Salento you are soooooo pretty

Oh oh oh 

Leaving the rather uninspiring city of Armenia we instantly find ourselves surrounded by green. Not the green of NZ but a vibrant green quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and it goes as far as the eye can see. Grass, ferns, palms, banana trees. A picture that exudes peace and tranquility. Too beautiful.

We arrive in the town of Salento, a small place with a population of around 7,000, an elevation of around 1,800 metres and enough charm for the whole world. The town is built in one of the three Colombian arms of the Andes and the hilliness helps to give it the character. It also sits in the eje cafeteria region (coffee region) and provides easy access to the Corcora Valley. 

On arriving we check into our hotel, Hotel Salento Real, the cutest place ever. It’s almost like a riad with rooms opening onto a walkway overlooking a lovely courtyard centred with a sweet wee fountain. It just oozes character and charm. The rooms are just as quaint.

We set off for an orientation walk struggling to take in so much cuteness. The town is busy tonight its a long weekend and full of tourists (mainly spanish). The main street is lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, the odd street vendor and leads to the town square which is surrounded by food stalls. One side of the square is taken up by jeeps, the local ‘taxis’ and many have seen better, much better times.

We spent some time in an old fashioned bar watching the men playing billiards, keeping track of their scoring with strings of beads hanging along the ceiling. The old guys playing at table near us enjoyed posing for us and soaked up the applause we were giving.

As a group we went to the restaurant ‘Makau’ for dinner. A rather nice grilled breast of chicken with braised carrots and rice; a great change from the hotel food in Bogota which with the exception of the plantain soup was pretty yuk.

There was the cutest beetle outside on the pavement and I was deeply engrossed taking photos when it upped wings and flew off. Another wee adrenalin rush for the day.

The night was still young when most of the others left for a wander round town but I headed backto the warmth and comfort of my room. For the perfect pre sleep comforter I took a hot nightcap with me - a drink of Canelazo, passionfruit, canella(cinnamon), miele (honey), ginger and just divine. In some places they add the local liquor which I hear has an aniseed taste like ouzo. For me it was perfect without it. Should have had it when I was crook. 

It was the perfect ending to a super day.

Salento Day two

Next morning breakfast was early as we were on a mission. Food was too early for me but the brewed coffee hit the spot. I marvelled over the coolest tables in the restaurant. Vibrant colours and highly lacquered. I want. 

Our trip plan included a hike up the Corcora Valley to see wild life and vegetation. Not my thing and I never intended to go but some brave souls were quite intent on doing the 6 hour uphill trek in the rain which was now bucketing down. But three of us piled in the jeep with the rest of them for the 30minute drive to the bottom of the trekking path. It was raining so much that it was hard to see much but he ride itself was interesting. 6 of us the the back of the jeep, 2 in the front and 2 people outside hanging off the runner boards on the back. It got too wet and cold for those two so we squashed up and got them into the back. The road was ok, apart from a few washouts, but very windy and steep. The need for a 4WD was obvious as was the need for a bit of off road training for the driver.

By the time we had reached our destination I’d had enough and caught the next jeep back to the hotel, with time enough for a quick ziz before checkout. I was more than happy to be back in the warm and dry and didn’t feel as though I had missed out on anything.

Together with two of the ladies on tour, CC and Carmel we spent a few hours wandering the streets, people watching and just taking in the loveliness of this place. The people were just divine, the sights just super. We spent time watching a couple of olds at the cafe next door. She was asleep and he was the grumpiest looking person I’ve ever seen. They were good entertainment for us all.

We hung out at the hotel till the brave ones returned from their hike and then made moves to get organised for our next stop, the coffee Estancia.