All three towns have been declared pueblos patrimonios in Colombia (because they stand out for their cultural heritage) and are worth a visit. Medellin is centrally located for attractive day or weekend trips to these destinations in the Department of Antioquia. Or, in our case, for continued travels to explore Colombia. A fourth highlight, Guatapé, sits two hours east and was part of my Medellin post. Santa Fe de Antioquia can be found an hour and a half to the northwest. You reach Jericó after a three-hour southward drive and Jardin is a tad further away, about 3.5 hours to the south.
Santa Fe de Antioquia
As a former capital of Colombia and a national monument, Santa Fe de Antioquia is a popular place. It is a beautiful, eye-catching, and photogenic city of 23,000 inhabitants. But there is one problem. For us anyway. Its climate is tropical and humid, due to its low elevation in the Cauca River valley and proximity to the equator. It was in the mid-nineties when we arrived (35°C)!
(As always hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
Our first “meeting” with the town didn’t go well. Checking the map for the best route to a free overnight parking spot we had found in our free app iOverlander, we’d picked a one-way road towards our site, thinking it would be wide enough and less littered with haphazardly parked cars. We were right, but… the road went steep uphill and, without any indication, was blocked by road work! We couldn’t go around it. We couldn’t turn around. We couldn’t back up, down this steep and bumpy road without visibility. All the while, motorcycles kept passing us (they could go through) and lined-up cars behind us kept honking.
I enabled a neighbor’s help to open the locked gate of his driveway and guided Mark to safely turn around. We headed back the way we came and my husband was ready to abandon our planned visit. I persisted. We were all sweating (and panting), there was no shade anywhere, and options to camp were limited. On foot, I checked out a parqueadero (parking lot) that abutted the historic center. Big buses and trucks were parked there, so we would fit. We just needed to navigate one more narrow road. Mark obliged and we hid inside our camper, fans on full speed, for the rest of the afternoon.
When the temperature dropped slightly and darkness set in, the three of us quickly walked through the center of town. Unfortunately, the moods didn’t improve. Being kept awake all night by arriving and departing buses, garbage trucks, and dump trucks didn’t help the situation by morning. Mark had had it with this place, so I ventured back into the historic part early and for just one hour. Then, we moved on. Did I mention it was Mark’s birthday?
Jardín
Little did we know upon arrival that Jardín would become our favorite pueblo in Colombia. Mark, Maya, and I settled in Thirsty Bella along a quiet street on the outskirts of town and stayed for ten (!) days. A record on the road in South America. It rained a lot and the no-see-ums were relentless (long clothes offer the best protection), but other than that, we LOVED this place. Why?
The vibe is fabulous, the people are friendly, the houses are super cute, the sidewalks are clean, and the plaza is vibrant, attractive, and a fun place to be, especially in the evenings.
Plenty of high-quality restaurants and cafes abound, meals are affordable, fresh local produce is abundant, and our favorite grocery stores D1 and Ara were within walking distance, as well as an amazing bakery that produced decent baguettes and sweet and savory pastries.
To top it all off, plenty of hiking paths, waterfalls, mountains, and stunning scenery surround this little hamlet. The fact that we could just walk out the door and find ourselves in nature – or at a decent restaurant – within five minutes has been quite unique on our six-month Colombian journey. And it was all super enjoyable, as long as we could skirt around the rainstorms.
Jericó
There are shortcuts to reach Jericó from Jardín but with a rig our size, it made more sense to return the way we came, down the mountain, and then up and around to our third historic town in a row. Before we reached Jericó proper, however, we passed a small and jovial site famous for paragliding (Nube Extrema). I had decided to turn this activity into my postponed birthday gift and we paid for one night of camping. That evening, we met a hospitable bunch of locals, who took us out for dinner.
It was my first time to jump off a mountain with an instructor in tow. We waited until the weather cleared and off we went for a 25-minute soar over and into the Cauca River valley. From high(s) to low(s). From cold to steaming hot. From feeling healthy to being incredibly motion sick. The extremes of fun and discomfort, packaged in a $50, 2-hour event. The speedy, windy ride back up the mountain was the worst part, but I’m glad to have experienced paragliding in such a beautiful environment and with such a highly skilled, friendly, and caring instructor named Juan Carlos.
After all that excitement, the three of us moved to Jericó’s mirador (viewpoint) for a couple of free and relatively peaceful nights. From the Christ statue, we had a decent view over the hilly town. Walking down to the village center, we passed through an attractive botanical garden.
Once emerged into the historic center, we enjoyed strolling the colorful streets and different levels that make up this attractive town. Maya’s toe nail was still not healed, so she and I took a one-dollar tuk tuk ride back up the mountain, while Mark walked. He loves his exercise more than me!
Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics with dogs, check out my compelling, inspiring, and refreshingly honest travel memoir:
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