Day 9- Last day in the south- Filandia (17/7/25)

 

My plan to take the Jeep from the main square of Salento to Filandia fell at the first hurdle. I did not anticipate that there would be many people making the 30 minute ride to the next town. However, when I arrived at the kiosk at 1100, I was told that the next available ticket was at 4pm. I wanted to get to Filandia and enjoy as much of it as I could so I ditched that plan and ordered an Uber instead.

I was taken to Filandia by Jhon, who was glad that I spoke English because he wanted to practice with me. Jhon is an aircraft mechanic at Armenia airport, but does some driving on his days off. He told me all about the area and asked me what I thought about Colombia. Like just about everyone else I have spoken to here, he loves the country and would never leave, despite knowing that his skills could earn him a lot more money in the US or Europe. “Why would I leave this beautiful country?”, he said. I kind of see his point. We talked about so much in that 30 minute journey.

As we entered Filandia, we were flagged down by an armed police officer. He grabbed his phone from the dashboard and threw it into the glove compartment; not wishing to be identified as an Uber driver. “My name is Jhon, you are Andrew, we are friends and I am giving you a lift, ok? Actually, don’t say anything, I will do the talking”.
The police officer came over, pumped Jhon’s fist and joyfully wished him a good day. It was like two friends meeting. They spoke briefly before Jhon gave his name and National ID number. The officer looked in at me. Jhon told him said, words to the effect of “this is Andrew, he’s from England”. The officer politely smiled and said hello, then waved us on. As security checkpoints go, this was a very relaxed event.

The central plaza in Filandia is somewhat similar to Salento, but more relaxed. The whole of Filandia is just a more chilled version of Salento. I sat in the park in the centre of the square, under a palm tree to escape the hot midday sun. Parks are such an important place in Colombia, people sit and relax, maybe chat to a friend or simply have a coffee. I do wonder why we don’t have so many places like this in the UK.

Shortly, I was joined by an elderly gentleman who I subsequently found out was called Leonardo. He spoke to me with very good English as he has lived in Miami for many years, but still visits his home town of Filandia as often as he can.

The hotel La puesta del sol (meaning sunset) is a cute place that has an incredible view from the terrace over the surrounding hills and mountains. The host, Hugo also speaks very good English and gave me some recommendations of places to eat, and where to get the bus back to Pereira.

This is the most relaxed that I have been for a very long time. Everything about this area is just perfect. Hugo did tell me that it is unusually hot this year and that this a concern for everyone. The temperate climate is important for coffee production, so the lack of rain will inevitably have an impact.

I watched the sun set from the terrace with a beer, then went to a local restaurant for my evening meal. As trout is a local speciality, I decided that I should have that; a good choice as it turned out, it was lovely. The restaurant was obviously at the upper end of the market, it was the most that I have paid for a single meal so far (£13, including a beer).

Tomorrow, I am getting the bus back to Pereira, then a flight to Cartagena. And that will be the end of part 2 of my trip, and my last day in the south, until I return to Bogota before going home.