I consider myself so incredibly fortunate to have enjoyed a memorable couple of days in paradise with Marta and Camilla on their beautiful finca in Llano Grande, a region of Rionegro. Llano Grande has been a traditional holiday destination for Medellin’s upper middle class for over 50 years. It has many fincas- small hobby farms that families visit for the weekends.Llano Grande means big plain and it is an important catchment area for the whole region and for agriculture and cattle. Many of the fincas are still active and several grow flowers. Typically a local family live and work on the farm and the owners visit on weekends to escape the city. Many fincas were originally part of larger working farms that have been owned by families for a long time, but have been reduced in size as people left for jobs in the city.
Rionegro is a city in a beautiful valley in the central Andes mountain range in eastern Antioquia. Its history dates back to 1541 and the town grew significantly in the 17th Century, becoming an important centre during Spanish rule in the lead up to independence. The 1863 constitution was actually written in Rionegro. Nearby Medellin was however chosen as capital of the state of Antioquia.
To me the weather is perfect, sunny and warm in the day and cool at night. The altitude varies from 2100 – 2600m and the valley is surrounded by beautiful rolling hills. I enjoyed a morning run, passing lovely homes, paddocks with horses and fields full of chrysanthemums and hydrangeas plus picturesque views across the valley.
Marta is Camilla’s grandmother and Lina’s mum and the weekend of our visit was her birthday. We 
flew in very early on Saturday morning in time to enjoy breakfast with Marta. Both Camilla and I had terrible hangovers and were badly lacking sleep, but once stepping inside Marta’s magnificent home which exudes warmth and friendliness, we felt our hangovers fade away and be replaced with a beautiful feeling of calm and relaxation. Both Camila and I worked at the table in the front of the house with the large windows overlooking the vast lawns and soaked in the colourful splendor of a variety of petunias enveloping the house. It was an inspiring place to work, Camilla on her art history reading and statistics and me on my music report for the Colegio Anglo Colombiano, while Marta’s housekeeper delighted in providing us with drinks and surprise little delicious snacks throughout the day.
Oscar, Marta’s driver, took me with him shopping and I was charmed to see many people riding beautiful horses on the streets. Oscar took it upon himself to take charge of my Spanish lessons. He is a policeman assigned as Marta’s bodyguard and driver and he is a patient and kindhearted soul. I learnt a lot with him and he gave me the confidence to practice my speaking. He also read passages to me so I could practice listening, as even though I can read a lot, I still find people speak too fast for me. Also the Medellin accent is rather interesting. It is more lyrical and melodic than the Bogota accent.
One thing that touched my heart with sadness whilst staying at the finca, was being around Gilberto’s things. Gilberto
Echiverri was Marta’s husband, Lina’s dad and Camila’s grandfather. He was a wonderful man whose life was tragically cut short by the FARC guerrillas in 2003. As I stood in his study and looked at all his certificates and plaques from heads of states and various organisations, I had a desire to learn more about this man whose family had welcomed me into their lives with such generosity and love.
Gilberto Echiverri was born in 1936 and as a wee surprise to his mother, being her 12th child at age 48. He studied electrical engineering at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana of Medellín. He later became a professor at the university. From 1959 – 1967 he had his own consultancy firm and in 1975 he moved into politics and became the ambassador to Ecuador. Later he was appointed Minister for Economic Development. In 1990 Gilberto became the Governor of Antioquia at the time of narco-terrorism and the drug cartel, Pablo Escobar. In 1992 he was the Presidential Advisor for Social Affairs and Reintegration. At this time Gilberto tried to semi retire and spend more time at home as well as write a book.
In 1997 he agreed to be Minister of Defence for President Ernesto Sampa. In 2000 he accepted a new challenge to assist the Governor of Antioquia as Commissioner of Peace to help solve the problems of violence in troubled times in his home state. On April 22 2002, Gilberto and Governor Guillermo Gaviria Correa attended a 120 km peace march from Medellin to the town of Caicedo that had been repeatedly attacked by the FARC.
During the march, as they approached the town, they were confronted by the guerrillas and both were kidnapped by FARC guerrillas: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The two were held hostage along with 8 soldiers, deep in the thick jungle for over a year. The FARC were demanding release of prisoners in exchange for their hostages. Tragically a botched rescue attempt by the Colombian army on May 5th 2003, resulted in the guerrillas executing their 10 hostages when they heard the approach of the army helicopters. All but one soldier, who miraculously survived being shot, were killed, including Gilberto and the Governor.
The killings shocked the nation and President Alvaro Uribe called it another massacre by the communist FARC who had been fighting the state for over 40 years and had grown to 17000 members.
“I am truly shaken,” said former President Ernesto Samper, under whom Echeverri served as defense minister. “It seems to me that we’ve reached intolerable levels of violence.”
It was a great loss to the nation. Both were great campaigners for peace. Guillermo Gaviria Correa was posthumously nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and Gilberto Echiverri was his peace advisor.
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El Retiro: In Antioquia
Oscar drove me and Camila to the town of El Retiro (literal translation is “The Retirement” but probably a more accurate one would be “The Retreat”). It is a cute little town full of darling little shops and bars. It borders both Rionegro and Medellin. It is also known as “Segundo piso de Medellín” = “”The Second Storey of Medellin” – the name given to the region where many people from Medellin come for weekends. It is also known for its quartz mines as well as having a large back up dam for the city of Medellin.
We took a stroll around the central plaza and down the main street, poking our heads into the quaint little shops and bars. We decided to have a beer at one which caught our attention. The walls were covered in 1000 peso notes with messages on them. Camila and I decided to leave our mark.
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