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Saturday October 26, 2019
Tom was supposed to bring the car and pick us up at 7am but he was 1/2 hour late, which is OK, because John was also surprisingly late being ready. Free coffee at the hostel was a Godsend. It was then that I admired the beautiful wall mural in the dining room, as well as the 3 bulletholes in the main window.
Tom messaged me at 7am saying he would be late and then "Did you feel that?". I knew he was referring to a small earthquake that no, we did not feel, but he would experience a sway 10 stories up... It must have been under 2.5 because it did not register on the earthquake sites.
We went to a high street nearby to try to get a view of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano before it gets socked in in cloud. Because we were late getting away we were unsuccessful, however by the magic of photo processing, I think that we actually did see its plume of smoke.
Next stop was back at Chipre and Tom bribed the guard to let us in to see the Monument To The Colonists.
This sprawling artwork was made from donations of metal, everything from spoons to jewelry as a cooperative effort. The detail is amazing everwhere, and they have one bull carrying a miniature donkey, and another carrying a whole miniature town with magnificent church. Because of the way it is structured down a hill, it is hard to get a good angle to accurately show it all. It certainly is a must-see spot in Manizales. Bear in mind that I do my utmost to remove distractions from such photos that are not in keeping with the theme (i.e. light posts, benches, neighbouring homes, etc). That is extremely time-consuming.
The views from Chipre are terrific. From here you can enjoy panoramic views of Manizales and 10 other towns in the Coffee Zone. Of course there are mobile sales of coffee, food and trinkets along the road. The others stopped at this guy making metal wire art and he truly was a master. John bought us each our own individual gift (me, the photographer) and Cristina picked up a few for gifts.
We drove Tom back to the KIA dealership, then home, and we departed Manizales. We took a leisurely drive through coffee country, Santa Rosa, Chinchina to Pereira. Apparently we miss a toll road that way. Again, the views of the green mountains and valleys are amazing.
We stopped at PriceSmart in Pereira and Cristina and I were walking away from the car, waiting for John who was not following for some reason. We stopped, John showed himself and beckoned us to come back. He had locked the keys in the car, we could see them clearly on the driver's seat.
We decided to go into the store, do our shopping quickly, and have lunch while I called my Insurer to see if they would provide me roadside assistance in someone' else's car. Our agent went to bat for me but no, it had to be in may car and they wouldn't send someone either, even if we promised to pay any fee.... So John bought coat hangers and found pieces of wood as wedges, and the security people provided a lantern. A few people stopped with advice and John tried all their keys to no avail. Initially John wasted a lot of time with weak wire trying to hook the door lock button. I suggested that he get a longer, stiffer wire to reach the unlock button in the center of the dash. Too short. We struggled with for about 90 minutes until John made a successful attempt at snagging the keys. He got them up onto one of the wood shims stuck in the door and we held our breath as the keys fell off the wire onto the wood and stayed... Whew! I really didn't think that he would be able to get that wad of keys, with the fob, through the narrow opening but he managed.... finally. A huge sigh of relief as the doors popped open, using the fob. I collected Cristina and our purchases above and off we went again for a very leisurely drive home.
We got home about 5 pm and I managed to work on the first 25 of almost 200 pictures until about 9pm then my eyes would not focus any more. Bed time for Bonzo.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.
Al
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If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook
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NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.
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| Panorama with Lumix of part of Manizales from Chipre |
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| Stunning pano showing the beauty of Colombia |
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| Great mountains, beautiful deep valleys |
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| Dining room mural at Mountain Hostel |
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| Hostel dining area, reception |
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| Lovely artwork in the mural |
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| Looking for the volcano |
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| Just above the power pole we can see the volcano's plume |
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| A better view |
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| You must look for this in the morning |
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| Volcano and earthquake country |
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| Gorgeous! |
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| New friend at Chipre viewpoint |
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| Our friend has a friend |
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| Views from Chipre are spectacular |
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| Coffee country |
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| The monument to the Colonists |
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| They look like goldpanners with shovels |
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| The detail is amazing |
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| Miniatures |
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| See the miniature mule on this ox |
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| Miniature cathedral of manizales |
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| Dr John looking for birds |
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| Cristina and Tom in the bamboo |
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| Bad shot of big bird |
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| Tom like to be a goof |
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| Seed pods on his ears |
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| Adding a nose warmer |
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| Intricate wire art |
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| Early morning fog really rolls in |
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| Colourful coffee seller |
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| Funny street mime |
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| Heading out into coffee country |
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| Leaving Manizales behind |
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| Mary. And cross between the trees. |
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| Entering coffee country |
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| Picturesque mountain home with palms, growing plantains. |
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| Genuine Colombian coffee beans |
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| So glad to have recovered the key(s) to continue home |
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| Little patches of rain |
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| Close to home |
