Cali to Pereira - Supposed to take 3 hours but took over 4 hours
Pereira to Cartago - Company Tax Cartago -3,000 COP (less than one hour)
Cartago to Guayabito Cauca (mayapurita farm) - taxi cost 25,000 COP but Krishna has the phone number of Carlos who will drive people for 14,000 COP or go to the vegetarian restaurant across the street from the Tax Cartago bust station that the Mayapurita Farm owns and they can help you arrange a taxi. 

Pereria to Medellin - Bus company Flota Occidental for 37,000 COP (20 USD) they said it would take 5.5 hours but took about 7 hours as there seemed to be a problem with the toilet and they stopped a few times for some repairs.  The bus was nice with lots of leg room, comfortable seats that recline back, bathroom, wifi and private tv screen.  The other option was a van that went from Pereira to Medellin and cost 32,000 COP though when we started walking to the other ticket counter the guy said he would give us a discount so it would be 30,000COP but we decided it was worth the extra money to go with the big air conditioned bus. 

Mayapurita Farm
Pros: An interesting hare krishna farm to visit.  They are very nice and could really use your help.  Krishna is really wonderful.  From what I hear the food is normally really good vegetarian food though the volunteers were not very happy when I was there cause things were a little bit off the normal schedule and the food was being cooked by volunteers not used to cooking for so many people so the food was not very good and from what I hear not enough.  It was very pretty cause its on a river and they have many good projects going there. 
Projects: 
recycling project to try to get the town to recycle their plastic by making eco bricks that they intend to use for building later. 
volunteer at the local school -they could really use the help.  The kids really seemed to enjoy the individual attention I was able to give them that the teacher when alone is not able to do.
Garden, composting (including worms),
Activities;  daily yoga in the afternoon, meditation and chanting and though they didnt do any while I was there they often do other workshops or films and discussion etc.  I was only there 6 days. Its on a river you can swim in and there is a pool down the road that you can pay a few thousand pesos to swim in. 
schedule: The volunteers mostly volunteer in the morning after breakfast which is served at 8am until lunch which is served around 1pm.  Then in the afternoon is normally yoga, maybe some light chores like helping cleaning up after lunch or watering plants at dusk etc, or other workshops or you can go to the school. The work was pretty easy.
Cons:  Overall I personally think I would prefer to go to one of the more developed ecoyoga villages as I think they might be a bit more developed for more learning. This one is just starting and while I think its a great opportunity for some I think I would have preferred one with more activities going on.  I am not sure if it was the season but there were so many mosquitos and it may have contributed to a very individualistic attitude where we went to read in our beds to be in our mosquito nets any free time we had.  From what I understand I was there during a stressful time so things were not as organized as normal, there were only 3 yoga classes of the 6 days I was there and not really many other activities.  Since I have never paid for any volunteer experience I think I had high expectations.  Its $12 a day and includes all food and bed. If you dont like large cockroaches or mosquitos this might not be the place for you,  the mosquitos would get in my net at night and since I tend to be allergic I tend to swell up and get too uncomfortable to sleep when I have too many bites.  Being allergic means I am somewhat used to being uncomfortable on farms but I think I have volunteered on enough farms that I did not really care to stay and endure getting attacked by mosquitos so I ended up leaving after 6 days. 

San Agustin, Colombia farm stay, Ipiales las Lajas

 I arrived in a town called San Augustin to be a volunteer on a coffee farm outside of San Agustin. When I arrived it was a weekend long harvest festival where they had music and dancing and a dance competition for a Harvest Queen.  The first picture I took.. was from one of the floats.. I somehow ended up in the parade in one of the floats.

San Augustin Parade

Gallo fruit.. there were so many fruits I got try on the farm that I had never tried before

This is where the coffee beans get processed

 It comes from the top and goes through a grinder that takes off the flesh or skin of the bean then gets washed where all the stuff that floats to the top is discarded. Which is the flesh and some of the beans not considered good.  They use these to seed new plants or to make their own coffee.

These are the washed beans drying

Freshly picked coffee beans

Gifts..

 I always have a hard time picking gifts for people.  It seems like al the children like coins from other countries so I started making origami boxes and putting small coins from other countries in them to give away to the children.  This also helps to lighted my backpack since I have quite a collection of coins now.

This is the dryer.. its like a greenhouse but to dry the coffee beans.

Coffee plant.. with ripe and unripe beans.. the red are ripe.

arracacha

Arracacha is  a root vegetable that is quite good and is related to a carrot and is a bit dark yellowish. We dug this up and then gave the stem and leaves to the rabbits and guinea pigs. 

