Salento

Day 1 – Another Day on a Bus

Getting up fairly early,  we packed once again and headed next door to get some breakfast before hailing a cab to take us to the bus station where we would catch our next transport to the coffee town of Salento.

It was a 7-hour journey taking us out of the big city and into the countryside and into the main coffee producing region of Columbia.  As we climbed off the coach we then had a bit of a search for our hostel, which turned out to be on a downwards hill leaving town.

The hostel as it turned out was very nice, set in large gardens and we had a nice big room with a choice of three beds in it.  Once unpacked, we headed into the town to have a wander around.

 

 

Our first impressions of Salento were good as it seemed very quaint with a number of restaurant/bars along the street.  However our first point of call was to find a ATM as we were running low on funds, we got some directions from a nearby shopkeeper and he pointed us in the direction of the main square.

It was quite a steep climb up to the square but once we got there it revealed itself to be yet another beautiful plaza.  The only concerning thing was a large military presence, but this turned out so be some large drill they were doing.

 

 

A few more directions later and we found the ATM, but after making the right noises it then decided it wasn’t going to release any funds.  We walked across the square to try the other ATM in the town only to find it was a bank that did not like our card.

We still had a bit of money on us so we thought we would find a bar and try the first ATM later.  Walking up the street it seemed like a really nice place with all the building multi-coloured with wooden balconies overlooking the street.  Also, we noted that the local guys wore a traditional dress of a poncho and a Mexican/Stetson hat looking like something out of a spaghetti western.

 

 

After checking out a few bars and deeming their beer prices a bit high we eventually came across a large billiards hall that seemed to be frequented by locals.  We found a table and ordered a couple of ‘Welcome to Salento’ beers, whilst doing a spot of people watching.  The guys playing billiards all had their own cues and gloves and did the scoring by means of a wire above them with counters on them, which they used their cues to move about to indicate the scores.  Sat around us on the other tables were some real old characters resplendent in their poncho’s and Stetsons.  A real locals haunt full of photo opportunities.

 

 

Enjoying the general ambience of the place we stayed there for a few beers until we thought it was time for food. As we did not have much money and were feeling a bit lazy we headed across the road to a burger/hot-dog place.  Whilst my Jalapeno burger was pretty decent shell’s hot dog was almost un-identifiable with all the sauce toppings they put on it, luckily she managed to stop them before they added pineapple sauce!

Once we had eaten we returned to the ATM and as luck would have it the machine played ball this time.  We headed back across the plaza and found another bar t soit outside and watch local plaza life going on.

It had been quite a long day so after just one beer we decided to go for an early night and headed back to our hostel.

Day 2 – Hacking and Coffee   

Interestingly at this hostel they had a white board in the reception that you had to write down the time you wanted your breakfast at.  When we had booked it most of the reviews mentioned how good the breakfast was here, so we were looking forward to it when we got up today.

Breakfast was served in the back garden area and we were given a menu to choose from.  Apart from what we had chosen, we got a fresh juice drink (different every day), a cup of Columbia’s finest coffee and a fresh fruit starter.  Whilst you sat there enjoying the food you also had a beautiful view with bird feeders busy with humming birds and lots of other beautifully coloured tropical birds. A very pleasant start to the day.

 

 

Today we were hoping to do a trip, either horse riding, visit a coffee plantation or a nice walk in the national park.  We asked about trips with the receptionist and as luck would have it they had a horse riding trip which included a tour of a coffee farm.  We said we would like to book that and were surprised when he said we could start in 15 minutes, we agreed to start in 30.

No sooner than we had gone back to the room to get ready it was time to go and we were introduced to our guide and our steeds for the trip, Cappuccino – mine and Crystal – Shell’s.  Just to make you aware I am rather nervous on a horse, I would rather jump out of a plane!!

Anyway, before we knew it we were up in our saddles and heading up into town, which again made me a bit nervous as there were cars about and Cappuccino was not taking much notice of give way signs or me pulling on his reigns for that matter.  However, I’m guessing that these horse’s had done this trip hundreds of time and knew the way without either of us having to do much steering.

