A Not-So-Secret Garden Town – December 2018
Jardin, just a four hour bus ride southwest from Medellin, is another popular vacation spot for Colombians. So of course we had to take an adventure to this quaint town that maintains its architectural character from 140 years ago and is surrounded by tropical forests. As you can assume from the name, the Jardin area is very green and is filled with banana trees, lemon trees, flowers, and coffee plantations. We spent two days exploring the pueblo of about 14,000 people and hiking to two beautiful viewpoints overlooking the town.
Plaza Principal – Jardin’s gathering place for locals and tourists is the main square which is surrounded by the large church, museum, and many restaurants with outdoor seating using brightly painted chairs. The focal point is the Basilica de la Immaculada Concepcion with its white mortar between brown stone bricks. Several times during our visit we relaxed on one of the very numerous benches to eat an ice cream cone, watch the local children play a friendly game of football, listen to elderly residents chat, or watch tourists take pictures of the beautiful flowers, sometimes-working fountain, and stately-looking church.
Around Town – This is another Colombian pueblo with colorful houses decorated with bright colored paint and potted flowers. We saw quite a few horses in the town carrying people or supplies. Jardin is known for its prancing horses with riders adorned in traditional hats. Many cowboys and cowgirls participate in the weekend horse prances around the central square. Unfortunately we missed this regular event because we returned to Medellin on Friday afternoon. However, we did hear and see two or three prancing horses with cowboys during our visit.
Cascada del Amor and La Garrucha – Our 3 kilometer hike to an old cable car began with a cobblestone path named Camino la Herrera. And our route continued on a gravel road along the Volcano River to Cascada del Amor. Next we conquered the steep part of our journey up to the viewpoint and arrived at a small house beside a cable car that looked well-used over the years. La Garrucha was constructed so that local farmers could easily transport coffee and other crops down the hill to sell in the town. As the operator locked us in the wooden gondola he assured us that the mechanical pulley cable system was safe. We had a great view of the town and river as we descended during the short ride to the terminal station. And we arrived with a very abrupt stop.
Cascada Escalerea and Cristo Rey – The main activity on our second day in Jardin was a two hour hike up to the larger waterfall and then on to the well-known white statue of Jesus overlooking the pueblo. Because of the warm, humid air, we especially enjoyed drinking cold fruit juices while talking with the proprietor at the cafe beside Cristo Rey. Fortunately she told us about a shorter, but steeper, way to return to the town square since we had limited time before our bus departed to Medellin.
