I once said that Salento was the most charming city so far in Colombia and that’s because I hadn’t been to Jardin yet!

Jardin (Colombia)

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I once said that Salento was the most charming city so far in Colombia and that’s because I hadn’t been to Jardin yet!

I arrived to Medellin before 5am on a night bus from Bogotá and I wasn't really sure I wanted to walk outside the station in complete darkness and find public transport. I sat at the station for a long time and thought about what to do next, all of a sudden I had this idea that since I was already at the bus station I should just keep going to Jardin since I would have to come back to Medellin either way for my flight to Cartagena. I called the hostel and moved my reservation for a couple of days later and they said no problem. Then I went to buy a ticket for Jardin but it turned out that it wasn't the bus station for Jardin! Bummer!

 The good thing was that there was a bus straight to the other bus station so I got in and off I went before 6am to catch a bus to Jardin. I was so tired that I fell asleep and when I woke up the bus was stopped, locked, and I was the only one in it (like in Myanmar and in Malaysia! haha I can say that I can sleep through anything!)... until I realised that there was an older man watching me sipping on some coffee at the back of the bus! haha I was like : "adonde estamos? ya llegamos? porque esta con llave?!?!?!" (Where are we? did we arrive already? why is it locked?) I think he was amused at my craziness but thankfully shortly after the bus driver arrived and let me out!

 Shortly I was on my way to Jardin!

Jardin is easy but hard to describe at the same time; it is a colorful town just like Salento but the authenticity of this town makes it the best little town in all of Colombia! 


As you walk the streets of Jardin you see so many colorful houses with balconies decorated with flowers; but more than that you see people, people who live in those houses (not just hotels and hostels.) 

As you walk by all those houses with open doors or windows and you peak inside you see somebody’s living room, somebody’s kitchen, and even bedrooms... right there, next to the street for the world to see. Many of them have courtyards with beautiful flowers that make me want to live in one of them forever! In fact, a couple of days before I visited Jardin I told some traveling friends that I wanted to have a house just like the ones I saw in Jardin; those with a big courtyard in the middle and full of flowers, kind of like the one my mom grew up at in the little town of Zacatecoluca in El Salvador.








I loved listening to the music coming out of those houses, from rancheras, to bachata, to very good oldies san by Jose Jose and José Feliciano... I wish for Jardin to not change and become a top touristy place (some of my Colombian friends don’t even know about the existence of Jardin!) 

On the street there were old people walking the street and saying “hola” or “buenos días.” Many of these houses are pharmacies, clinics, pet shops, almacenes, most for the people who live in town and not for tourists. 



A Corner shop

Jardin is becoming a little more touristy and there are some activities around town, mostly hiking.

I enjoyed going up in the garrucha, an old fashion wooden cable car, up to a mirador where I could see Jardin from up high.






From there I took the long way down to town. I loved the walk, looking at houses, the scenery, listening to birds chirp as I walked by.



Then I walked by the river and a waterfall.







To be honest most of my time in Jardin was spent people watching. It was fascinating the amount of older men just hanging out in the plaza all through the day! For me Jardin was an authentic "pueblo", one that hasn't been ruined by tourism, fancy shops, or people on social media 24/7. In a way it reminded me to many of the small villages I visited in Albania with a high population of elderly who would come out every afternoon to hang out and walk around parks.






They were people watching too!

No phones, just hanging out in the plaza!

No one is on facebook, or instagram, or sending an email!



 





 I loved that Jardin's main plaza was really made for people to hangout, there are hundreds of colourful tables where people can sit and sip a cup of coffee and enough benches to fit everybody!






I couldn't miss entering Jardin's pretty church:





And then went to the coffee place next door, Cafe Macanas, to have a little treat: puff pastry with arequipe (the Colombian name for dulce de leche!)





From cafe Macanas I could hear the singing from the cathedral next door,  for me the perfect place to sit down and relax after a long day of walking!


My couple of days in Jardin were lovely and sadly they came to an end, now back to Medellin!






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About Post Author

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!

2 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 20, 2018 at 7:24 AM

    Such a great post, yoi truly captured the essesnce of Jardin. I spent two months there with my family and loved it. My stepmom is from there and my dad is currently retired living there. Beautiful photos! Thanks for letting me reminisce.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AndreaJuly 2, 2018 at 1:25 PM

      Sorry I just saw this comment! I absolutely loved Jardin! such a hidden gem! How wonderful that they live there, couldn't have picked a better place to retire than beautiful Jardin <3

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Hi! It's me... Andrea!

In this blog you can live vicariously through my journey around the world!

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Contact me: andreaheartstraveling@gmail.com