I thought my first day in Santa Rosa couldn't get any crazier but then Pablo told me we were going to take a drive out to a natural reserve. When we first got into Santa Rosa, we met up with Pablo's friend Jhonda. Jhonda and Pablo went to school together in Medellin, both studied environmental issues. Jhonda now works for the government of Santa Rosa. He was the brains behind setting up all the screenings. After the discussion with the school children, Jhonda showed up in a government truck (with a driver!!!) and Pablo and I hopped in. We drove for about 20 minutes outside of town then came to a crazy dirt road. We preceded to blast up some really really crazy terrain, stopping a few times along the way to look at some of the eco issues facing the area.
After about 30 minutes bouncing along the dirt road we ended up at "La Sierra Reserve." Pretty much it was a organic farm in the middle of the country side. A woman named Lilly lives there, grows crops, creates art and just lives off the land. There was also a British guy named Andy, who has been living in Colombia since the early 90s. Both were incredibly nice, feeding us and constantly handing us Tintos (or small black espresso like, but slightly weaker, coffees). Being a lover of all types of coffee, I really enjoyed the "tintos" in Santa Rosa.
By the time we got settled it was dark. We still went for an hour walk throughout the reserve. Luckily there was still pretty much a full moon. After the walk we returned to the house, drank more coffee, ate more food and hung out. The house was amazing and it was an art director's dream. Very visual everywhere you looked and with interesting "props" all over.
We hung out at La Sierra Reserve for a good few hours and then finally headed back into town. Between the school children and the natural reserve, the first day in Santa Rosa is up there with my favorite travel experiences so far. Right next to traveling with Obama and the 2006 Olympics.
Jhonda and driver.
Trying to shoot photos while driving on this road was tough. Trust me!
Overlooking a spot where deforestation could be seen.
Pablo and Jhonda discussing environmental issues.
En route to La Sierra Reserve.
The house at La Sierra Reserve. Very simple design, but very artistic.
Taking a walk with tintos in hand.
Andy, Pablo and Lilly.
Lilly showing us some of her work.
Everything in the house had some much texture and color. I loved it.
Jhonda, one of the nicest and funniest people in the world. I would like to return to Santa Rosa just to hang out with him again.
This is about 5 times bigger then my Moka pot.
Art and Coffee, I liked this place.
Some of the "props" around the place.
Jhonda putting on some good old classic rock.