Yuca

 Yuca root is delicious just boiled and they eat is with almost every meal.  It quite a large bush almost a tree that they uproot for the roots and then stick some of the branches in the ground to grow new ones.

An entire cow

 There was a community event where the government gives a free cow to each community.  The cow comes and they needed volunteer to butcher it.  I got to be part of the process.  While we were butchering it people were eating and drinking.. yes that is a beer in the middle of the meat that we just cut. They found it quite strange that I wouldnt eat (using their hands no utensils) and drink with them while my hands are all bloody.

Some of the insides of the cow that they made into a soup

 After butchering the cow we shared in a soup consisting of the insides of the cow. I found the textures a bit strange and had trouble eating it so I had to give mine back mostly uneaten.

Everywhere has woodfire stoves. 

Making of blood sausage

 They told me I could help make the blood sausage but I politely declined.  I did try it though. The next day at the event where they gave away the grilled meat of the cow and had soccer games and music and speeches I did try it.  I didnt realize it was basically blood rices and spices before since I have never actually eaten blood sausage.  It was actually pretty good but I couldnt eat the intesting because it was too plastic like, but I dont think I need to eat it again.  We took home with us some of the meat they would not use for the event, I think like the fatty or skin parts and the hoof of the cow.  Some lucky person took home the head.

Fresh caught fish

 They caught fish from their pond that they had recently stocked.  They said the fish were small but would grow bigger.  I got to learn how to gut the fish.. they were joking how the day before I butchered a cow and now I was learning how to gut a fish. We gutted something like 130 small fish, it took quite a while.

Ruins at San Agustin

ruins at San Agustin

 San Agustin is famous for its ruins.  They are funeral ruins from the indiginous people.  My guide books lists this as one of the 4 places in Colombia you have to visit.  Since I was in San Agustin I decided to go to the park where they had the ruins.  It took me three hours to walk around the park.

I had a great time on the farm.  I stayed over 2 weeks.  The people were very nice.  I was surprised how interested they were in learning to bake cakes and things from the US.  I made a bananbread which came out normal, and I made a brownie which wasnt great cause when I went to the store I asked for butter but they gave me margarine and I didnt notice right away. I think thats why it didnt come out great.  They also baked alot. But after over 2 weeks its was time to move on.  My stomach also tends to get a bit sick of eating potatoes rice and plantanos almost every meal even though the food was really quite tasty its almost the same thing every meal.

IPIALES, Las Lajas Church
After leaving San Agustin I headed to the border of Ecuador.  Where I made a stop at the border town to the see the famous church Las Lajas in Ipiales which is located above a river.

Ipiales river

Church at Ipiales

Ecuador, Quito

Quito, view from my hostel

Well I finally made it to Quito and my hostel has a beautiful view.

Farm out side of Guayaquil

A truck fell over in the farm with rocks.. luckily no on was hurt.

fresh walnuts from the tree

I just spent one week on a farm outside of Guayaguil. No internet access for a week.  I liked the farm though it was very hot and humid.  There were lots of animals. The baby animals were so cute.  The baby pigs, sheep and chickens.  Though the baby pigs were so cute they were always escaping the fences, it was quite humorous everyone running around trying to catch them.  Now I know what it sounds like when a pig squeals and it isnt nice.  I helped hold a baby pig probably under a week old while parasitic worms were removed from what the belly button area and the pig was screaming. The monkeys and birds were so loud.  Its neat being so close to nature.  We were sitting around talking after dinner one night and these cute little bats were flying around the kitchen ceiling and frogs were leaping around the floor.

Ok since everyone knows I like to eat.. here is more about food.  The food at the lodge for the past week, we cooked ourselves the first weekend then after there was an Ecuadorian cook.  The Ecuadorian food was interesting.  Every meal including breakfast was served with lots of white rice.  The farm was surrounded by rice fields.  Even though it was extremely hot and humid they served something hot (herbal tea, coffee or chocolate) with breakfast and dinner and a hot soup with lunch.  We had stopped at the market to purchase food on the way to the farm and large grain sack (I think said 50kilos.. of what I dont know but the large sacks that are maybe 4 or 5 ft tall)  was filled with vegetables, including a couple heads of lettuce, a few lbs of potatoes, onions, beans, garlic chard, tomatoes, broccoli and many other vegetables.. the total cost.. $12.. I was told its cheaper out there because it is the farming area and obviously the more one buys the more the discount.  Interestingly enough they dont seem to eat much vegetables but many many starches.  I have often had meals of pasta potatoes or plantains and rice and normally chicken or lentils/beans and a very small portion of salad or vegetable. They eat alot of plantains which have to be cooked and can be put in with lentils or can be fried in different ways.  We also bought fruit which it appears they dont eat, but instead make into juice.  I believe its juiced then water and sugar and some spices are often added like cinnamon.  I really liked the watermelon juice which I have only had maybe once before.  In banos my favorite was the coconut milk juices which you could get with just coconut or have added other juices.  I also tried mate a strong thick tea of sorts, while I was there which is not Ecuadorian but Argentinian.

