The 4 and a half hour bus journey from Medellin to Manizales actually took 6 and a half. A combination of dodgy roads and police patrols meant that we were a little cranky when we arrived.

That being said we took a taxi to Golden Frog Hostel.

Abi’s Rating: 7/10 – “Bed was like a rock but we actually slept very well. Good social areas and nice sofas”.

Mike’s Rating: 7/10 – It was genuinely the hardest mattress I have ever seen but we did sleep really well so maybe that is the future!

When we were at University, one of our lecturers set up a penpal initiative. Naturally I was far too busy to participate but Abi did and she was given the details of a Colombian student in Manizales.

Fast forward 6 years and, after dumping our bags in the hostel, we were waiting on a street corner for Erika to pick us up!

She arrived with her husband Diego and (extremely cute) 18 month old daughter Celeste.

They very kindly drove us around Manizales so that we could get a flavour of the city.

We were taken to a stunning viewpoint overlooking the valleys and farmlands below. We were also treated to obleas (a sort of wafer style thing with fruit flavouring and nuts…real tasty!)

They love Christmas in Colombia and even though it was the 15th November they were already in the spirit (I was not impressed)!

Diego and Erika were excellent tour guides and very knowledgeable about the history of Manizales (Diego grew up there). We loved being driven around and given the local insight!

We bade them farewell and went for a light dinner. Whether it was due to tiredness, (or the struggle with the Colombian accent) I do not know, but we somehow managed to order. Fried plantain with cheese and ketchup…it was rancid!

It pretty much rained non stop for the next two days and so we didn’t really get to explore the city as much as we would have liked.

In fact we had a complete rest day and felt much better for it. Our only action came when attempting to buy Colombian sim cards and it was high drama.

The young chap serving us spoke so quickly that we were reduced to quizzical looks and occasional nods. In fact we had almost signed on the dotted line of a contact before we realised what was going on and duly aborted. Instead we eventually managed to opt for a simple pay as you go deal!

We had a wonderful lunch at La Suiza cafe which served some delightful cakes. I was so excited to take into my chocolate dream cake and when it arrived my mouth was watering.

Why o WHY do people put orange in chocolate cakes. It is ridiculous and made me very sad! (Abi found it highly amusing).

There was just enough time for Abi to do a little bit of trouser/legging shopping before we battened down the hatches for the evening and ordered take away pizza as the rain hammered down outside.

The following day Erika and Diego invited us to lunch at their house and we were treated to some traditional Colombian cuisine.

Diego had to return to work but in the afternoon Erika and Celeste took us on a trip around the city’s cablecar network.

The plan was to explore the hilltop town of Villamaría but the incessant rain put paid to that plan and instead we resorted to eating ice cream!

In the evening we decided to make use of the hotel facilities by making some pasta and supplementing it with a mango and banana fruit salad.

Only a short blog this time as our time in Manizales was somewhat scuppered by the rain!

Next Stop: Buenavista, Finca Alsacia and two weeks of working on a Coffee farm!