We arrived in Salento exhausted after an unexpectedly short night bus to Armenia dropping us off at 4am. Chris didn’t believe me when I said we’d arrived. We then had to wait in the bus station for our connection to Salento.
Weather:
Warmer than Bogotá but still very mixed – sun early in the day but the clouds roll in around the mountains and break into storms. We heard the loudest lightning ever which struck really close by. We spent a couple of evenings watching water rush down the streets while we ate dinner.
Where we stayed:
A cute hostel with a traditional paisa style courtyard, just off the main square (once again Plaza Bolívar). Mattress was amazingly hard but surprisingly comfy.
Best thing we ate:
Probably Chris’s arepa con queso, which was freshly made and covered in butter, much better than the dry pastry Florence chose.
Coolest thing we did:
The main reason for going to Salento was to hike the stunning Valle de Cócora, home to the otherworldly forest of wax palms. We caught a Willy (ex-US Army jeeps) from the main square where we were sandwiched between frenchies, apparently the number one nation visiting Colombia.
We set off on the hike from Cócora, it took us about 6 hours (with lots of stopping) and it was 750m of elevation gain. We went anti-clockwise to save the viewpoints to the end, to feel like we really earned it, and on balance we’d say they were definitely worth it!
Bonus:
While we mainly came for the Valle de Cócora, we found that Salento town was a charming place. It felt really safe and pleasant to walk around and was clearly popular with local tourists as well as backpackers.
Bonus bonus:
Cool fungus.
Our next stop is Medellín – hasta luego!
Besos,
Chris and Florence
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