We were a little undecided about spending time in these two cities because we really wanted to explore the town of Salento, which is located between them; so we took the bus from Manizales and did a little tour through these cities, just to get an idea of how they looked like. All I can say is that it was nice passing through them and making our way to Salento was a great choice... Vamonos!
Salento is a small magical town up in the mountains in the Eje Cafetero, getting up here can be an adventure but I think it's what we like as travelers. There are flights from Bogota and Medellin to the cities of Pereira and Armenia, then go to the bus station and a small bus will take you to Salento; if you feel more adventurous take the bus instead flying, the views along the way are amazing!
We made it to Salento late evening so after checking in our B&B (Posada in Spanish) we went for a little walk and to have a bit; walking on the streets we started discovering the charm of this place.
The following day we took our time to walk around and explore every corner of this magical town; the colorful houses with such a unique architecture took us back in time.
Walking around we started going up the hill to the lookout, then we saw this couple trying to make it to the top pushing a food cart; they were having a hard time so I helped a little and did my workout of the day ;O)
Once on the top and trying to catch my breath after pushing for about two blocks, we were amazed with the beautiful views of the valley; the peacefulness and tranquility we felt, plus the fresh air hitting in our faces and filling up our lungs was a great sensation!
Next to the lookout we met an artisan that owns a little outdoor gallery and he also has a textile business; I learned the process of making these beautiful pieces and how he uses the machine to weave them.
Then we kept exploring the town and we found another lookout, we climbed two hundred steps to make it to the top; it was worth it because we were able to appreciate the town from above.
Once we finished exploring the town, we made our way to visit the coffee plantations; we walked about four miles through the country on a gravel road, having the trees and the singing of the birds guiding us to our destination...
As we got deep in the countryside, we started having the amazing views of the valley; there is something about this place that makes you feel so peaceful and excited at the same time. As we kept walking, the rain took us by surprise and for a moment we felt like two little boys running and looking for some shelter; we found the perfect spot where we rested and admired the beauty of mother nature before continuing down to the coffee plantations.
We visited Finca Don Elias, this is a very organic coffee plantation. In the tour we learned the process of growing the coffee trees, their life time and production; our tour guide took us step by step on getting the coffee beans ready to be ground. We also learned that they use organic compost to make their own fertilizer, so they don´t have to use any kind of chemicals; at the end of the tour, we were able to grind our own coffee beans and enjoyed a delicious cup of organic Colombian coffee.
After enjoying our cup of coffee, we walked back to the hotel; the rain surprised us one more time on our way, and this time we really got wet. We had a long day so we took a well deserved siesta and we spent the rest of the evening having some hot tea like an old couple :O)
We had to recuperate our energies because the following day we were going to hike the Cocora Valley... To be continue...
Safe travels!
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