Manizales is one of the towns that I had not visited in Colombia, so I decided to catch the night bus there from Bogota. The Bogota bus terminal is well organised and has many buses leaving to every location imaginable. I spoke to Marta, my friend from there, and organised for the best bus, bus cama, at 1130 pm, to arrive at about 7 am. Now bus camas in Peru, Central America etc actually fold down into a bed – not in colombia. They are a 3-4 bed, but are made for colombians – ie very small. That with the twisting roads and homicidal driver, it made for a poor nights sleep – so much for my money saving plans. All up though was good value at 34,000 pesos, about 15 USD.

I arrived at the Manizales terminal and caught a taxi to the hotel that was in the guide book, Consul one. It turned out to be 2 minutes away -. anyway, when i learn to read a map I wont have to worry about those mistakes jajaja.

The hotel was OK, but with an awsome shower (a rare thing in colombia), and cost me 20,000 pesos. It is right next to Plaza Bolivar where all the churches are etc and there is a huge statue of a naked winged bolivar that is quite speccy – u can even see it in my photos. I had a walk around, a nap and then decided to go to Neira, which is a small pueblo about 30 minutes away (Thats a Colombian 30 minutes so is actually about a Steve ((ie proper)) 45 minutes).

It is a very scenic drive through the mountains – this is the coffee growing region and it is very beautiful.The town was very small and my bus cost me 2700 pesos. It has a main square and painted shops-houses. I had a walk around and then walked 3 km back towards Manizales to eat at a restaurant we passed on the way. It had a great view and I had a local soup – see picture jaja, with rice that was very tasty.

I waited there for the bus but they were always full and kept passing me. Hence the wlak back to the town. Luckily one picked me up a shor while later. You can also see in the photos the little jeeps they use as taxis. They fill them up to the max so that they have people hanging off every corner, sort of indonesian style.

I arrived back in Manizales and decided to walk the town.It is a VERY hilly place with the epicentre built along a ridge line. I walked for about 3 km, to the El Cable. This is the reconstruction of one of the towers that was used last century to ship the coffee. It was actually designed by an Australian – go aussies – in the 1920´s and used fo many years. The tower that is in the park, was made here out of wood, as the actual one was sank by the nasty Germans on its way over in WW1.

This area turned out to be the really nice area of town – so lucky i made the ffort – it is the Zona Rosa (Red Zone). Dont get ur panties ina knocker, as for some strange reason the red zones in colombia are the best upper market areas, not the red zones in for eg Europe and Australia where it means full of hookers!!!. I did a bit of research and found out that there was a hostel near here called Mountain House. I eventually found it, and it was in a fantastic location, and run by two ladies from medellin. I booked a single room for 32,000 pesos. Its a nice set up. I headed to a bar close by that night, and there met Laura.

Dont worry, it wasnt cause of my good looks that we met. I was wearing an Australian shirt and her friend is going to study in Australia in a few weeks and wanted info on the country jajaja. Anyway, like I had been told, the people here are among the friendliest in Colombia (and thats saying something for Colombia). Really great people, and the women, as always, stunning here.

They told me about some termales (hot springs) nearby called Otono, and offered to show me the next day. Great. The next day we met at the cable memorial and off we went.It was a 10,000 peso taxi ride to the termales and they were really great. They were different from the ones I had been to before,which were more natural, but the place has a great set up as you can see from the photos. Nice pastel rooms and the pools. Entry was 25,000 pesos and the lunch, a mixturte of meats was 20,000.

That afternoon we returned and Laura took me to the area of the lookout. It has spectacular views of the city and surrounds,and people paraglide off the hilltop. There are bars and restaurants there and also the staue memorial to the founding fathers of the city. A great place.She bought me a typical sweet called an odeo, which is full of sweet arequipa and coconut – delicious.

All is all, Manazailes is a great city with spectacular views and friendly people. I recommed a visit. It is also near to Periera and Armenia – two also very nice cities.

jajaj my friend just told me the soup is called Mondongo suop , incase you were stressing over that fact!!!