The other travelers I have met have been interesting.  The first group I traveled with was a group of 5 boys from 1 from Canada, 2 Ireland, 1 from Germany, and 1 from Latvia but has lived in London for many years.  I got to know the Latvian boy the best as he was more interested in exploring and hking than the Irish boys (Which I know you wont believe this but they were more interested in drinking).  He was very interesting and had a goal of seeing 100 countries by the time he was 30 and he was well on his way.  Do you know how many countries there are?  192.  I think I have only seen about 20 something countries. So little of the world.
In Banos on the farm the other travelers I met were from US, England, France, Germany (another Beliner) and were from 18-24 years old.  Yikes I am old.  The two 18 year olds from England were on a gap year, which I met two girls from NY today who were also 19 and just graduated taking a year before going to College.  The person I was with on the farm the longest and got to know the best was a 21 year old college student from Washington.  We ended up traveling together for a few days after the first farm..  I had to laugh at how many people thought we were a couple.   At this last farm I was with two Czech boys and a French girl.  The days were so hot and humid I just wanted to sleep.  I have really enjoyed the other travelers I have met.     

So far English has been the international language.  This past farm none of us knew Spanish so it was challenging to communicate with the workers.  They have lots of knowledge that they want to share and are so friendly and nice but I cant understand what they are saying and has been frustrating.  I need to really work on my Spanish.  

Tomorrow starts a new day and a new adventure!  I am not sure what my plans are, I have too many ideas and likely not enough time.  As always I want to cram in as much as I can but perhaps I should focus on relaxing and learning Spanish, but alas.. I will put off the decision till I have a better feel of what my next destination is like.

Banos

out at Lindas farm

our natural swimming pool at Lindas.. wonderful.

view of the volcano at Carols place where I was staying

Made it to the first farm on Sunday.  The farm is used very loose.. it is more of a big garden but the owner Carol is wonderful.  She is a Canadian woman and had some tangerines limes coffee and herbs for her garden and lots of flowers and a few other edibles.  She is a little walk from thecity centre.. its a nice small touristy town.
75% of the tourists are ecuadorian.  Banos obviously means baths..there are hot water baths here.
carnival here was fun.  I was sprayed with foam and splashed with buckets of water.. no one young or old is spared.  One of the other volunteers on the farm was talking about another farm he went to and the grandmother owner who is from miami and 64 was in banos for carnival and came prepared with a tool belt filled with spray foam cans and 2 in her raincoat.. i decided i had to meet her.. so on Thursday I met up with her and 3 other volunteers on the current farm and we all went out to her place in the edge of the rainforest about30 minutes from banos by bus and another 30 minute hike to her log cabin.  Linda had the4 of us volunteers at her place until today.  She had more energy than I do and had done lots of traveling and has settled down here.  I found out ecuador boasts that it is the number 1 retirement place in the world.  Lots of older gringos here.  Its very cheap and safe to live here.  I might try to go back to her place again for a few days before I head out to a new farm.  She has no electricity and a small generator she rarely uses.. but has hot water and a nice natural pool. she lives by herself a half hour walk into the main road.  Its a cabin in the jungle, on the edge of the amazon.
I get the ¨gringo tax¨ marked up prices for goods but I dont mind since everything is so inexpensive.  I bought a pound of homeade organic chocolate for $3 today.  You can get lunch call al muerzo for around$2 here and it is a soup, with a main dish of rice meat and a salad  albeit a small salad of a few pieces of lettuce and a tomato and a fresh squeezed fruit juice. I had tried lots of fruits here that I dont know the name of but are fresh and wonderful and I love going to the markets and buying all sorts of freshly made breads etc.. you can buy lots of food very very cheap.. and live off a few dollars in food a day.
I apologize for the rough sentences and spelling but the keyboards are awful here and I cant find some of the characters.. My hands hurt from having to press down so hard on the keyboard.
I like banos and will stay here for another week or so.  I went to volunteer at an afterschool program and have met some nice people there as well.  I wont want to leave next week as I have met so many wonderful people, but time is short and I know i should move on and see something else. 
Well I have to do some trip planning now!