Tasted the Best Coffee in the World...

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Go to Salento if you like nature, a tranquilo town and nice coffee!

I arrived on a Friday evening to the town and had a tour of the town with some other guests of the hostel. The town is very very small and centers around the main plaza where locals sell fresh juices and local food, mostly trout, and of course, lots of beer.
If you have energy enough you can pass through Calle 6, which is the commercial street, and climb the 348 stairs up to the viewpoint and see the whole town on one side and stunning landscapes on the other.
The town lies in the middle of the coffee triangle and survives mainly on farming and coffee production. It is full of really nice and cozy coffee houses with fires where you can cuddle up in the night time when it gets chilly.

My second day in Salento, I spent in the Parque Nacional de Valle de Cocora. It is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever visited, with tall wax palm trees (which is Colombias national tree) surrounded by mist in the mountains.
To get to the park, you grab a jeep taxi on the main square, but don't be afraid to ride on the roof, or stand on the side/back rail, because in Salento there is no such thing as a full jeep!
There are a dussin of walks that you can do in the park, and we did one that took us to an orchid plant full of hummingbirds and then later up the mountain for extraordinary viewpoints!
The hikes themselves are quite exhausting as they are at above 2000m.

During my stay I also had the time to visit a tiny tiny coffee fabric and Don Eduardo's Finca, coffee farm, (where he also grew plantanes, flowers, strawberrys, pineapple and lots of other fruits). I learned all there is to know about coffee and tasted "the best coffee in the world". Unfortunately I am not that much of a coffee drinker, so I would not be able to tell the difference between a mediocre and a good coffee...

During my stay in Salento I met this beautiful Swiss woman who was packbacking on her own for more than a month, at the age of 79, and without speaking any other language than French!
She was one of the most inspiring 79-yearolds that I have ever met and since I speak French I could communicate with her.
I told her that I wish I will be like her when I get older, and she just looked at me, gave me a big smile and said "all you need is the wish to do what I do!"
What a lovely person!

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Photos

Jesus Martin Bedoya
Best Coffee Place in Salento

Wax Palm
which is Colombias national tree