Off to Salento

---

We are currently in Armenia and will be taking a short trip today to a little town called Salento. We have been busy the last few days travelling from San Agustin to Popayan, where we stayed for two nights, then from Popayan to Cali, where we stayed only one night, then from Cali to Armenia, where we stayed two nights and are heading out today.

The trip from San Agustin to Popayan was nothing short of awful. The bus ride took 9 hours, and covered a very short distance. We were stranded on the road for 2 and a half hours due to a traffic accident, and were in the midst of huge trucks hauling livestock. I usually love having animals around to pass the time with, however, in this case, it wasn´t all that enjoyable because most of the trucks had animals with their heads hanging outside the carriers at an awkward angle, dead. It was, no doubt, from the very bumpy, very windy road. To slow our progress down further, we went through military checkpoint one after another. All this with no bathroom on the bus and two sick travellers. The squirts saga is relentless. Not pretty. It was a neverending journey, but we arrived to a fantastic hostel in Popayan for recovery. Popayan itself was pretty and had many magnificent churches. We didn´t do to much other than walk the streets and take pictures.

In Cali we took in the zoo, which is a very touristy thing to do, but we enjoyed it thoroughly. By far, the biggest attraction at the zoo was the Canadian Grizzly bear that seemed to be deranged as it was pacing it´s compound urgently. That night we went out to eat at a fabulous Mediterranean restaurant which had fabulous food and a view of the 3 crosses that overlook the city.

In Armenia, which is part of the Coffee Triangle, we took in the National Coffee Park where we learned about the process of coffee production, rode horses, went on rollercoaster rides, bumper cars and boats, go-karts, and other thrilling rides. We also met Juan Valdez and his donkey, of course. It was quite a tourist trap, but a very enjoyable one! The bathrooms even had free toilet paper in each stall, which has become quite a rarity!

---

Photos

jake the fish
Kim says this is too many animal pics but I love them!

Comments

[mom]

happy
Happy to hear from you. Glad you are having some good adventures and are safe.