3 buses from Jardin: the first to Riosucio (literally 'dirty river'), then another to Pereira, a big industrial city, then the last to Salento. As ever, in our experience, the journey always takes far longer than advertised. This one took all day, over bumpy, mountainous and forested terrain, as opposed to the promised 4 hours. As in most of Central and South America, buses are used to transport foodstuffs and unidentified parcels, money is passed through windows and doors and packages are on- and offloaded en route.
The first of 3 buses, definitely not deluxe
The very friendly driver was from Barcelona, he told us. He lives in Riosucio because it's 'tranquilo' (quiet) and has done so for 13 years. We pointed out we were under the impression that 13 years ago Colombia was far from 'tranquilo'. He just shrugged and gave a wry laugh. Riding along the unmade, but very picturesque road, we spotted a broken down jeep. The driver leapt out to give the jeep a jump start, but no joy. So, despite a bus full of passengers, he attempted to rig up a makeshift towing mechanism, consisting of a log and some rope.
Towing a jeep, Colombian style
Half an hour later - all set to go....
Unfortunately, a few minutes along the road, we heard a thud as the log became detached from the bus, leaving the jeep stranded once more. This happened another couple of times before the bus driver reluctantly admitted defeat. What struck us was that none of the passengers complained that they had places to go, people to see, so hurry the **** up, as would no doubt happen in other places. They all helped out or waited patiently until we set off again. Another heartwarming experience involving Colombian people.
Not your usual motorway services
Obviously, not all Colombians are sweetness and light. We stopped off for a refreshment stop in a very rustic shack with a few wooden tables and chairs and a counter. The driver did the sensible thing and retreated to the kitchen to have a smoke, while I asked for 2 coffees. A woman with sunburned cheeks and a checked headscarf thrust a bowl of dark steaming liquid into my hand. Tasting the very sweet, strong coffee, I asked in Spanish if I could have another without sugar 'No!' she hissed and I guessed that the big pan of coffee on the stove already contained sugar. 'How much?' I asked 'Mil' she spat - 1000 pesos, or 20 pence for 2 delicious, sweet coffees, and the view, of mountains in the mist, was free.
We have made a pact never to make a judgement on a place when we first arrive, often hot and tired from the journey. At first glance, Salento, where the bus stopped, was nondescript. We reminded ourselves to give it a chance. Heading up to the main plaza there were several jeeps, which serve as taxis. They are known as Willys, the make of the jeep. We learned this a bit later on, when someone asked if we wanted to share a Willy!
Alan and driver in a Willy
We stayed in La Serrana, a hostel in the countryside, about a 20 minute walk outside town, where we were greeted on arrival by our lovely new Aussie campervan friends who we'd met in Jardin, who, as promised, had the chilled beer ready (normal for me and alcohol-free for Alan). How civilised, muchas gracias! We'd booked a tent, as that's all that was available when we booked. Imagine our delight when we discovered that this was to be our home for the next 5 days!
Home sweet home - our tent with a view at La Serrana
Navel gazing on the terrace
A real bed, wooden floor, wardrobe and a mirror - glamping at hostel prices!
We supped our beer with our lovely friends on the tent's terrace, as it began to drizzle and we gazed at the amazing view, complete with rainbow.
Then a spectacular sunset...
Followed by a stunning moonrise - enough already!
Luca, grouchy hostel dog (he has a shoulder injury and walks with a limp following an attack by 5 street dogs, poor boy, so has every right to be grouchy)
Like Selva y Cafe in Jardin, this is a very friendly hostel. At 7pm, the bell is rung for dinner and we head to the homely dining room to be fed by the lovely kitchen staff. There is a different theme each evening - we were underwhelmed when it was local-themed on our first night - one can have too much egg, rice and beans, but subsequent meals were good, especially the Mexican, and it was fun to sit with different travellers and hear their stories.
The communal dining room
And the very smart communal shower block - copper sinks and taps!
The (cold...bbrr) water supply was very erratic, as there is a severe water shortage across much of Colombia. In an effort to conserve water, the town turns off the water supply at various times of the day, but you never know when. Well, obviously, it's when you're lathered from head to foot!
Hiking the stunning Corcora Valley
Note in our packed lunch for the hike, from Brunch, a very popular cafe in town
Sadly, we had just one day with Alex and Todd, our Aussie mates, before they climbed back into their campervan and headed off. We spent the day hiking the beautiful Cocora Valley, a 5-6 hour hike taking in selva, bridges over rivers, up to a hummingbird sanctuary, followed by a mirador, then, in the valley below, through an area of amazing wax palms, the national tree of Colombia, which grow up to 60 metres tall, but are the same width as any palm tree.
A very rickety bridge over the river
Acaime - hummingbirds whizzed past our heads and these little racoon type critters came for lunch
At Acaime, the hummingbird sanctuary, 4000 pesos (just less than a pound) buys entry, a tooth-rottingly sweet hot chocolate or coffee and the experience of stunning hummingbirds of different sizes and colours at very close range, squabbling at the feeders.
And, the incredible towering wax palms. We heard that they are endangered and that the Corcora Reserve was developed in order to conserve them.
Dramatic view of the mountain from the mirador before the clouds rolled away
Towering wax palms
To give an idea of just how tall these giants are
Our travelling amiga, Alex, in the Corcora Valley
What a smile - this cute little calf may have overdone the orthodontics!
