The R&R Big Adventure

Happy Anniversary

We wondered why screams were echoing round the open atrium of the hotel when we arrived in Pereira, and soon found out the reason why. The hotel was hosting a regional ‘Little Miss Precocious Colombia 2024’ (rough translation), and there were dozens of seven to nine year olds (hard to tell exact ages under all that adult make up) running riot around the lobby. We could still hear screaming through our bedroom door when we went to bed around 10pm, like some kind of lullaby from The Shining.

Most of the little darlings clearly needed their beauty sleep, as fortunately only one was around in the lobby at 7.45 this morning. A family friend /guncle with DANCE COACH emblazoned on his t-shirt, was also doubling up as MAKE UP ARTIST as he was trying to put powder on an unhappy child, who was perfecting her first diva strop in her showbiz career. We were up early as we going on a tour of the region, visiting Salento, Filandia (‘Daughter of the Andes’) and the Valle de Cόcora. The scenery was spectacular, some of the flowers, especially the bougainvillea arch, were impressive, and the low cloud that descended in the Valle when we were walking through it made it especially atmospheric. We also appreciated being the only European tourists in the towns we visited. Robert’s Insta site shows some of the wonderful sights we saw. I made a point of saying to our guide that ‘there won’t be any pan-pipes at lunch, will there?’ There were not.

We hadn’t actually clocked when we booked the trip at Bogotá airport that it coincided with our anniversary – married twelve years today, together for just over eighteen :). When we realised this last night, and started looking for a suitably nice restaurant to eat in tonight, we soon discovered that pretty much every restaurant in Pereira is closed on a Sunday night, apart from the fast food ones (we ate in the hotel last night and it was ‘meh’ at best). So we jokingly agreed that we would go totally against the grain, and for the first time, embrace a fast food anniversary dinner. McDonalds was five minutes away, and the best of a bad bunch, so headed there. ‘Happy Anniversary’ was toasted with a cup of Coke Zero (no ice). A shame though this was accompanied by more children’s screaming, as every table in the restaurant was within screeching distance of the hyperactive 7 yr olds (that hadn’t made the cut for ‘Little Miss Precocious Colombia 2024’) tearing around the McPlay area.

We’ve hired a car for the day tomorrow, to get away from everyone.