La Zona Cafetera - Coffee Country

Salento Photos (53)
Coffe Planation Photos (34)
Flower Photos (18)




The mood in Salento was distinctly different than the cities I had been in previously - a very chill, small town residing in the green mountains in the middle region of Colombia. I liked it the minute I stepped off the bus, and wished I could have stayed longer.

The town had some interesting architecture from years past - wood houses painted bright colors in a style all their own. There was little to do in town beside just taking a stroll and enjoying the view, but that was part of the allure. Nearby was the Valle de Cocora, which is described by most as a green, lush Switzerland. Haven't been, so I can't corroborate or elaborate, only speculate, but it was certainly a beautiful walk. Heavy rain made the morning a bit chilly and the trail very muddy, but it was still wonderful to walk under the thick canopy of cloud forest, alongside rushing rivers, occasionally crossing them on rickety old wood bridges. (Pics CW: Salento's Square; Paisa Architecture; Salento from Lookoutpoint)














After about 2 hours we arrived at a private plot of land with hummingbird feeders where we stopped to have a warm drink and dry off. The rain had just stopped and the sun was making its way out. We passed the time trying to photograph skittish hummingbirds, which was not an easy task.














With time we left and made our way up a mountainside to a good lookout point where the whole valley could be seen. Descending back down by a dirt road we made a loop out of our trip. The forest here opened up, and now that the rain clouds had gone, we were able to see the lofty wax palm trees towering over the cloud forest canopy below. It was a beautiful and interesting sight.














Back in Salento time was passed chatting with other travelers and reading in hammocks. I ran into a friend I met in Cusco nearly 4 months ago. Those are pleasant surprises on the road that happen from time to time. The next day I went on a tour of a coffee plantation that the owner of our hostel had just bought. Coming over from Britain to travel, Tim eventually started a hostel in an old coffee plantation building (giving the hostel its name, The Plantation House), and now is trying to revive an old, neglected coffee plantation. It was an informative tour made more enjoyable in that it was in English, a language I speak well, and we were free to ask many questions that we knew our guide understood, and we understood his responses. The farm was very much in the initial stages of revival though, so while I enjoyed the tour a lot, I resolved to seek out an operational plantation. I left Salento sooner than I would have liked, but that is an increasing reality as my funds tend towards depletion. (Pic: Skins of coffee beans after being seperated from the beans)

Next up was Manizales with a visit to a fully operational commercial coffee plantation. The drive from Salento continued in what was becoming the typical beauty of the Colombian countryside. Distinctly different from Salento, the city of Manizales was nevertheless a pleasant enough, smaller-sized city in the green hills of the Zona Cafetera. Here I found my operational coffee farm, and had an amazing tour with abundant information about coffee production and its processes. You can see the photos by following the link, with some commentary on the photos. I won't go into many details here, but I will say there is way more to producing coffee than I ever thought. Another interesting thing I learned is that Colombia exports all of its quality beans, and only the "bad beans" (they float in the water when washed) are reserved for domestic coffee. One company alone buys quality beans to serve in Colombia, and their coffee is way more expensive than anywhere else. At the end of my tour, I bought a bag of coffee from the farm and the difference is phenomenal. Counter-intuitive Moral: if you want a cup of good coffee, don't come to Colombia. Buy Colombian beans at your local vendor. (Pics Below CW: Coffee plants; Budding Coffee Beans; Roasted Beans; Ripe Red and Yellow Beans)

First Adventures

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A long wait to exit Ecuador and a short walk across the international bridge, and I was looking at the sign welcoming me into Colombia. How I have waited for that sign, and only the sign welcoming me back to the States will mean more. I spent the night on the Colombian side in the border town of Ipiales, a pleasant enough place as far as border towns go. In the morning I took a short but pretty drive to Pasto, where I got my first dose of good old Colombian hospitality.

After checking into my hostel, I went to grab a bight to eat. A Colombian girl who worked in the restaurant owned or run by her father wanted to practice English, so I invited her to sit down and I ate while we practiced English. I told her my plans to visit a nearby lake and she offered to tell me how to take the busses in order to get to the taxi station about a kilometer (half mile) away where I could then find a ride to the lake. Upon reflection, she figured I would just end up getting lost and offered to take me herself (most likely true after we finally got to the taxi station). Leaving the restaurant behind, we took a bus ride that wound through the city before getting off and walking a few blocks to the taxi station. We passed a park where she introduced me to some friends of hers, who were also very nice. From there, she left me at the taxi station and returned to work. Find me this in the States.

The lake was big and pretty, and the little town on the shore had some good restraunts and interesting atmosphere. I really liked that part of it. I then took a boat ride out to the island, walked on it, and came back. Didn't really like that, but that is because I paid too much to do it. I returned to Pasto, spent the night, and then left the next day for Cali.













