I was reintroduced to this country last year while travelling in Panama. Travellers couldn’t stop raving about the changes in the country in particular Bogota with the introduction of bi-cycle only days in the city centre, the ongoing development of Cartagena and the flushing out of corruption and general nastiness from the urban jungles and Amazon. Don’t get me wrong I’m not in a fuzzy daze about Columbia, but there is change going on in this country and I have an urge to see it for myself.

Even on a recent visit to Rosmarie my incredibly talented hairdresser couldn’t stop talking about her trip to Columbia, and she actually comes from there.The pineapple sauce on burgers instead of honey mustard has been firmly planted in my memory, along with freshly squeezed goats milk and brandy.

When Veronica Lucena emailed me about her company’s  Mesa de los Santos (Table of Saints) new boutique hotel Hacienda el Roble, I was intrigued. Usually hotels and accommodations don’t feature on my list, that’s what travel guidebooks are for, but this hotel differed. From what I can see, from what I’ve read and questions I’ve asked Veronica, Mesa de los Santos is an authentic organic, bio friendly, Smithsonian certified, Rainforest Alliance certified coffee plantation where tree frogs are happy, workers (some 500 plus migrants) get paid above minimum wages and produces some of the finest Colombian coffee around. This plantation is not small, around 300 hectares of caffeine and the hotel is located right in the middle.

Visitors who love this sort of environment coupled with fresh cool mountain air, good local food like cabrita (goat) and pepitoria (chicken stew), can kick back for a few days in unassuming luxury reminiscent of colonial years. The Hacienda is furnished with heavy dark wooden furniture, cow hide mats, terracotta tiled floors, and tropical fauna, giving a sense of rustic style complimentary to the coffee plantation outside.

For aspiring coffee experts, the hotel offers complimentary coffee tours on horseback if you like and cupping sessions (similar to wine tasting). Walkers can enjoy wandering through the numerous trails around the plantation and bird watchers can wake early to capture some of the country’s native and exotic bird life on audio, video or on camera.

Or you can wander through the courtyard gardens or take the view in from the from — all while drinking some of the freshest coffee around.

Green in more ways than one, I can imagine myself on one of these horses making my way through the trails heading over to a point where I can see the mountains in the distance (imagining I own the place!!) before toddling back to the hotel for a spot of dinner.

The hotel opened recently and has yet to set up and English website. But if Spanish is your thing then click here for more information on prices and a better gallery: Hacienda el Roble/Cafe Mesa

Details: The plantation is located close to the colonial town San Gil, within some of the most stunning scenery in Colombia, and an hour’s drive from Bucaramanga airport. Transport is also available upon request.

Caffeinated Traveller

This chain of coffee hubs hasn’t reached Starbuck proportions yet but it could well be on the way to kicking the triple shot caramel latte maker off the top of the list soon.

So, is Aroma Espresso Bar therapeutic?

Depending on your definition of therapeutic I guess. If wide clean space is your thing then this place is for you.

Branding is paramount and Aroma has made an art of serving quality despite the coffee chain label. Innovative surroundings, mood music, healthy food, consistently good coffee, consistently good staff and a social conscience make this café chain popular in its motherland.

by Cate

Naturally there are people who enjoy a small cosy artsy café to a spacious one, and there are those who don’t care where they drink.I fall into the first category but from time to time a wider cooler place can be more relaxing to sit in than a small crammed and often noisy one

The Aroma outlet in Sunny Isles looks relatively new, frequented by local residents who sit in hidden corners watching people as they come and go. Seating varies from outdoor tables, vinyl smothered but comfy looking chairs, bench seating for privacy and the usual large group set-up with tables and hard chairs.

Phrases and mottos that describe the foods and drinks available act as art on walls and pillars or reading material for the bored.

The coffee is a classic dark roasted blend with a gritty aftertaste.  Watch out if you order a macchiato, a light spoonful of foam was exchanged for some heavy handed froth. I had to spoon most of it off before I could drink the coffee.

But I did like the palette sweetner — carefully branded of course.

by Cate

Prices are standard, this is a good café chain to come out of a world of bad coffee chains. Food is available including a wide range of salads. Coffee is sourced from over the world and I’m guessing tea ranks high on the quality list as well.

by Cate

Transport is limited to this part of Miami, you will need your own vehicle or take a taxi. If you want to try out a different place and you happen to be around here it is worth visiting, but I wouldn’t recommend taking a bus for the sole purpose of trying out this place.

Update: This information was ever so kindly given to me by a reader.

