Another place I had heard lots about were the Termales Santa Rosa hot springs. From Manizales, Santa Rosa was only a short ride away through the mountains.
Santa Rosa
I arrived in Santa Rosa early and so had plenty of time to look around. Of course I headed for the main square first thing. A high school graduation was taking place at the church.
The square or plaza or zocalo, or in this case they call it the park, is always the highlight of towns.
This one was OK as for as plazas go. For me I like to sit at a patio around them. Nothing like that here. So I walked around a bit looking for a place to have coffee. I really didn’t find much. I poked my head in one place and immediately heard in english out of the darkness, “Welcome, come on in.” That was weird. So I walked in. Two guys were sitting at a table. One spoke perfect english. Very unusual. He reminded me of a guy I dealt with many times as a police officer and who one time I chased down the freeway on foot ha ha.
We got to talking and it turned out that he was originally from Medellin and moved to New York City. He spent 32 years in New York. Although 15 of those years were in prison! I was right … he did remind me of a criminal ha ha. After prison he moved back to Colombia and to Santa Rosa. He was great to talk to though. He offered to show me around the city and gave me advice on how to get to the hot springs.
Termales Santa Rosa Hot Springs
The next day I headed to the Termales Santa Rosa hot springs. Instead of riding my bike I took a taxi from the main park. I don’t like taking my bike to these places as I am always concerned about security.
The hot springs are 11 km away from the main park. Part of it is along a dirt road. The day I arrived they were working on the main walkway to the hot springs and so I had to walk to them along a construction road. The views were still pretty cool though.
There are two main attractions here, the hot springs but also a beautiful waterfall.
There are several pools at the hot springs.
This was my view for most of the time as I relaxed in the hot water.
Once in awhile I was joined by friends.
It was a pretty awesome place. The views are amazing. The water is nice and hot. And you can get lots to eat and drink. I got there early and there were only a few people around. Eventually though school groups arrived and lots of people came. By that time it was time to go.
I sat outside waiting for a taxi to drop people off so I could catch a ride back. I waited for awhile with no luck until a gentleman approached me in his private car and offered a ride back.
Amazing place to visit. Although I did end up with a sunburn. I didn’t realize it until the next day. Ouch!
My Route on November 27, 2017
My Location on November 28, 2017
