Eco-Zone Explorers

Day 1 IN / BOGOTA
Arrival and reception by our team in Bogotá.
Transfer to the hotel
Night at the hotel

Juan Valdez in Bogata is as Common as Starbucks in Vancouver

Day 2 BOGOTA
Breakfast Buffet
In the morning City Tour is a three-hour excursion that visits the colonial area of “ La Candelaria “, the historical center of the city. It is the oldest part of the Capital, where we find museums, restaurants and cultural institutions. Then, we visit the Bolivar Square, the heart of the city, surrounded by buildings of various styles and periods, such as the Cathedral, the Chapel of El Sagrario, the Cardinal’s Palace and the Capitolio or Congress Building. Behind the latter, is the Nariño Palace, home of the Presidency. The majority of the most representative colonial buildings, with their typical balconies, are located to the east. We continue on to the Gold Museum that boasts a collection of more than 25,000 pieces of pre-Columbian manufacture, a unique display of its kind in the world. Then ascent in Cable car or Funicular to the Sanctuary of Monserrate.

Day 3  BOGOTA/ZIPAQUIRA / VILLA DE LEYVA
Breakfast Buffet
Morning departure from Bogotá toward Zipaquira. The town is primarily known for its Salt Cathedral, an underground church built inside a salt deposit in a tunnel made as result of the exploitation of the salinas (salt mines). Zipaquirá has a very interesting architecture, and the old city centre is a touristic attraction. Its main square is surrounded by old buildings in the Spanish Colonial style.
Lunch not included
Continue on to the province of Boyaca and the city of Tunja. This present day collge town is still intersteing due to its remants of colonial Spain and it is considered to be one a festival city in Colombia. We continue further to the Villa of Leyva. The town is located some 40 km west of Tunja and has a population of about 4,000 people.
Villa de Leyva is considered one of the finest colonial villages of Colombia, and was declared a National Monument in December 17, 1954 to preserve its architecture. It is located in a high altitude valley at 2,144 m altitude where fossils from the Mesozoic and the Cretaceous abound. It was founded in June 12, 1572 by Hernán Suarez de Villalobos and named alter the first president of the New Kingdom of Granada, Andrés Díaz Venero de Leyva.
Night at the hotel hotel EL DURUELO**** or Similar

Day 4 VILLA DE LEYVA/BOGOTA
American Breakfast
Deaprt to Village of Ráquira. Ráquira is famous in Colombia for its colony of artisans, who produce traditional northern Andean pottery & hand-woven goods. One can find dinnerware, mate cups, figurines and the well-known “chivas,” which are little cars decorated with animals and fruits that are very typical of our country. Nearby the Candelaria desert is has a beautiful Augustinian monastery, perhaps the oldest that is preserved in the center of the country, founded in l.602.
Return to Bogotá.
Night in the hotel

Day 5 BOGOTA /ARMENIA
Breakfast Buffet
This morning you transfer to the airport to take the flight toward Armenia, one of the three coffee growing centres of Colombia. Upon arrival you will take a trip to Salento and the magnificent Cocora valley, and whose municipality of Salento is a top touristic destination famous for its guadua crafts and furniture (the strong native bamboo cane), its art galleries and its fame for being the bohemian centre of regional artists. Tourists and hikers walk from here to reach the spectacular views of the Nevados peaks, the crystalline waters of the river Quindio, channels of rocks tinged with the vegetation and cradle of the Wax palm Colombia’s “National Tree. From here we head to the Finca EL DELIRIO (coffee farm) or Similar
Night in the Farm

Day 6ARMENIA / NATIONAL PARK OF THE COFFEE/ARMENIA
Typical breakfast of the Region
Today we leave for Montenegro and the National Park of the Coffee, a kind of coffee theme park. You will have a full day here day to enjoy the attractions like National Museum of the Coffee, the bamboo forest, an indigenous cemetery, a gondola ride, the coffee train, an animatronic show of the orchids, mountain scenery and more.
Lunch not included
In the afternoon return to the farm hotel
Night in the farm

Day 7  ARMENIA /BOGOTA
Typical breakfast of the Region
A hour suitable transfer to the airport to take the flight toward Bogotá, transfer to hotel. Balance of day free.

Day 8  ARMENIA /BOGOTA
American breakfast
At the appropriate time transfer to the airport to take the flight from Bogotá.

A couple of years ago I was in Costa Rica and I was enchanted by a tour that was offered by one of our ecolodges: The Tropical Chocolate Tour. Well how could you resist?

We took off from La Tirimbina centre and over to their private reserve on an island in the Sarapiqui River, swinging suspended bridge and all. We walked along rainforest paths leading to an old plantation. Here we discovered the quite suprising way that chocolate starts out.

The cacao tree forms pods, not unlike a squash. The pod is made up of a fairly thick and fleshy portion and inside are seeds about the size of marbles. The texture is all a little bit slimy. But wait..there’s more. The smell is not what you expect, kind of pungent and sourish, but within this complex set of aromas is the hint of what will come later.

The seeds are taken out and laid into flat trays where they ferment. This is when the magic starts. That slimy kind of pungent goo on the seeds goes through a biological reaction with microorganisms that actually creates the taste of chocolate. Once they have reached a ripe enough state, the seeds are roasted and this step creates all the compelxity of the taste of cocoa. The aroma in the roasting room is warm and exquisite and makes one think of the Mexican book Like Water for Chocolate, or the movie Chocolat. (Just as an aside, the word chocolate comes from the Nahuatl word xocolatl, the language of the Aztecs).

At this point in the tour you start to get to the interactive part. You are given another ancient tool, a mortar and pestle and you begin to hand grind mill the seeds into a warm paste. A little cinnamon and sugar are added and OMG, you have a very tasty snack of pure chocolate. The seeds are very fatty and contain the cocoa butter which makes the product we all love.

There’s a great deal more information on wikipedia if you are wanting more, but this is far better in real life. This guided program became a standard in all the tours we offer in this part of Costa Rica. You can find them on the tours page of the website.