Cream of the Crop

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Day 111 -112

Today we continue our journey south to Salento a little town nestled in the foothills of the Andes and in the middle of the coffee region. After 5 hours, 2 buses and one willy Jeep we arrive at our hostel farm which feels like an oasis of calm. We are slightly worried that we have no lock on our door but draw the conclusion that our stuff will be safe from the cows. We spend the afternoon reading whilst listening to the cows munching the grass. The farm is a dairy farm and offers fresh (unpasteurised) milk and milk products (yoghurt and rice pudding) which are delicious. We choose to eat at the farm that night and are impressed by the thai chicken curry that is served (so good it reminds me of my mum’s version).

The only thing which interferes with the zen-like calm I have cultivated on the trip is the annoying hostel ‘staff' who are made up of ‘volunteers’, and introduce themselves by saying that if we need anything just to ask. But every time we ask for something they inform us (one in a particularly passive-aggressive way) that they aren’t working at that particular moment. They also treat the place like their house, tell us to turn our film down, and then proceed to play their (bad) music and films really loudly... grrrr

And breathe - anyway back to the point... We get up early to make the 9am willy jeep to the Valle de Cocora (the cocora or wax palm can grow up to 50m tall and wax taken from the leaves and trunk is used to make candles). We are told to hire wellies as the path is muddy, and join a small scrum to fight over the 6 pairs that are available. I get a pair with a hole in (which seems to defeat the point) but Si resourcefully tapes it up with parcel tape. We hot foot it to town (well as quickly as you can walk in a pair of uncomfy wellies) and arrive at the square dead on 9am... to be told that the jeeps don’t leave till 9.30. Feeling slightly peeved, we are relieved when 5 other guests from our hostel (who we told the ‘times’ of the jeeps to) turn up and the jeep goes early.

In the jeep we meet Max and Sarah (Germany), Carlos and Sandra (Colombian and Swedish) and Paula (Colombian) who are all friends. Carlos and Sandra have done the walk before and so we ask if we can walk with them (even with a map me and Si are prone to arguments on a walk, and so without one...disaster, we’d still be there now). The walk is beautiful, the company is great and despite the sky looking ominously cloudy the rain holds off until we reach our first destination – a farm/reserve at the top of the hill. We sample the local speciality of cheese and hot chocolate and Paula shows us to put the cheese in the hot chocolate to melt (it goes soft and squeaks against your teeth) and it is delicious! The farm also has dozens of resident humming birds, and they are so lovely to watch (more difficult to photograph as Si discovers), their wings flap so fast they actually make a whirring sound.

We wait for a small rain shower to stop, and then head off to finish the final climb to the Finca de Montana (highest point of the walk). We climb and climb and climb, and it seems much longer than the 1km it is supposed to be. Our reward is great views and another chocolate break (courtesy of Carlos and Sandra). Descending into the valley, we get our best views of the wax palms, and on the path we even spot a baby tarantula vs large wasp/ant thing fight (the wasp seems to be winning). We just miss the 5pm jeep home and begin to get worried as more and more people arrive to take the last 6pm jeep. In the end another jeep turns up, but in ours there are 2 people in the front, 6 in the back and the 3 guys (Max, Si and Carlos) stand on the footplate at the back of the jeep and hang on for dear life as we speed back to Salento. Back in town we head to a restaurant and have a meal of soup, trout and a juice for £2, before heading to the farm for a well deserved shower (unfortunately there is no hot water), and a game of cards before going to bed.

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