The next day we went to Panaca, a recreational park based on farm animals. The park is divided into different exhibitions and shows based on dogs, horses, poultry, pigs, and cattle. I'm not very familiar with farm animals and found Panaca very interesting and worthwhile. Sandra's daughter had a great time seeing the animals, riding on miniature ponies, etc. I especially enjoyed the horse rodeos and the dog exhibition and show. Sandra was thrilled to have a picture taken on a black buffalo from India. The diversity of farm animals was amazing and the realization of their impact on Quindio's economy was staggering. Anyways, just another option of something to do while in Armenia. There is a small park in Armenia called "Parque Cafetero" and this is the bus depot for El Parque del Cafe and Panaca. Of course, you could take a taxi for about 30K one way, but the bus will only cost you 2K per person.
The following day we went to Armenia's botanical garden and the highlight for us was the "mariposario." Apparently, Colombia has the greatest diversity of butterflies in the world. The enclosed butterfly area is a magical place. Cali's zoo also counts with a beautiful "mariposario." We had a guide all to ourselves and the tour lasted approximately 90 minutes.
We stayed at Hotel Centenario (C 21, no 18-20, T7443143) in the downtown area. From the moment we arrived, the entire hotel staff was absolutely exceptional. We were treated like royalty and family. Their customer service was truly exceptional and admirable. For example, upon arriving, I mentioned that I was going to go out to get something to eat. Since the hotel's restaurant was closed, the hotel clerk pulled out a list of restaurants and asked us what we would like. He then called the restaurant, ordered our food, sent his assistant for the food, and brought the food to our room. The hotel offerred us a 15% discount in purchasing the tickets to Panaca and El Parque del Cafe. The rate was 110K per night. The hotel is not a five-star hotel, but I can't think of a better place to stay in Armenia and I highly recommend it. The Parque Cafetero is a short 10 minute walk from this hotel to access buses to El Parque del Cafe, Panaca and the jardin botanico.
Sandra and I both loved Armenia. However, it was time to move on. An option was to go to Neiva in Huila to visit her best friend. However, I wanted to relax and spend more quality time with Sandra. We decided we would go to Santa Marta instead. We purchased the plane tickets in Armenia and headed off to Buga, because I wanted to visit the famous Christ of Buga inside the Basilica del Senor de los Milagros. We stayed one night at the Guadalajara Hotel (C 1, no 13-33, T227-2611) which was a very elegant and comfortable hotel. We seemed to have the hotel to ourselves and could hear the bells from the Basilica every so often. A great place to stay while in Buga.
