Salento Nirvana

Salento wasn't on my radar but after severval people had mentioned going there it seemed like a good bet. Besides, its only about an hour away from Armenia where I was headed anyway and I figured I'd just make a decision after I got there from how it looked from the bus window.

The ride was fairly uneventful and the scenery didn't make as big an impression as the bus rides so far, but honestly I was just glad to be leaving the city for the mountains I didn't care.

The look of Armenia didn't impress at all and seemed mostly unkempt and dodgy, so I went directly toward the line of little collectivo buses bound for Salento.

There was a very quirky Canadian couple who were scooping up some self-prepared gourmet dishes out of Tupperware containers. Everything they did was hyper-animated in a cartoonish way as they also struggled to wrangle all their over-packed luggage onto the minibus.

Turns out they were trying to fit about 4 weeks worth of traveling into about 10 days. When I asked the fellow if that was even possible he quipped that it works out on paper and whipped out his spreadsheet to illustrate. A spreadsheet?! I tried to contain the urge to laugh out loud but failed.

Neither of them spoke much Spanish at all. When one of the bus drivers wished them "Buen provecho" they turned away from his comment in fear and pretended not to hear. I asked them if they knew what the driver had just said and they admitted they hadn't a clue. They looked embarrassed when I said he simply wished them good appetite.

On the way to Salento, a woman passed out flyers and handed one to the quirky Canadian girl. She gave the woman the stink eye as she refused to accept it. The Colombian gave her an exaggerated mocking expression right back and then started laughing at her.

I told the girl the woman was only giving her a hostel promotional flyer, but she just gave me the same stink eye. Later I ran into them again because no later than 30 minutes from checking into their pre-booked accommodation, they were being led out into the valley below on horseback. They stopped to take some snapshots of the view and I heard the girl attempting to translate what the guide was telling them. It wasn't even close and another backpacker and her boyfriend standing nearby started snickering at them. I was tempted to make fun of them as well but I have to give them proper respect for their moxie in attempting the near impossible without even being able to speak the most basic of phrases. Something tells me there are a few things that spreadsheet hadn't accounted for.

After I took a few snapshots for the Canadian couple, I heard them gasping with delight as their horses descended down the narrow muddy passage toward the valley below. They sounded so much like delighted children on Christmas morning, that I thought perhaps I'd check into booking myself a horseback ride as well if time and budget allowed. I know that sounds about as adventurous as going to the zoo, but I'm trying to keep an open mind and not fall into that snooty cooler-than-thou backpacker attitude that's unfortunately so prevalent.

I was now alone with simply one of the most majestic views I've ever seen. I just stared in amazement for several minutes reminding myself to breathe every now and then. It seemed ridiculous to want to close my eyes and attempt to control my breath in meditation, but after a few minutes of clearing my mind then slowly opening my eyes to that spectacular view, I think I may have experienced a brief glimpse of Nirvana.

As twilight faded, I began to make my way back to the hostel and ran into an English couple who were strolling. They were staying at the same hostel I was and somehow we ended up engaged in some excellent travel conversation as we meandered our way back through the rural pueblo. Some of the coolest and unpretentious cats I've met on this trip and definitely my kind of people. They ended up doing the horseback thing as well and gave it thumbs up, so I was definitely going to have to try and squeeze in a ride myself before moving on.

The following day I hopped one of the jeeps they call "Willy's" to the valley trailhead in the Cocora valley below. It wasn't a walk in the park by any means but I made due and after the umpteenth time if washing the mud and manure off my legs in the half dozen or so river crossings, I pretty much gave up and just let it be.

Some of the scenes in that hike were so unbelievably surreal that I had to wonder at least a couple of tims if I were merely dreaming up this place.

Salento and the Cocora hike is so far, the highlight of this trip. To think I almost didn't bother going the extra hourlong bus ride to get here... Chalk another one up to listening to intuition.

After a glorious second hike to a coffee finca for a rustic tour of the original non-mechanized methods of coffee bean cultivation and a rough but dramatic and exhilarating horseback ride at near 45 degree muddy angles, as well as slippery rock river crossings, it was time to move on. I really didn't want to leave this heavenly place for the congestion of Medellin, but I was afraid if I relaxed any more, I may never leave.