“There is transportation to this area with the Miami metro bus. Both Route S and H stops at 163rd and Collins which is 60 second walk to the cafe”.

Address: 150 Sunny Isles Blvd Sunny Isles, FL 33160. Parking is free!

Caffeinated Traveller

“Good fences make good neighbours.”

On Palm Beach Island this has been taken to the max where fences give way to lush green hedges metres high, perfectly pruned and shaped some like little maids all in a row, well… maybe not so little.

by Cate

Hedges mean privacy for the residents living on the island, which is often flooded with voyeurs vying for a glimpse into priviledge and wealth.

Apart from the small but exclusive shopping centre, several strips of sand and golf courses, there really is nothing to see on this island of wealth, but if you’re into hedges this place has rich pickings.

by Cate

There is also very little in the way of sidewalks, I suspect it’s to deter pedestrians from infilitrating the Palm Beach scene. On the other hand when a sidewalk is available, it is a great place to wander around: no groups taking over the sidewalk, cyclists racing past you or caller yelling down a phone. The island is the place to go for some peace. Just you and the hedges.

by Cate

So Robert Frost was right and incredibly insightful. Substitute fences for hedges and you have a good neighbour: tall, colourful, private, quiet. These leafy neighbours don’t judge or gossip. Perfect!

by Cate

Caffeinated Traveller

So who was Moko? He was a local celebrity, living around the warm waters off the North Island’s East Coast in a place unknown to millions called Mahia Bay

Moko was a popular icon because of his friendly and at times annoying game playing but most importantly, his trust in humans. Moko was a bottle nosed dolphin who frequented the waters around Mahia Bay, played with swimmers and thrilled beach goers for a brief but fulfilling time. His playful antics did at times go overboard, like a child in need of attention, Moko kept one swimmer in the water for hours, only to leave her stranded in need of rescue,

Playfulness aside, Moko’s most spectacular stint was his ability to guide two stranded pygmy sperm whales from a shallow sandbar back into deep water. This dolphin rocked in every way possible.

Via NZPA

Moko wasn’t the only celebrity to grace its finned presence in the warmer waters off New Zealand’s North Island. Opo found fame during the summers of 1955/56.  She too was a bottlenose dolphin that like to play and enjoy human contact, which in the end accidentally killed her.

Via TEARA.govt

New Zealand’s affiliation with Dolphins

The ocean waters around New Zealand are rich in marine and sea life: seals love to bask on the rocky outcrops away from prying eyes, sperm and pilot whales feed off its southern waters, the occasional pod of orcas drop in for a layover and colossal squid grow to mind-boggling proportions in the deep Pacific.

These coastal waters are also home to a group of small dolphins, native to New Zealand called Hector dolphins, and to a subspecies called Maui dolphins which are reported as being the rarest (110 last count) and the smallest dolphins in the world.

via TEARA.govt

via WWF

My affiliation with these wonderful creatures has always been from a distance. While I don’t believe in swimming with dolphins unless the mammal initiates the act I have enjoyed watching them dance alongside the bow of the ferry as it sails through the Marlborough Sounds and I’ve taken great delight from seeing a mother and her two children play in the shallow waters one early summer morning in Jackson Bay’s (Haast) isolated shoreline.

Moko has gone, his memory will remain in the form of a statue of monument, and with any luck in the future, another Moko will take his place.

Caffeinated Traveller

I’m sure these nasty digits will also be lurking throughout Europe waiting for to make their move. So what can a person do when the crowded concrete city becomes too warm under foot? Not much actually. Sit under the air conditioner and hope like crazy it doesn’t fall apart; or get out some of those travel shots taken in places, where three digit temperatures don’t exist, and dream.

Right now I am dreaming of being in Panama’s Boquete region. Close to Costa Rica’s border and inland from the oppressive heat and humidity found around Panama’s coastal regions. Boquete offers cool nights and warm days — no air conditioner required.

Boquete town sits around a boulder strewn river that winds its way from the surrounding hills through the township before heading to the sea.  I was lucky to stay close to the river when I visited this place last year. Its cooling waters acted as a natural air conditioner and sleep machine.

by Cate

Hostel Boquete backs onto the river, offers private rooms and one of the best back yards in the area.

by Cate

I’m also am imagining rubbing a brass lamp and having a one-sided conversation to a rotund gregarious genie.

“I wish to be transported back to Boquete in Panama where the coffee is superb, the locals friendly (not all but enough), the climate is near perfect and best of all, there are mountains to climb….”

by Cate

Where do you wish to be right now?

Caffeinated Traveller