Anserma at La Finca

Feb 11th, 2015

Ansermanuevo, or "Anserma" as it's called locally, is like many towns on the edge of Valle del Cauca and at the base of the foothills. It has a town square in "el centro", one or more churches adjacent to the square, a handful of good local restaurants and a soccer field. Oh, and a steady population of paraglider pilots, four months a year. 

Our accommodation here was not in town, it was in the cooler hills behind town. It was a 35 minute ride in an overloaded 1954 Willys. It was a short walk to a country-club launch. It had a sweeping view of the valley below. It was rustic. It was a finca. 

A finca can be a variety of buildings, layouts and history. Generally, there is a main house, a large, palapa kitchen and a collection of sleeping huts or cabins. Originally, they were intended for housing and feeding farm workers, subsequently converted to holiday-maker accommodations.

And just as finca layouts and histories can vary, so can interpretations of the term "rustic". Some might think of charming, quaint, seasoned and gracefully aged. Others could see used-up, run-down and dirty. Perhaps a mixture is more true-to-life, but the latter quality simply needn't be.

We sorted our sleeping places as night fell and woke to yoga and breakfast. By 9am, the Willys and pick-up truck loaded our wings and any who didn't wish to take the 25-minute walk to launch. 

This launch site was first-rate, leaving us to wonder if a club membership was required. Like most launches here, there is some nominal charge, but the tour covered that. The building at the top housed a snack bar, bathrooms and it appeared there might also be accommodations. The grass was short and covered a wide aspect knob large enough to lay out 6-8 wings. Top landing here was also apparently safe and not too difficult. There was a sugarcane fire that morning creating an impressive pyro-cumulus cloud. 

Perhaps 10 in the group had extended sled rides (or pianos) to the designated bomb-out LZ behind town. Some rode back up for another flight, some stayed in town to explore and have lunch.

Kari & Kent made some good distance and just flew once. I think they made it past the town of Toro, to the south.