Salento wasn't actually on my itinerary, but the more I spoke to people who had been there, the more I realised that I had to go. Therefore, instead of getting on the bus to Bogota when I eventually managed to pull myself away from Medellin, I boarded a small, uncomfortable minibus which took me to Salento in about 7 hours. I opted for the minibus as it is the only way to get to Salento without stopping in either Armenia or Pereira, but if I were to go again I would probably choose a big bus with a stopover. It would totally be worth it to avoid the heat in that unairconditioned minibus.
My first night in Salento was rather uneventful. I fell asleep as soon as I set foot in my hostel room, and only woke up to have a vegetarian curry in the hostel restaurant before going back to sleep. I guess Medellin and the bus ride just wore me out. In Salento I stayed at the Casa la Eliana, and really enjoyed it. It's a quiet hostel, but I guess that's exactly what I wanted at that point. The last night I even had the dorm all to myself, and after living with different people every night for five weeks, I definitely didn't complain.
The following morning I was up with the roosters, fully rested and ready to encounter the Cocora Valley and a five hour hike. The goal of the hike is to reach the valley where the wax palms grow. This is the national tree of Colombia and the tallest palm tree in the world. Definitely a must-see when you're in Salento. To get to the valley you take a Willy, a colourful jeep which is Salento's version of a collectivo, from the main plaza. You then get out of the parking lot and follow the road uphill until you reach a sign which marks the beginning of the trail. I chose to first hike towards Finca de Acaime, where you have the opportunity to visit a hummingbird reserve for a small fee. The hike there took me 1,5 hours, and included no less than six sketchy bridges. I then paid the 5000 COP (13 kr) it cost to enter the reserve. With that I got a complementary drink, which I enjoyed with some snacks and the hummingbirds flying around me. After visiting Acaime you have the option to walk towards Estrella de Agua or to head straight to Finca la Montana. I chose the latter as I wasn't interested in adding several more hours to my hike. The stretch from Acaime to Finca la Montana is the hardest part of the hike, as it includes about 1 km of steep uphill climbing, taking you to 2860 meters above sea level. The view from the top was great, and luckily it was all downhill from there. I spent 45 minutes getting from Acaime to Finca la Montana, and from there it is an additional 5 km to get to the valley with the palm trees. I finished the entire hike in four hours including my 30 minute stop at the hummingbird reserve, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's amazing how excited you can get about seeing palm trees, but I really was. It was a great day!
For my last day in Salento I did the one other thing you should be doing while being there. When you're in the centre of Colombia's coffee region you simply can't miss visiting a coffee farm or two. I chose to hike for about 30 minutes to reach the area where most of the farms are located, but it's also possible to take a Willy. The first farm I visited is called Don Elias, and is a family-driven ecological coffee farm. They do tours in either English and Spanish for 10 000 COP (26 NOK), and if you're lucky you could get guided by Don Elias himself. I wasn't that lucky, but it was still really interesting to see how the farm works and how the coffee is made. At the end of the tour we got to try the coffee, and it was probably the best coffee I have ever tasted. I bought some to take home with me to enjoy when I'm back in Norway. After finishing the coffee and having a little chat with the other people on my tour, I made my way to Finca El Ocaso, which is located right next to Don Elias. This is a much bigger farm which produces coffee on a larger scale, and I figured it would be interesting to see the differences between the two. When I arrived at El Ocaso a tour had just begun, but luckily the guide let me join. We were each equipped with a basket and after a quick coffee lesson we were sent out to search for ripe coffee beans. They were hard to find, as it wasn't harvesting season just yet, and when our time was up I proudly presented the one bean I was able to find. I clearly don't have a future as a coffee bean harvester. After our rather unsuccessful search, we were led through the process of making the coffee, which was similar to the one I had just witnessed at Don Elias, only with bigger machines. Also this tour ended with a coffee tasting, and while the coffee was tasteful, it wasn't as good as the one I had had earlier, which was good as I didn't feel the need to buy coffee there as well. There is only so much coffee a backpacker can carry, right? This tour costs 15 000 COP (40 NOK). It's hard to say which of the two I would recommend, as they were very similar, but yet different. I enjoyed the harvesting session we had at El Ocaso, but also the more intimate feeling the Don Elias farm gave. Choose one of them or go to both. Either way you'll have a great experience.
I took a Willy back to town with the people from my tour, before having the most amazing veggie burger for lunch. Every time I eat a veggie burger I tell myself it's the best I've ever had, but this was really the one. While most backpackers will probably pick Brunch Diner as their favourite restaurant in Salento, which is fair as they also have great food, my pick would still be Meraki, located a few blocks down the street. I literally rolled out of the restaurant, and was unable to eat for the rest of the day. Budget tip for you, right there!
My appreciation for seeing the cities I visit from above is well catered for in South America, as the cities here almost without exception have a "mirador". Therefore, after taking a stroll in Salento's main street, I climbed the stairs to the viewpoint and enjoyed the view and the sunset before having yet another chilled night in.
I ended up really enjoying Salento. It's small and beautiful with great streets for just walking around. I left Salento feeling both relaxed and refuelled. It was also a great end to my stay in Colombia, as it was the last place I visited before heading towards the Ecuadorean border; a journey that took me several days.
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About a month in Ecuador.
