manizales or bust: how i found colombia's secret film locations & questionable coffee
woke up in this high-altitude madness they call manizales with 3675443 brain cells still functioning-nearly all dedicated to deciphering why the hell yesterday’s taxi driver insisted i visit the 'haunted teahouse' at 1170930654. grabbed my jacket because *bruh, just checked and it’s 13 soggy degrees crawling under my skin like espresso withdrawal. feels like 12.4 if you factor in the existential dread. hope you packed thermal socks.
someone at café macarena told me between cigs that the real magic happens behind that unmarked door near Plaza de Bolívar-apparently where some banned 70s guerrilla doc was filmed. drank lukewarm tinto listening to a street violinist butcher Radiohead while plotting my escape to Pereira or Armenia-both just a bus ride away if the drizzle breaks your spirit.
"the nevado del ruiz views? overrated. go before dawn when the fog eats the sidewalks and the paranoid street dogs act as your guides." -advice from a man who later tried to sell me a 'certified' emerald
rushed to check out this abandoned cinema on calle del oso. overheard two art students arguing about whether the projection booth had actual ghosts or just really aggressive pigeons. local legend says la casa de los abuelos serves sancocho that cures creative block-i’ll stick to their questionable wifi.
mapped it all out here before i forget:
img src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1586809067237-271221622b8a?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&w=1080&q=80" alt="green and blue bird on tree branch during daytime" width="100%">
final thoughts? bring layers. the microclimates here change faster than a narco-telenovela plot twist. skip the parque de cafeterio tourist trap-hike up to mirador lincoln instead. trust the graffiti. buy tamales from doña rosa’s cart* before 10am or face her wrath. and if you’re lucky, find the guy near los yarumos who trades expired film rolls for stories.
ps: heard a rumor about this boarding house where filmmakers crash when their budgets implode. might investigate… after another aguardiente.
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