Im Reich der Giganten! - Salento

Uñt’ayata: 01.03.2018

23/02 - 26/02

Since we have mainly traveled in the coastal area of Colombia so far, we wanted to explore the inland a bit towards the end of our stay. Therefore, we decided to visit the small village of 'Salento', which is mainly known for its wax palms - the tallest palm species in the world. Sounds exciting, right? :)

From the B&B in El Valle, we returned to the 'airport' in Bahia Solano. We checked in and passed the time until our flight with organizational matters for the onward journey. At some point, our flight was finally called and we went through the security check, where a police officer only superficially inspected our hand luggage. The plane back to Medellin was even smaller than the one we had flown to the Pacific coast with. The capacity of the plane was only 17 people. The flight was a bit bumpy again and reminded me a little of a roller coaster ride. Looking out of the window, you could observe how the wings tilted up or down.

After landing in Medellin, we hurried from the airport to the bus station opposite. We knew that the last direct bus to Salento would depart at 1 p.m. We arrived at the ticket counter five minutes before departure and bought two tickets for the bus - lucky us! Unfortunately, the journey took over 9 hours instead of the planned 6. The route was very curvy and there were dozens of construction sites, so only one lane was open at a time. However, the view and the sunset were great again.

We checked into our hostel after the long journey and went to bed early as we wanted to be fit for a hike the next day. However, the next morning we had to realize that Salento and the beautiful surroundings were covered in thick clouds. It was also pouring rain. So we stayed in the room in the morning and hoped that the bad weather would soon pass. Around noon, the rain decreased and it looked like it would clear up. So we packed our backpack, got ready, and went around the corner to the main square. From there, jeeps went to the 'Valle del Cocora' every fifteen minutes. We managed to get two standing places on the rear step board of a crowded jeep. Standing at the back of the vehicle like garbage collectors, we drove for about 15 minutes to the starting point in the Cocora Valley.

The circular hike that we planned for the day was marked with five hours. Since it was already 12 o'clock, we didn't want to waste any more time and started hiking immediately. The hiking trail turned out to be more adventurous than we expected. Shortly after the start, we realized that the hours of rain had taken a toll on the trail. We had to trudge through ankle-deep mud. Other hikers passed us wearing knee-high rubber boots that were available for rent somewhere - everyone had the same ones. After a good hour of walking through flat field paths covered in mud, we suddenly entered a wild overgrown rainforest where we had to cross very makeshift suspension bridges. We then climbed a steep ascent to the highest point of our tour, the 'Finca La Montaña' at 2,860 meters.

After a short snack break, we started the much easier descent. The sun slowly came out and we reached the main attraction of the entire hike - the gigantic wax palms. To be honest, you don't have to do this hike just because of tall palm trees. It's more the overall landscape and the view that give the palm trees their beauty. After a short photo session, we arrived at the starting point after three and a half hours and took another jeep back to Salento.

We spent the second day exploring the town at a leisurely pace. We tasted the excellent coffee because Salento is located in the middle of Colombia's largest coffee region. Emi did a little shopping and we watched the lively hustle and bustle on the main street. We also walked up a small hill in the village, where we could enjoy a great panoramic view of the surrounding area. Salento reminded us a little of Guatapé: Here, too, the small, low houses were painted and decorated in bright colors, and the town was generally very touristy. We had hoped for a more rustic atmosphere in the Colombian countryside.

After dinner, we tried a very popular recreational sport of the Colombians - Tejo. The aim is to throw a kind of metal puck, which is about the size of a hand, as close as possible to the playing field a few meters away. The playing field consists of a clay surface with an iron ring in the center and is covered with small plates filled with gunpowder. The goal is to hit the plates at the right angle and with enough force to make them explode. If you succeed, there is a loud bang and a trail of smoke marks the successful throw. An unwritten rule states that you must always drink a bottle of beer when playing Tejo. Alcohol and explosives - sounds like a good combination.

So we looked for a Tejo bar and had the rules explained to us in Spanish by the bartender, by now we are getting pretty good at understanding. We started our first throwing attempts from a very short distance to the field. Two lanes next to us matched three Colombian veterans who threw the quite heavy metal puck in a high arc across the entire hall and hit the gunpowder plates precisely. But we didn't let that discourage us and played three rounds together. A round ends when the first player scores 21 points. There is a specific scoring system that I will spare you the explanation of! :)

After our beer was empty and our throwing arm was tired, we ended our short Tejo career. Somehow we couldn't really get excited about this game. You are constantly busy running back and forth and the expected explosions didn't happen at first. The plates don't explode very easily, you have to hit them exactly on the iron ring with a certain force. Therefore, it is recommended to throw with a steep and high trajectory, which makes aiming even more difficult. Of the 14 plates we had at the beginning, we managed to make 9 explode. We destroyed the remaining 5 from close range - that was really fun! :)

Conclusion:

Salento was actually symbolic of our entire stay in Colombia. If I had to describe Colombia in one word, it would be 'green'. As far as the eye can see, there is simply nothing but green landscape, and not just flat, but stretching across many mountains and valleys. Salento is located at an altitude of 2,800 meters. It is especially this landscape that will always stay in my memory of Colombia.

The village itself is beautiful, but unfortunately already very touristy and also well-frequented by Colombians. If you want to visit this area, you can definitely look for alternative destinations, for example Buenavista. This place is supposed to be just as beautiful as Salento, but far less crowded. Unfortunately, we did not have enough travel time left in Colombia, so we had to compromise and chose the easier-to-reach Salento. We also wondered in general how a small village like Salento became a tourist magnet...

If you want, you can also take a closer look at the surrounding coffee plantations. We have already satisfied our enthusiasm for coffee in Minca.