Blogs from Salento, Quindío, Colombia, South America - page 4

Als mein Kleinbus wie ein Kamel die einsame Straße nach Salento hinauf schwankt frage ich mich, ob ich schon für das nächste Paradies bereit bin. Mitten im Kaffeedreieck, umgeben von Nationalparks mit weiten Tälern voller Kaffeebäumen liegt das verschlafene Dorf, dass selbst vom lokalen Tourismus noch recht verschont geblieben ist. Meine Hacienda liegt direkt hinter dem Ortseingang. Neben etwa 20 Hunden begrüßt mich eine Bulldogen-Ameise (die hier) auf meinem Kopfkissen. Es riecht nach exotischen Pflanzen und Regenwald. Ich hole mir erstmal einen Kaffee. Nach der ersten Tour durchs Dorf hat sich mein Zimmer gefüllt. Die Belegschaft: Sophie aus England, Mitte 30 und Freelancerin, Callan, ebenfalls England, hat irgendwann mal irgendwas Soziales studiert, jetzt von Beruf Backpacker. Ein hinkender Hund findet sofort gefallen an Cal... read more

After the coffee farm tour, our awesome driver Orley met us at the hotel to drive us for the day to Valle de Cocora and Salento. Both of these towns are set amid gorgeous green mountains in the coffee zone. We first visited the Valle de Cocora that is the home of a ton of "palma de cera" (wax palm), that is the largest palm in the world (up to 60 meters tall) and is also Colombia's national tree. The views in the valley were breathtaking and the people were kind and helpful throughout. We enjoyed an excellent trucha (trout) lunch at Bosques de Cocora Donde Juan B. We also tried their speciality cinnamin drink -Canelazo. YUM! We ventured down the opening path of the Reserva Natural Acaime and saw the trout farm that our delish ... read more

So now it's time to say goodbye to Salento. Well maybe past time since I have been gone for over 2 weeks. Salento is the type of place I want to retire to. Nice weather year round and beautiful scenery. La Serrana is another beautiful part of Salento. Basically I just laid around and chilled out all day. I'll provide you with some photos of me at the office. At La Serrana there is one person who runs the place. His name is Pablo. Pablo is the official mascot of La Serrana and he reigns over the place. Pablo doesn't even drink water, they make him agua de panela con leche (basically sugar water with milk) because I'm told he doesn't like water. Actually he does drink water, I've seen him. Of course a dog will ... read more

Those who know me know that I hate having my picture taken. I am a photographer and I am used to being on the other side of the camera. So sometimes when I am showing my photos of places I have been people ask why am I not in any of the photos. So now I would like to introduce you to my alter ego. For the past few years I have been traveling with my Lamont Morris my alter ego. He stands in for me for any photos I take. We have a lot in common. We are both former military, he was in the Marines and I was in the Navy. We both like to travel, cook and read. And in in fact we could even pass for twins. There is a small height ... read more

So here I sit still in Salento day 19, July 4th 2011. Salento is so peaceful. Let me tell you about a typical day. My alarm is set for 8:30. Sometimes I get up before it goes off, or I might sleep for an extra 10-15 minutes. I don't have to get up but I do want to keep some kind of schedule. Beside breakfast is served from 7-10 and it is included with your room. Breakfast is 2 eggs, a roll, and 2 cups of coffee with fresh raw milk straight from the cow. I don't normally drink coffee but when I travel it is free so I drink it. I drink 2 cups here at La Serrena because Jon makes good old American coffee. Usually coffee is very strong and bitter so it is ... read more