Home Stay Archives - Joe From T.O.

Falling in love with Margus Coffee Tours in Jardin, Colombia

We woke up at Margus Coffee Farm in Jardin, Colombia when it happened. Waking up that morning I had an extra spring in my step. Something was different, I felt different. I gazed over at Charo, and she felt it as well. We both fell head over heels in love with Jardin, Colombia. What's not to love. If you had a chance to stay with Gustavo and Marta you'd know as well. Our time was well spent seeing Jardin, learning about coffee trying to figure out why does everyone here drinks instant coffee? Getting to Jardin We travelled by Rapido Ochoa from Medellin, Colombia. This was a small coach bus and was the only coach bus we could find to travel to Jardin. In Medellin, we went to Terminal Sur to get the bus. ***NOTE: When you're looking for a bus, do not assume you know where the bus station is. We've found that, especially in larger cities, there can be several different terminals. Always check online, or ask a local. You don't want to risk missing your bus. Gustavo and Marta I often write about the people who are hosting us at some point in my blog entry, but this time it's different, and why wouldn't it be, this was our first homestay. As I'm writing this blog entry I find that I mentioned Marta and Gustavo's name over and over so I thought I'd give you a brief introduction to their family. Marta - Wife, and mother. If you call to book a tour, you will be [...]

2 nights in Xaibe, Belize

It was hard leaving Bacalar. We enjoyed our short time there. Bacalar is a place we will return to in the future. For now, onward to Belize. Our friends Before continuing, Charo, Marco, Daniela, Mateo, and I have to acknowledge and thank our good friends Marcos and Audrey. We met through our children who are in the same grades. Zach is the same age as Marco, while Emery is the same age as Daniela and Mateo. On at least two different occasions, I remember being invited to their house for dinner. The kids played while we spent hours planning our time in Belize. After we hammered out a rough itinerary, Marcos took it steps further by contacting his family to get us places to stay in both Xaibe and San Ignacio. To outdo himself, he made sure we didn't have to take any public transportation while we there and arranged for his brother to lend us a car! I can safely say, our experience could not have been possible without their help. Arriving to Belize We ended up taking a taxi to the frontier (the border) from Bacalar. It was about a 30-minute drive at the cost of 300 pesos. When we got out of the taxi, we were greeted by someone who identified themselves as a border agent, and we found out shortly after he was a taxi driver looking for a fare. He followed us through immigration and helped us exchange money. To say he was pushy was an understatement. We were going to take a bus to Xiabe, but we ended up hiring him for $20 US. We probably could have done better for a taxi, perhaps [...]