yesterday, here and there being chased by barking dogs.
Later in the afternoon yesterday we took a dip in the village pool, which was deserted but reasonably clean and gifted with a great view of the sourrounding valley. On the other side of the valley was a mountain top where a small lonely house seemed to be glued to the steep slope. Why have a house up there? I guess the view makes it worth it.
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| Mosaic stairs in the mud house |
Later we visited another finca, owned by a German university professor who had lived in the area for 20 years. The relatively small house and lot were well extremely well taken care of and the interior looked like it would fit in Architectural Digest. In the garden flaunted rows of coffee, bananas and oranges. The finca was on sale for 196 million pesos (120,000 USD). I thought it was pretty expensive but my guide got excited and started dreaming.
Everybody we talked to in this area was very friendly and it felt as a safe area to visit. I was told this region hadn't suffered from the civil war, which probably makes a difference.
Everybody we talked to in this area was very friendly and it felt as a safe area to visit. I was told this region hadn't suffered from the civil war, which probably makes a difference.
After enjoying a breakfast of coffee and eggs in the adjacent village Cachipay today we took the bus to Bogotá and then I ended my little vacation and took off to Medellín.
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