Salento and Valle de Cocora

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My return to Salento was a breath of fresh air. It was so nice to be away from the cities again and be surrounded by nature. I found the cutest little hostel called Tra La La and set up camp. I wandered the little town and found a delicious and cheap lunch for 6,000 pesos (less than $3) that included trucha, or trout, which is a famous treat from the area.  As I was making plans, I got a text from the Austrian...he was on his way to Salento too! So I dilly-dallied around a little bit until he got there and we could have an adventure together.

We decided to rent bikes and head to a coffee plantation about 45 minutes outside town. The bikes were okay, but we quickly realized that it would be a nightmare to ride back to town because the entire way to the coffee finca was downhill! I was so happy to be on a bike again that I managed to ignore that fact for a while. We arrived at the small finca and began a tour with an Austrailian couple and 4 Germans guy I had actually seen in a bar in Bogota! Crazy. Our tour guide was a young Colombian whose family owned the finca. He was great and explained the entire farm to us, from types of coffee beans to the other fruits that grew on the farm and eventually to the picking and processing plan. It was very interesting, and all done in Spanish! Yay me. Oh, and the owners were kind enough to drive us all back to town, bikes included! I felt a little bit lazy, but it IS vacation after all.

That night, the Austrian and I found a nice dinner and then stumbled upon a local bar that hosted a Colombian game called tejo. See the next post for particulars of this amazing game involving gunpowder! We met another pair of Americans there and had a great time hurling metals discs, drinking beers, and chit chatting with the Colombian owner. When we made it back to the hostel, there was a new Irish guy in our 3-person dorm who said he had seen me in Pereira! How I didn't notice that fine looking Irishman I'll never know, but we promptly began friends and chatted for a few hours.

The next morning, the Austrian and I took an early jeepney to Valle de Corcora, which is about 45 minutes away. We planned to do a 5 hour loop hike through the mountains and wanted to finish it before the afternoon rains came. We found our way to the entrance, sort of, but later discovered that we entered through the back way...which explained why we felt TOTALLY alone for the first 1.5 hours! Haha, oh well.

Unfortunately, the Austrian was recovering from a sprained ankle, so when we reached the optional 2km segment that would lead to a hummingbird farm, he decided to skip it and head back down the mountain. I was all about some hummingbirds, so we shook hands and parted ways. Luckily, I only had to wander along through the woods for about half an hour before I came across the farm and other humans. Guess who I found at the top? Those dang German guys again. They're everywhere! We decided to accept fate's demand that we be friends, and I joined their group. We had a rejuvenating snack of cheese and hot chocolate, and then headed back for the second part of the loop. Except, for me, it was the same part of the loop since I had done it backwards...but I didn't realize that until it was too late! Whoops! The way down was much more relaxing and we took our time to explore the wax palms and find alcoves with good views.  Here are a few pictures of the views:







Not bad at all, right? I returned to town exhausted and very happy. I showered, took a nap, and befriended a Dutchman and a half Hong Kongese/Englishman in the hostel's common room. Then, the Irishman showed up and said he had exciting plans for our dinner. He had met an American man who was married to a Colombian/French woman who served a gourmet dinner in their nearby home 3 days a week. I immediately agreed and offered my own suggestion for the after dinner festivities...tejo. The two American guys I had met earlier also joined the group and our dinner conversation was really fascinating. Then, as were heading out, the Irishman stopped to thank the hostess, who agreed to meet us for tejo with her friends. So our group expanded to include another Colombian, a Peruvian, and an Argentinian! Are you getting confused by all the nationalities yet?? Just embrace it, that's what I do :)

We had a blast playing tejo, especially when the Argentinian used his GoPro to take some videos. I really enjoyed talking to him and the Peruvian, both of which currently live in Miami! After an hour, we realized we were more into conversation than playing. So our chef/hostess took us to another local bar, where we chilled outside in the cool evening air, listened to old Colombian salsa music, and had some beers. Travel was made for moments like these, ya'll. I felt so very full of life and adventure, and so connected to my fellow man. It's a rare, but unforgettable feeling, and one of my main reasons I travel as I do!

The next morning I woke up late and decided to go on a walk by myself. I know, crazy right? But sometimes you just want to be a solitary adventurer. I wandered down the road, enjoying views, until I found a hostel outside of town. I had wanted to stay there initially, but they were full, so I decided to take advantage of their vistas and open benches to do a little studying instead. This was my view while I studied the present perfect tense! There were many other travelers laying in the grass around me and I talked with them for a while before heading back down to town.

It was a lovely last afternoon before I caught the bus back to Pereira. I had made plans to head to Medellin the next morning, so I thought I could spend a night in Pereira (where I had to change busses anyway) and visit my new friends again. I met Julian and his sister for arepa con choclo (a local speciality) and then I met the Argentinian. We returned to my favorite cafe, El Barista, and I bought a few more bags of coffee! A few members of the conversation club were also there, so the night was pleasantly long, and I made many promises to return to Pereira in the near future!

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