Salento

Valle de Cocora

Salento. Even the name exudes relaxation.  Nestled in the mountains of the Zona Cafetera, Colombia´s main coffee region, Salento was the perfect place to decompress. Gorgeous scenery, afternoon thunderstorms, and friendly locals beckoned us to stay a couple days longer than planned.  Whether hiking in the Valle de Cocora, playing cards over beers, or touring a local coffee farm, the magic of Salento was everywhere. 

Salento


Our first day we hopped a jeep to the Valle de Cocora, a stunning valley of wax palm trees set against lush mountains. The hike took us from the valley floor to jungle terrain and while the pictures don´t do the area justice, words convey even less. While waiting for the jeep in the main square, we met a nice couple from Latvia, Ines and Cristina, who seemed more surprised by the lack of English speakers than we were.  While our Spanish is slowly improving, it is surprisingly better than most travelers we´ve met.  We make a good team since Oliver speaks better than he understands and Laura understands better than she speaks. We´ve been trying new foods, even if we are unsure of what they are, to mixed results.  Some like the trucha, or trout, turn out to be tasty while others, such as the aguapanela con queso, a sweet hot medicinal broth served with a loaf of bland cheese for dipping, not so much.  We´ve met loads of friendly travelers almost everyday from the Baltic to Australia to Singapore.  We´ve especially enjoyed swapping travel tips, perspectives, idioms for bodily functions, etc. over local beers.  Though not normally coffee drinkers, when in Colombia, do as the Colombians.  One of the highlights of our stay was a tour of the organic coffee farm, La Finca Don Eduardo, where we were introduced to the surprisingly delicious cafe con limon, coffee with fresh-squeezed lime(also good for colds!) While Salento is a place where you can stay longer than you planned, you never feel like you´ve overstayed your welcome.

Our hiking buddies, Cristina and Ines.

We had to cross many a rickety bridge on our hike through the jungle.

Rear view of our room

In addition to coffee, the finca, or farm, also grows pineapples, bananas, plantains, strawberries, tobacco, bamboo, oranges, lemons, limes, blackberries, etc. all interspersed together.








Cafe con limon