David –
On paper the bus from Medellin to Salento was only 4 and a half hours. In reality it was actually 8. I wasn’t sure if my increasing nausea was the bus rapidly zig-zagging up and down the narrow road out of the city or if it was the stomach bug I had been dealing with the night before. We were both quite glad to hit multiple traffic jams where we could take a few deep breaths before whipping around the next stretch of road.
After a quick bus change outside of Armenia (a city in Colombia, not the Central Asian country) we down-graded our coach to a local variant to better tackle the sharp hair pin turns and washed out corners up to Salento. Needless to say Lauren’s choice of window seat was quickly regretted!
We arrived outside of the city square late afternoon – the traffic was very very local! We felt the charm of this little mountain side town instantly as did Lauren’s horse allergy!
By the time we checked into our room high above the sleepy town the sun had set, it was a great surprise to wake up and have breakfast to a vista like this! We liked the slow pace of this sleepy coffee region.
The freshly brewed coffee heightened our senses and we made short work of the walk down into the very quaint town centre. We were greeted by big smiles and loud ‘Buenos!’ the whole way. Paragliders swooped through the sky above as ‘Willy’s’ (jeeps) pulled out of the central square, loaded with tourists on the way to hike the surrounding hills. Ahh heaven!
After stocking up on fresh mango we boarded the next available Willy and we headed to Cocora Valley (along with most other tourists).
Cocora Valley was picture perfect – the wax palms lined the valley. It was out of this world and soo photogenic! They are the tallest palms in the world and were a marvel to walk through and feel like tiny ants!
We spent a few hours strolling through the picturesque mountains bumping into horses and birds as we went. The part of Colombia is truly stunning and we felt really lucky to have the time to explore it.
It was all downhill from the valley so we opted to ride in true local/tourist style – hanging on to dear life off the back of the Willy! The view was certainly a lot better with the wind in our faces.
While enjoying the sunset over from our Hostel’s balcony we got chatting to another traveler who’d been on the road a lot longer than us. Gurkan Genc has travelled all over the world (except Australia) – on his push bike! He set off more than 8 years ago from his home in Turkey and was more than willing to tell us of adventures and stories. Check out – https://www.gurkangenc.com/en/ for a look at all of his travels!
Before leaving Salento I really wanted to do a mountain bike tour of the surrounding ‘hills’. In the morning I was onboard the back of the ute, loaded to the hilt with huge dual-suspension mountain bikes.
I was joined by two Swiss guys and a French couple, as the car climbed higher and higher into the clouds it got windy, cold and even a few drops of rain. The views were breath taking and it certainly made everyone question their commitment on being able to get down on two wheels.
Two locals had hitched a ride, choosing to be towed up on ropes. They didnt complain but did mention they had a rather sore arse after the 60min accent.
Part 1 was a leisurely roll down a dirt road – the area was densely populated with wax palms, dairy farms and un-ending views of lush Colombian jungle. The second decent was a lot more intense. For those who are willing the ‘extreme’ ride starts with a ‘test’ run to see if your abilities are suitable for the full decent. The French couple knew their limits but we forged ahead down the steepest, fastest and most intense down hill i’ve ever done!
The ride had everything – smooth flowing trails through jungle and pine forest, what felt near vertical drops, rolling green pastures the most technical rock garden section – we had to walk the bike down! I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face! (and I didnt have a trip ending injury either!). Lauren enjoyed a relaxing massage and then met me, dirty and smelly, in town with our luggage before we headed on wards to Pijao!
The transfer took a little longer, as most things do in South America. The direct road had been damaged by a land slide and we took a very leisurely detour through little townships up the adjacent valley.
We were absolutely blown away with the views from our Finca (coffee plantation) of the town of Pijao (we took a long time to properly pronounce it – Pee-How).
Other than just soaking in the local speed of life we wanted to see, feel, smell, taste and experience the source of the best Colombian pick me up! We did an all day coffee tour with ‘Wakecup coffee experience’ and loved every moment. It was fascinating seeing the authentic and complex process of something you drink everyday. It really gave me a new appreciation of how much work goes into coffee production, how time consuming it is and the vast differences in coffee qualities. Now that I’ve tasted ‘real’ coffee it’s going to be hard to go back!
Don Leo was the master coffee producer and farmer. He was such a great character and was genuinely interested in showing us how he produced export quality coffee! We couldn’t help buy a sample of ‘honey’ and ‘natural’ coffee to try make at home.
After our short stay at Pijao we headed back around the valley (with the detour) to Buenavista (Good view in spanish). This town was by far the quietest and least touristy spot we’ve seen in Colombia
We continued to live in the slow pace of life – walking and exploring the quaint little town and drinking coffee coffee and more coffee! Some rain made for a nice cool change and dramatic photos and Lauren tried her hand at bird photography!
Another couple of buses and we would find ourselves in Cali!
Hasta la vista!
Far Away From Home 