 

 

We soon were heading out of town and into some lush countryside, trying to get some pictures as we rode along but it’s a bit hard when you need to let go of the reigns.  Following the road down, with my horse stumbling every now and again (why do I always get the one with flat tyres, or are they doing it on purpose to shit me up!) we then were heading into prime coffee growing country.  The valley’s and scenery were stunning.

Shell was looking a bit more composed than me as we rode along and I couldn’t wait to get off as my arse was killing me, also not helped by Cappuccino (now renamed stumble-bum) tripping to his front knees.

 

 

After an hour or so we were then turning into a lane which led us up to the coffee plantation and we were soon dismounting and looking over a beautiful farmland.  We had a short wait for about ten minutes, long enough for me to have a fag to calm my nerves, then we were introduced to our guide for the tour.

 

 

Firstly, the guide took us to an area where we were all give small baskets to wear around our waist, apparently we were going to do some work.  But before we did that he took us to a hut/classroom where he explained the whole coffee growing and production process.  It was very interesting as they introduce large trees to the coffee plantations to provide shade for the coffee plants, also providing a source of fertiliser.  It also creates a micro-system which allows small spiders to thrive, who live on the coffee plant and protects it from the insects that can destroy the coffee beans.

Once our education was over we were then taken to the coffee fields and given instructions on what coffee beans to collect.  First, he gave us examples, they must be completely red or yellow before you pick them, he also gave us some to bite into so we could taste how sweet the  juice was that cover the bean.

Armed with the information the guide then gave us 10 minutes to hunt through the shrubbery and collect 10 ripe beans each.  It was a lot harder than it sounded as when you turned a bean you found that very few were completely red.  The 10 minutes were up very quick and like a game from the generation game the guide inspected our baskets for the results, my meagre harvest was given the thumbs up, but Shell’s had a few dud’s in it.  Looks like I have a future in coffee picking,  although I think I’ll have to up my work rate!

 

 

We were then led back to an area where they had a machine that split the bean’s from the husks before we were led to the drying area.  There was two methods of drying them, in the sunny month’s they were laid out on platforms in a greenhouse (temp about 50 degrees) or when not so sunny they used a wood burning oven.

 

 

After seeing this process, we were then given the low down on the grading of the beans and the subsequent roasting process.  The beans with some bug damage are lower grade but are still used and they are fully roasted until they are completely brown, this is the coffee most people will end up drinking.  The first-class beans are only medium roasted and when done they will be brown, but have a little sliver of white running through the centre – now we know what to look out for!

Finally, we were getting to the good bit, well after we were given some top quality beans to put through a medium grinder.

The coffee making process was also more complicated than you would imagine.  Firstly, when you make coffee, the water you add should not be boiling, the receptacle that catches the coffee drops should be pre-heated.  When you add the water to the coffee to the filter you should do it a bit at a time in a circular motion to ensure all the coffee is covered.

The guide pointed out that although this process may take three minutes to do it takes three years to grow the coffee beans in the first place, so you can at least wait 3 minutes to make the perfect cup of coffee.  Perfect it was, not at all bitter (caused by boiling water), the smoothest coffee we have ever had.  The thought of adding milk or sugar was sacrilege to him and he was right.  We are now returning to the UK as coffee snobs!

Whilst we sat supping we got chatting to a girl from the UK, Kim, who had done very well in the property market back home and now managed to do 6 month’s travelling each year from the proceeds. She had got life sussed! 

Who knew a coffee farm tour could be so interesting and informative??  Anyway, it was now time to get back to stumble-bum and crystal for a bit more pain.

 

 

Getting back in the saddle our guide gently coaxed our nags on chatting to them all the time to keep them going.  We liked this guide as he also tried to have chats with us despite neither of us being good at each other language’s, he also rode ahead at times to get some photos of us that actually make it look like we can ride.

Continuing up through the hill with quite a few stumbles, Shell’s horse also starting to join in the fun too (shit up the gringo’s) we headed back towards town admiring the views as we went.  Near the top the guide pulled us to one side so he could take some nice pictures of us on horse-back with a lush green valley as a back-drop (although the sign next to us says ‘for sale’??).

