Salento, that is in the cafetero region of Colombia, not too far away from Medellin in the east. But my bus to there took a whole 8 hours, because the journey often led through difficult and congested pass roads, where accidents occur frequently.

a VERY exuberant reception in my accommodation

I had already booked a great hostel there (I figured). The ratings were very good. My accommodation was next to a bar and the Colombian owner welcomed me exuberantly. Too much to be precise. She was a middle-aged woman and told me that she already had a German boyfriend. At the same time she kept touching me, of course she was a little tipsy already. I withdrew right away into my bed. The hostel was nothing special. In addition, the running water was sometimes not working (but that was a general problem in this village).

Meeting old friends & hiking through the mud

In Salento there were also 2 Estonian friends of mine, whom I had met in Medellin. With them I hiked to the Valle de Cocora. The hike was a muddy affair, because it had rained before and horses had trampled the paths. Nevertheless it was a nice hike, it went over creeks and bridges. And we saw the largest palm tree species in the world, the Quindio wax palm, which only grows in this region and reaches a height of up to 60 metres. A little later we wanted to hike to a mountain, but we got lost and had to turn back.

Back in the village I went for dinner to a small restaurant, when suddenly people arrived who seemed very familiar to me, but I was not able to identify them. They came closer and I could remember. I had already met them in Utila on the small Honduran island! How small the world is. The woman told me how she was bitten by a dog in Honduras, exactly where a dog was chasing me. With my "old" friends I went to play "tejo" after dinner. In this game you try to throw an iron disc-shaped disc, the Tejo, into a circle a little farther away and so hit the triangular black powder bags, the mechas, placed there at its edge and make them explode.  Whoever hits such a mecha wins. Of course, beer is also consumed in appropriate manner.

Tasting delicious coffee

The next morning I made a tour in a coffee finca, where we were shown how coffee is made there. Colombia's coffee ranks first in my personal list. Not only coffee grows there on this farm but also bamboo, limes and pineapples. It was also the first time for me to see the very strange way a pineapple grows. The fruit grows on top of the bush and not underneath as I thought.

With some people I met during the tour, I then went on a hike to a view point from which the village can be overlooked.
Unfortunately I had to leave Salento, another cute colonial village with colorful houses.I would have loved to do more hikes in the area or rent a mountainbike.

Short stopover in Armenia

After Salento I made a short stopover in Armenia. I don't remember much about the city anymore. Only the overexcited dog of the hostel I do not forget so fast. He always jumped around as if he had taken cocaine.

The following day I already got on the next bus, which took me to Bogotá, the huge capital of Colombia.