Good thing I didn’t break anything at the family finca in Cisneros, because if I did, I wouldn’t have been invited on the Colombian family vacation to San Jeronimo.
After the finca, my Colombian friend Jennifer (who I’d met at the Nacional Football Match) asked if I wanted to join her and her best friend’s family for a little getaway at a small resort in San Jeronimo.
San Jeronimo is a small village about an hour and a half northwest of central Medellin. Because of it’s proximity to the city, San Jeronimo is home to many small hotel-resorts where Medellin families vacation on weekends and holidays. Also known as “Fincas Agroturisticas” these family and party friendly little resorts are fun, cheap and perfect for a break from city living.
We stayed at Mi Chozita with Jennifer’s best friend Gina, her husband, their son and her mother. The place was simple, clean and peaceful. It had two pools, a full restaurant (where all our meals were served) and tons of activities from beach volleyball to darts. Because we were there mid-week, we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves which was great for the pool but awkward for paint ball.
We spent 3 days swimming and relaxing around the pool as I practiced my Spanish and learned more about Colombian culture first hand. Gina’s husband taught me how to play three-cushion (or three-rail) a popular billiards game in Colombia and I taught him how to smoke weed out of an apple.
I’m not a big weed smoker myself but Gina’s husband (Luis) loved it, so that’s how we bonded. My favorite part of the trip was cruising around San Jeronimo with Luis on his motorcycle, looking for munchies and stopping at random street vendors so I could try new Colombian fruits I’ve never heard of.
At night, we lounged around the hotel watching all the popular Colombian television programs, including my favorite new show “El Man es German.” For those of you who know the show, I’m proud to say I learned the entire song and dance that week. “…Bato el chocolate, bato al chocolate, Beso al mozo beso al marido…”
Watch him doing his famous aerobics song and dance on my other favorite show “Muy Buenos Dias” with the love of my life Jessica Cediel.
As far as “traveling deeper” goes this was the kind of experience I’d been missing here in Colombia. It was great to take a few days and interact with a traditional Colombian family without any distractions or preconceived notions. If you’re ever in Medellin, I would highly recommend heading out to the countryside and visit one of these all inclusive family resorts in San Jeronimo or any of the neighboring pueblos. They’re great value and very relaxing.
Big shout out to the Jennifer and the Graciano family for letting a gringo tag along.