 

 

Another half hour more we arrived back in town and still in one piece, before getting off the horse we had somehow agreed to do another ride in a couple of days.  We then dismounted (gracefully as you could imagine) said our goodbyes to Cappuccino, Crystal and the guide before walking John Wayne style (Glenn not Shell) down the road to find a bar.

We spent a bit too long in this bar discussing our equestrian prowess and so after a few too many we headed back to the hostel for a bit of an afternoon nap.  After which we spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening doing some blogging and trip research.

 

Later in the evening we headed out looking for a restaurant where they also (according to the guidebook) had a game where you threw things at explosives to make them blow up – sounded fun.  We found the restaurant down a darkened street and when we entered it was very popular but we heard no signs of explosives so we figured that the guide book was old so maybe it didn’t happen anymore.

We sat down and ordered a meal and a couple of drinks.  The meal, pork chops, turned out to be really good and when we had finished the owner/waitress asked us if we wanted to play Tejo, the blowing up game, yeay!!  She told us to go upstairs around the corner where her husband was giving some instruction.

Tejo as it turns out is played between two players or teams, there is a plasticene slab at either end of an alleyway about 50 yards apart.  Affixed to the centre of the slabs are 3 pieces of small folded triangular papers with explosives inside them.  The idea being each person has a lead weight that they throw to try and hit the explosives to score points, if your weight sticks and stays on the platsticine by the end of the round you score a point, if you manage to detonate an explosive you get three points.

 

 

We now found out why we hadn’t heard large explosions as when you did actually (didn’t happen often) manage to hit one of these charges it only went off like a toy cap-gun.  Nether the less it seemed like and interesting game and after the rules were explained to us, Shell and I were pitched up against two German Guys and their substitute friend.

The game takes quite some time as it is the first to 27 points and it is a lot harder to score points than you would expect (there are not a lot of explosions despite hitting the pieces of paper quite frequently).  It is also extremely frustrating (possibly more so than golf!!), especially when Claus and Co’s weight kept on sticking to the target, whereas our kept on bouncing off.

 

Anyway, it was quite fun and I think the one game must have gone on for about 1 1/2 hours, but as usual when England play Germany the result was all too familiar!!!

 

 

It was now quite late so we had one quick beer whilst we licked our wounds, before returning to our hostel for the night.

Day 3 – Trek Day

We had to be up a bit earlier today as we had to catch a jeep to the national park.  First though we got to enjoy another great breakfast before heading to the main square to catch our ride at 9.30.

 

At the square, there were a line of jeeps and soon we were being asked to board them, most of the people sat inside the back (Shell included) then three people including myself were stood on the back on the foot plate and hung onto the bars (very health and safety).

The journey was about 10 miles and to be honest from the back we had great views of all the surrounding lush green countryside.  Shell meanwhile was making friends with a Columbian family insides, chatting and joking despite not knowing the language.

Twenty minutes later we had arrived at Cocora Valley the national park we were going to hike around.  We got out/off of the jeep and took in the beautiful surroundings we found ourselves in, most notable the 60 metre high wax palms, the highest palm trees in the world and as such a national symbol.

 

There wasn’t much signage around so we just followed in the direction that most people were walking in.  About 300 metres down the track we saw a gazebo with a man stood there, but the path that led from there was up!  After consulting with Shels new friends, we learned that this was one path but there was an easier path up ahead of us, so we opted for that.

After 15 minutes of walking we came to some low waterfalls which were quite pretty and from here we searched around for a bit until we found a bridge to take us over the stream and to the path proper.

 

 

The path went into the forest along a rocky muddy path and it followed the path of the stream.  Walking along it gradually climbed through the forest and here and there you could see more of the majestic palm trees on the mountainside.

 

 

Climbing some more we then had to cross another rickety bridge to take us back across the stream/river again and once more we were climbing again with the path getting a bit more tricky (for Shell not Glenn).

