coffee country – Raw Travel TV Blog

We woke up early (are you sensing a theme here?) to head to the San Vicente Termales (Thermals), a beautiful, eco-touristic retreat about 1 and ½ hours outside of Pereira. We were met by Laura (our film student assistant) and Alexa, our bi-lingual guide that had been recommended to us and we had met the night before.

The terrain of the winding road was really rough from the rains with the small rental car bottoming out numerous times, but the scenery was incredible.

River that flows through San Vicente Termales

We arrived in a dreamland of exotic foliage, waterfalls and ponds (thermals) with steam wafting from them.

The first thing we did was to take a hike and after Renzo fell and barely escaped pitching into the rolling rapids (along with the camera) we realized tennis shoes were NOT the right footwear for trekking in these parts, so if you go, wear boots!

Alexa and I then did a canopy, the 2^nd canopy ride in my life (all in the past week) across an incredible landscape of greenery and trees whizzing by and below. I did mine superman style which is laying belly towards the ground and going face first. Very cool!

We then hit the thermals and it was like a really, really warm bath outside in the mountain air surrounded by trees, flowers and the sound of nature. It was incredible and naturally heated from the nearby and (I hope!) inactive volcano.

We broke for a delicious lunch and the owner, who is a well known expert on the healing power of thermals and somewhat of a celebrity in these parts, pulled out a crystal to read all of our energy. All but one of us had negative energy, so one by one he fixed us up.

After lunch it began to rain but thankfully that passed and we were able to continue shooting my favorite part, which is getting buried up to our faces in hot volcanic sand, followed by a Turkish bath, an invigorating but painfully cold water rinse from a natural spring and then we hit the thermal spas again.

This combination supposedly opens your pores and allows the natural minerals to get inside, healing you from the stress of life from the inside out. I don’t know about all that but I will tell you I felt like I could sleep for a week afterwards.

But wait, there was more. Then we were given mud baths from the natural algae pools. The greenish mud didn’t smell great but it was warm and gooey and afterwards my skin has never felt so soft, like a baby’s behind!

One of the many naturally warmed pools of San Vicente (75-80 degrees)

The drive back was exquisite with the sun setting over coffee country. A magical day thanks to the hospitality of the people from the San Vicente Termales. If you’re ever in coffee country you really should check them out and their overnight accommodations are both charming and reasonably priced. You can find out more about them at their website HERE.

Some of the beautiful flora of San Vicente

Renzo and I grab a late dinner and discuss our progress and give feedback to each other. So far so good and how could I complain after a whole day of pampering?

I think I’m beginning to dig this job!

Check out more beautiful photos from San Vicente Termales HERE

We woke up early to take the 5 hour or so bus ride to Pereira. The bus was big and comfortable and we made a couple stops to eat along the way so the time passed surprisingly fast.

After we pulled into the Pereira bus terminal we were met by Renzo’s friend Laura, a local film student who had agreed to help us out on our shoots while we were in town. We were glad for the help and she was glad to get some real world experience in her field.

After checking into the hotel in the central part of town, we rushed out to the rental car agency because Pereira was really just our home base and most of our shoots were an hour or so outside of town.

After renting a decent sized vehicle we headed over to the Villa Martha Coffee Finca (ranch). The drive was absolutely stunning as we climbed the mountainous terrain and the weather thankfully held out. We arrived late afternoon, a perfect time for shooting.

Javier, the owner of Villa Martha met us and, appropriately enough, offered us some of his home grown, organic coffee. I found out later that almost all of the best Colombian coffee is exported to places like the U.S. and Europe, with the worst quality held back for sale in Colombia locally. Not so with Javier’s coffee, it was extremely fresh, just picked and processed days before and I can honestly say was the best coffee I think I’ve ever tasted (and trust me, I’ve drank a lot of coffee over the years) .

Javier doesn’t speak much English, but I instantly liked him and we built a good rapport as we shot a few on-air segments with Renzo shooting camera, and simultaneously translating my English questions to Spanish for Javier and Javier’s answers to English for me. Not an easy job even without the worries of shooting camera!

DSCN0403_JPG — Villa Martha Accomodations

The Villa Martha Coffee finca (farm) is relatively small and the sole purpose is tourism. The coffee it grows is sold exclusively to tourists and those who come to the finca specifically to buy the coffee. The accommodations are rustic but beautiful and run around $30-$50 US Dollars per night, depending on the season. There is also a nice pool out back, tiny hummingbirds and colorful butterflies all over the place. All in all, it looks like a very relaxing and tranquil place to vacation and I was bummed we weren’t going to be spending the night.

We met one young European guest who was in the middle of an epic motorcycle journey from Alaska to the tip of Argentina! He had some great stories to tell but since he’s hoping to write a book about them someday I won’t steal his thunder.

We wrapped up the shoot and headed back to Pereira just as it was getting dark. I felt really good about the shoot today. I sure hope tomorrow that the Termales (Thermal Spas) will offer more of the same.