A perfect end to the day
Next day our amigos left for Bogota, we'll miss them
A stroll through the streets of Salento
Alan loved that you can see the construction method here
This petrol station dog's position reminded us of Canela at Lake Atitlan
We enjoyed a few lunches at this little veggie cafe - the menu del dia was 12000 pesos (about £2.50)
Salento from the Mirador
In the countryside outside Salento; as in Jardin, horses are commonly used for work
Ant nest on the roadside near the hostel
Lush valley near the hostel
Coffee farm tour
As we were in coffee country, we took advantage of one of the many coffee tours on a coffee plantation about 20 minutes from La Serrana. The 2 hour tour cost about £2 per person. It was so interesting to learn about the whole process, from bean to cup. Long and complex. The most common comment at the end of the tour was that a cup of coffee would never again be taken for granted. Sadly for the Colombian people, most of the good stuff is exported, so ironically, though Colombia is the 3rd largest coffee grower in the world after Brazil and Vietnam (but the largest exporter of Arabica coffee), it's quite difficult to get a good cup of coffee here.
Ripe coffee fruit, or 'cherries'
Our coffee tour guide asked us to pick some ripe coffee beans, red or yellow, not green. It took us all ages to pick a meagre few (though in our defence, the coffee season has not yet officially started), which was, of course, the whole point of the exercise. Coffee production is an extremely labour intensive process.
Unripe coffee fruit
Removing the fruit from the bean ......
To reveal very sticky beans (mucilage)
Woodpecker eating a banana in the coffee plantation
The beans are then fermented, dried, sorted and roasted .....
And finally, a very decent, naturally sweet cup of coffee
All ready to go, sadly for Colombians, most of the best grade to other countries
A fun evening of tejo, a Colombian sport involving beer, heavy stone projectiles and gunpowder, what's not to like?
One Saturday evening a few of us from the hostel played the Colombian sport of tejo, at a very local club. The aim is to throw a weighty (about 680g) metal puck at a target of clay, on which there is a metal ring. On the ring are arranged little paper triangles filled with gunpowder. You must throw underarm and stand at the end of the lane, but, apart from that, there were no discernible rules, except that you must buy beer in order to be admitted. The idea is that the puck sticks in the clay when thrown and you score the highest when you hit the bullseye, the next highest when you explode the triangle, and then less when you hit the clay outside the bullseye. The player whose puck is closest to the centre (with extra points for an explosion) wins. Gringos are assigned a shorter alley, about half size, whereas the Colombianos play on a full-size alley (22 metres) and have one big gunpowder triangle, not several little ones, and throw with great gusto.
Our tejo lane, much shorter for gringos!
Sebastian questioning the quality of our little gunpowder triangles, which refused to explode
Eventually, having hit the little gunpowder 'samosas' a few times and feeling cheated when they remained resolutely intact, Sebastian tackled the guy who them dishes them out. He insisted that it was our technique, not the packets, and that the pucks were not hitting them hard enough. However, he uncomplainingly changed them for us, twice, and, finally, we managed to make some explode. The sweet smell of success.... well, gunpowder, actually. Meanwhile, the Colombian guys in the next lane were exploding packets aplenty and, at one point, one of them hit a ceiling beam with his puck, bringing it and a fluorescent light tube crashing to the ground, causing much merriment and some hasty repairs. One member of our team almost hit a local with her puck; he just cartoon-ducked good-humouredly, probably used to it! A Canadian woman in our team, previously quite quiet, but becoming increasingly tipsy, dedicated each throw to a family member: 'This one's for you, mum', until, running out of relatives, ended with a dedication to her dead guinea pig, Rainbow..... Highly entertaining! A good fun night (Anna came 2nd!)
Hasta la costa, Sebastian. We've arranged to meet up soon at the beach near Santa Marta
So, this is our new Swiss-Chilean amigo, Sebastian. He is a mine of information, specialist subject Buenos Aires! We hit it off immediately and arranged to meet him and another new friend, Melinda, at the beach in a while. Travelling is a great way to meet people of all ages, nationalities and walks of life. As 'mature' travellers we are occasionally immediately dismissed by young backpackers in hostels as old farts with nothing to say, but we wouldn't want to be around them anyway and we've met all sorts of really interesting people along the way.
Our final day was spent in a fantastic natural reserve run by 2 dedicated men: a Londoner and a Colombian who met years ago in London and decided that their life's work would be to buy a piece of deforested land and work to return it to its former glory, with endemic plants and trees. They also hope to become self-sufficient and live a completely organic lifestyle. Inspirational. The reserve is called Kasaguadua and is a 20 minute walk from the hostel. They offer daily tours, which are free, but, like Cloudbridge in Costa Rica, they rely on donations. They have a few accommodation opportunities, including an Eco-pod, which they advertise on Airbnb! The walk through the reserve was a wonderful experience. Nick, the English guy, mostly self-taught, is incredibly knowledgable about the flora and fauna and his sheer enthusiasm is infectious. He speaks passionately about the symbiosis between plants, trees and animals and how we humans could learn from their example. They have planted numerous trees and guada groves (very tall endemic bamboo, from which the name Kasaguadua is taken). They have also created paths through the reserve, through which tourists can trek on educational tours such as the one we did. There is an area of primary forest which is not touched or visited by tourists to ensure that it continues to flourish. We were pleased and not a little surprised to learn that the Colombian government is very supportive of initiatives like this and there are hundreds all over the country. Sadly, we have no photos of the reserve, as our camera battery ran out... Boo, but we have great memories. Have a gander at their beautiful and highly informative website:
www.kasaguaduanaturalreserve.org
Finally, after several extensions to our stay at La Serrana (the staff joked that we'd never leave) we left Salento, with great memories, several new good friends and an even deeper love and respect for Colombia, its resilience and its people.
Update - Harriet, special pig!
We had emailed Harriet's new family to ask how she's settling in to her new life. We received this heart-warming photo by way of a reply:
Harriet, enjoying her daily constitutional on the mountain with some of the dogs
What a fantastic ending, well worth all the emotional and financial cost! Phew. Viva Harriet!
Next post: Colonial Cartagena