 

 

After an hour and a half, we came to a split in the path where quite a few people had congregated unsure of which path to take.  Another few people came with a map and the general consensus was that you took the path up.  Shell and I looked at each other and not fancying another gruelling hike we decided to turn around and head down.

Along the way back we bumped into the amateur botanist that I had chatted to on the back of the jeep and he pointed out some fly-catcher plants that his eagle eyes had spotted.  It was quite cool to see as we had never seen these in the wild before.

 

We continued a bit more slowly down the path once again crossing the two rickety bridges passing plenty of people that were doing a horse ride up the valley until we reached the waterfalls where we began the track.

 

 

Walking up the final track we went to the field to where the jeep had dropped us off and quickly found another jeep to return us to the town square.  On the way back we reversed seating arrangements as Shell wanted to experience the ride from the top.  It was a good decision by her as it was quite cramped inside the jeep and you could not see much, it was a much better ride out the back.

 Back at the town square we had a wander around for bit before going to the billiard bar to have a couple of refreshing beers. 

 

We had decided to have a bit of an early night so we headed home stopping at a fast food courtyard/square where we got some burger and chips to have back in our room whilst watching the original Terminator film on TV before turning in.

Day 4 – Back in the Saddle Again!

After yet another great breakfast it was time to think about getting on those hoofed beasties again.  Going to our room to get prepared I popped my head around the corner to see Cappuccino and Crystal waiting for us across the road.

 

 

When we got across the road we saw that we had a different guide and one that wasn’t very communicative. Once astride our horse’s we were let across the road and to our shock suddenly up a flight of steps, which was a bit worrying for us novices.

Again, we went through the town road with the guide not giving us any direction, left, right or straight on (we know the Spanish words for these), which was a bit annoyed, but I guess the nags knew where they were going.  The trek had been organised so that it ended up at some nearby waterfalls.

Leaving town, we then slowly started plodding up a hillside track.  We must have been riding for about half an hour and then the guide ushered us to the side where there was a fantastic panoramic view over the town below.

 

We then continued onwards and upwards with little information being given by the guide.  Shell’s horse decided it was going to follow a path towards a field, however the guide didn’t want us to go that way and he aggressively ran his horse inside of Shell’s causing in to panic and run up a bank and break into a run, Shell’s face was a picture.  However not great seeing as no helmets were supplied and we were not competent riders so Luckily, she managed to get the horse under control.

 Also whilst this was going on I had turned Cappuccino round as I thought I was going in the wrong direction (I was leading somehow), only for the guide to yank his reign’s around and give him a bit of a slap, which also put him into a run/trot.  We were not liking this guide!!

 Another ¼ hour later and we were pleased to be dismounting and the guide took us into a field/campsite where it had a very large oversized chair on the crest of a hill and some spectacular views over the countryside, but no waterfalls!

 

 

 We got back on our horses and it appeared we were heading back to town and home, I’m not sure where the waterfalls were, unless you counted the trickles of water coming off the side of the hillside.

 

 

 On the way back, I think our horses were a bit tired and they both went back into stumble mode, which made the return trip a bit unsettling.  At the end we were both glad to dismount as the guide had not been as attentive as the one from a couple of days previously and so the ride hadn’t been enjoyable.

In order to get over this experience we headed to the billiard bar to calm our nerves and where I swore not to get back on another horse, at least not this trip.  After a couple of beers, we thought we would head back to the hostel to relax.

 

 

Walking  back, we passed a bar/restaurant where we had heard rock music coming out of the previous night so we thought we would stop for a drink and a bite to eat.  We both opted for the chicken wraps and they were pretty good.

Returning to the hostel we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening blogging and sorting out some travel idea’s for Guatemala, where we were heading next.

 Unfortunately Shell was not feeling that great as she had picked up a nasty cold so we opted to stay in for the night.  Only with the exception of me popping out to the burger stall to pick up some food for dinner, 3 out of 4 nights junk food….disgusting behaviour!!

 For the rest of the evening we just watched a bit of TV and did some reading and sniffing (Shel) before lights out.