Day 4 +5 Bogota - Salento Get out of the hustle and bustle and head to the Zona Cafetera Quindio District

6:45 am out of bed. Yesterday was a tiring tucki tucki day (long bus ride). At 7:00 am we stood in front of a huge bus terminal. Find the right counter, grab a quick coffee and off we went. It took about 90 minutes until we left Bogota. Permanent bus entertainment included. We reached our first destination IIbaque after about 4 hours. From there we drove to Armenia. In IIbaque the terminal was smaller, but there was also a lot going on. The rows to purchase tickets were long. Our problem was to find the right counter, and eventually someone noticed. A friendly police officer made sure that the German tourists end up in the right bus. He didn't speak English, we barely spoke Spanish, but it worked. The route to Salento led over a pass. Everything around us was green. A song kept playing on the bus, but all I understood was tucki tucki. It was raining heavily. In Salento, the bus stopped at the bus stop, we got off. Farina made it clear to the driver that we still needed our backpacks. He said yes right away. A short time later, he just took off. Reflexively, we waved and chased after him. Shocked, we stood on the street and wondered what to do now? About 2 minutes later, he came around the corner. He must have forgotten. My heart was already racing. With the wet backpacks on our backs, but at least we had them, we walked to the hotel. I picked out something nice for Christmas. They welcomed us with tea and told us about the excursions we could take. I was really exhausted from the long journey. We ate something quickly and went to bed.

Luckily, this morning we had sunshine. We decided on the coffee tour yesterday evening. We took a Willi Jeep, which are retired military jeeps and typical for the region, to a beautiful, spacious coffee farm. We were welcomed by David, a mischievous guide. He first talked about the cultivation of the plant, the different varieties, and so on. Then each of us got a basket to wear around our necks. We were supposed to pick only the yellow and red beans from the coffee bushes. Afterwards, he explained more about the processing process. In the end, we got to taste a cup of coffee. Overall, a very nice event. On the way back, we decided to walk instead of taking the Willi again. We were rewarded with the sight of an armadillo. In between, we also called our comrades at home, where it is already Christmas.

We're going to have a little Christmas here. Mulled wine spices from home, the red wine is from here. A package of delicious gingerbread and a small gift for Farina.