Last night we visited a local artist, Mario Martinez. He, his wife & their daughter live in his family´s 150 year-old home. It has a wrap qround porch and second house built out of guada, a wood like bamboo but not exactly the same. He has 15 brothers & sisters, so they built the second house to accomodate everyone. Mario paints on canvas and on wood he carves. It´s exquisite. There are more bird species in Colombia than any other nation (at least known and named species) and the señor paints lots of them. There are also sculptures of horses, painted bird feeders, jars, tables benches, all carved and painted. The path from the finca to the señor´s house is through the woods. Banana trees, yucca & coffee plants. It was night so I couldn´t see much but what I could see was lovely. The señora made the trek as well with a flashlight through the mud and thick.Today was overcast and rainy so I went to another nearby town. Filandia, a small town with one main square. Everything closes midday.
Piled in a Willy´s, what they call an old jeep, it cost about a dollar from the finca to Filandia. I´m guessing that Willy bought a whole bunch and started an alternative to taxis. The Willy´s are covered up with huge bags of coffee, plantains, and then the people. They hang off the sides, the back, one on top of the other. It´s quite a spectacle. I cruised the square, visited the town church, checked out the view obscured in the clouds and fog. I also visisted a wine plant today, not a vineyard in the hills but the plant in town. It smelled really sweet. They make fruit wines and several apertifs--tequila, brandy. I bought a cherry and an apple bottle, best served cold. Delish!
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