The mystical Cocora Valley in the coffee triangle in Colombia.

If you visit Salento, you have to go for a hike to the Cocora Valley which is about 25 minutes from this magical town. We got up early morning to have our Colombian breakfast at our B&B, a cup of coffee, cheese, bread, fruit and some eggs with an arepa (thick corn tortilla)... full stomach, content heart! :O)
We made our way to the main square where we had to take a ride in a jeep willy to the valley, here's where the adventure started!

Cocora Valley is part of Los Nevados Natural Park and is about 58,000 hectares; it is located in Quindio department in the upper reaches of the river, its altitude is between 1800 and 2400 meters.

Once we made it to the entrance of the park, some guys offered to take us in a walking tour or horseback riding but we decided to take the adventure on our own.

We took the trail and started our way to the mountains, as we got deep into the valley we started appreciating some amazing views...

   

We didn't know where the trail was taking us, we just followed our instincts and got lost in nature; we even made some friends who were very welcoming and let us take some pictures with them...

We went through mud, rocks and had to cross the river over multiple suspended bridges... I almost felt like in one of the movies of Indiana Jones! hehehe

After two hours of full adventure, we started making our way up the mountain; we had to climb to the highest point to be able to go down on the other side. We never imagined it was going to be so steep but we couldn't quit, we had to conquer it!

Once on the top we rested for a while and then made our way down to the starting point, it was an easy two hours walk with more of the amazing views of the mystical valley.

Our experience was superb and we were very happy to accomplished the challenge! Mother nature has so much to offer and it felt good to be close to it.

This is how we ended our little adventure in the Eje Cafetero, next morning we went back to Medellin to keep exploring this beautiful city and we had planned to spend a week in Bogota after but, we had to suspend our trip because our beloved pet got sick; we are back in Mexico now and unfortunately had to put our girl to sleep :O(

Zoretta will be missed...

Don´t forget to show love to the ones you care for... Safe travels my friends!

Charmin town of Salento, Colombia.

In our last day in Manizales I met a nice guy at the tourist booth, he was so helpful and gave us so much information about Manizales and the cities of Pereira and Armenia; we learned that Pereira is the city of commerce and Armenia has a more mellow life style.
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!