Everyone has been very accommodating of my horrible Spanish.
It’s raining in Cali today as I make my way to meet Brian. I can’t help but notice the giant avocado trees growing wild throughout the city, with the biggest avocados I’ve ever seen!
At the airport, I meet Gabriel from Siruma Coffee. Gabriel fills me in on our very full itinerary for the week. He’s really knowledgeable about the inner-workings of the coffee industry in this region, I’m excited to know him. Soon Brian, Ryan and Amelia arrive, (Ryan and Amelia are from Figure 8 in Austin, TX) and we begin our 4 hour rainy drive Southwest to Popayán in Cauca.
In Popayán, we are staying at the Hotel Monasterio, which was once a monastery. Popayán is a UNESCO World Heritage site that features colonial baroque architecture that has been preserved for more than 4 centuries.
(Hotel Monasterio)
I am told it rains almost every day here, very challenging conditions for growing and processing coffee. Tomorrow we begin visiting farms and will begin tasting coffee.
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