We had a week vacation before Easter Sunday. My roommate Kassi and I traveled to the coffee growing region in the center of Colombia. We flew into Manizales, another WorldTeach site, where eleven volunteers are stationed. We got a chance to catch up with our friends. When it wasn’t raining (which unfortunately was not very often) we spent time outside. Coming from Santa Ana, the weather in Manizales was freezing. What it lacks in sun, Manizales makes up for in beauty. Surrounded by mountains, anywhere in the city is a spectacular view. Colombia is known as a country of regions. For a relatively small country Colombia is extremely diverse. Not just in terrain and weather but also in culture and even language. The coastal accent we have grown accustomed to (no s’ and a lot of slang) was completely different in the central region. Colombia has a reputation of having the most clear and proper Spanish. Before I came to Colombia several people told me that Colombia is a great place to learn/perfect Spanish for this reason. However, these people must only be familiar with the Spanish in the central region because on the coast, clear is the last word I would use to describe Spanish. Even the clothes and colors are drastically different in Manizales and Cartagena. In Manizales most people were wearing dark colors, while in Cartagena people rock bright outfits. Everything about the coast seems to be louder, whether that it is the colors, music, and even the people, giving the coast that Caribbean feel.
Kassi and I embraced the differences as a welcome change, though we are happy that we get to live on the coast. We acted like tourists for the week (well we were tourists) and enjoyed the vacation. We went on a coffee tour and went to the hot springs. A few days into our trip we took two buses to Salento, which is absolutely gorgeous. We stayed at a hostel that is about a twenty-minute walk out of the center of town. The hostel overlooks lush green mountains. While in Salento we went horseback riding for three hours. Our guide was incredible and he took three Australians and us through all sorts of trails. We crossed rivers, meaning our horses literally crossed through the water. We even went up to a waterfall. Our hostel rents heavy-duty rain boots and it’s a good thing because at the end of the three hours we were covered in mud from head to toe.
Our hostel was having a Top Iron Chef competition our last night in Salento. I saw the sign and pretty much considered it fate. My friends and I have been planning on having an Iron Chef contest for weeks, maybe even months now in Santa Ana. I have been getting more into cooking while in Colombia. On the peninsula there are not many other options other than cooking. In Santa Ana there is one restaurant and a few corner stores so if you want something other than rice for every meal you have to get creative. My friends and I usually take turns cooking throughout the week. It has been a great way for me to try all sorts of Colombian food and for my Colombian friends to try American food (whatever that may be). It started with my roommate and I making gourmet macaroni and cheese and green bean salad. It progressed into all sorts of concoctions, some more ambitious (and successful) than others. We have made baked ziti, pizza with all sorts of toppings, eggplant parmesan, deluxe nachos with guacamole (made the chips with flour they turned out more like arepa nachos), falafel, hummus, and homemade pitas. My friends say they like the desserts most. Desserts like puppy chow, chocolate pie, and s’mores (which my Colombian friends now make regularly with their family too).
For the Top Iron Chef contest we were allowed $25 and we went out the day before the contest grocery shopping. We walked all around the town several times before finding yeast but in the end we were able to get everything we needed and manage to stay within budget. One advantage we have of living in Santa Ana is we are not used to having anything. We have to make practically everything from scratch or plan our meals ahead of time and but our groceries 1.5 hours away in Cartagena. For the contest we were cooking for about 25 people and we needed three dishes, though the servings could be small. We decided to make tuna kebobs, like tuna patties a Bengali dish (that was Kassi’s job) with homemade pitas (my job), two types of pizza (Hawaiian and fried eggplant), and for dessert poached pears and apples.
The prize was four free nights stay at the hostel. I’m sorry to say (but not at all surprised) that we did not win but we were up against two actual culinary trained chefs. We did come in second though. To be honest we were just happy to survive. There were some challenges along the way. For example there was no oven in the hostel meant that I had to be driven up the road to a house to bake the pizzas. Also there were not any pans to cook the pizzas in that fit in the oven so we baked it on aluminum foil, which stuck to the crust. So I had the fun job of peeling all the aluminum foil off of the crust. All told it was a great experience and we got to meet a bunch of awesome people at our hostel. It also prepared us for Top Chef Santa Ana style and I am confident we will kick butt. Even if we don’t win it will be a week of eating awesome food.
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