Cali is the plastic surgery capital of Colombia. I should note here that, true to the rumors, Colombian women are very beautiful, but that becomes not only a natural phenomenon in the larger cities but also a plastic one. One's sex can also become plastically determined (or hidden?), a prevalent and interesting, if a bit twisted, aspect of the city. Cali is unremarkable in the realm of tourism though, and I stayed merely to break up two long bus journeys. So soon enough I was on my way into coffee country in the midlands of the country with a destination of the quaint little town of Salento.

Both busrides from Pasto to Cali and then Cali to Salento were gorgeous. Lush, green mountains continued throughout, and the mountains provided some amazing vistas and steep drops. At one point we entered into a cloud as we traversed a steep mountainside, and it looked as if we were traveling along the edge of a flat world. It was very cool.

The friendly nature of Colombians continued to make itself known. People were so willing to help you, and not just in telling you how to get someplace, but actually taking you there. They would randomly say hello just to say hi and see what you though of their country, and they were talkative on busrides and bought little treats to share with you since you hadn't ever tried that fruit or that sweet or that delicacy before. One week in, and I am loving this country!

The Authentic Colombia

It is a curious thing the power that a word can draw to itself. Colombia is considered by many to be taboo, a "traveler's pariah" in the words of a lonely planet guidebook writer who never came here. Go tell your Mom and Dad you are thinking about going to Colombia, and hope they are as composed and respectful to these plans as my parents, even if, at the same time, they would rather like me to not be here and have faithfully pursued all avenues available to them in order to try and encourage me to abandon these plans (I know you guys had the best intentions, and love you both dearly for it. You are, however, very much misinformed about this country). In fact, most of you all are. What can you expect though, when all we ever hear about are about the country's blights selectively told by our media? Accordingly, Colombia remains in our minds a forbidden land. But forbiddeness brings mystery, and mystery just begs to be searched out. Add to that the testimonies from heaps of travelers who had passed through the country and a handful of Colombians themselves, ALL of which gave NOT ONE negative report about Colombia, and you know the basis for my excitement and determination to visit. Throw out the word Colombia, and many will think of a country where nearly every person is a member of a guerrilla group or drug cartel, where a traveler is guarunteed to either be gunned down by the next Pablo Escobar or take a detour of undetermined length on a FARC-led jungle trek (others may just recall that omnipresent colombian cowboy and his horse, who miraculously appeared in the oddest of places whenever awakening strangers the world over found themselves in need of some coffee). I have known none of these things, nor have any of my fellow traveler's with worried parents back home.

I hope, as I put down my adventures I have had throughout Colombia, that I can give you a new perspective of this country and its people: an authentic view. Rather than listening to the abounding rumors of a country better left to itself, which originate from those who have never come, I hope you will take the view of a traveler who has actually passed through its countryside, eaten its food, slept in its towns, and interacted with its people. And even if you never venture to this amazing place or come to love it and its people as I have, maybe you will come away with a truer view of Colombia than you held before.

Otavalo

Last stop in Ecuador: Otavalo. An indigenous market draws tons of tourists to see the sights and shop the booths, but the people have remained relatively faithful to their heritage and culture, as their dress and crafts testify. There was some good hiking nearby, but I was in an epic battle for control of my insides with a bug I picked up in Quito. Food in general repulsed me, and so I had no energy to do much of anything but lay around in bed most of the day. I saw the market for 30 minutes, took no photos, and did no hiking. Bit of a bummer, but I decided to just take off after I felt I could get onto a bus, since I was there for the weekly market, and didn't feel like waiting a week for it to come back around. So now it was off to Colombia. That word should peak some interests...

La Mitad del Mundo aka The Equator

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Given that the country is called "Equator" in its Spanish translation, the site to honor the line itself has thus been dubbed La Mitad del Mundo, or The Middle of the World. Although a major tourist site, it is undoubtedly a necessary stop if you are in the area, and there are some cool things to see and do while there, especially hemisphere hopping. Superman wished he had that power.

The major monument at the sight, located in the artificial Ciudad de la Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City), marks what were the earliest calculations as to where the invisible equatorial line traversed the land. It ended up being wrong, but remains a tourist attraction nonetheless. Faithful to true tourist sites the world round, there are charges for everthing. $2 to enter the city, $3 to see the inside of the monument, $1.50 for the planetarium, and this, that and the other thing. The planetarium was ok, a bit overdramatic and low budget, but tested my spanish vocabulary of things related to stars (not so good, but, surprisingly, not so bad either). The museum in the monument itself was interesting, giving a brief overview of all the indigenous peoples currently living in Ecuador today, including African groups and some blended cultures that have emerged.

As I mentioned, the monument isn't on the equator proper, but was placed where it was thought to be when the monument was built. With the advent of GPS, the true equatorial line was found to be some 900 feet away. Therefore, to go hemisphere hopping, one must enter another museum (with another charge). An interesting tour and display of equatorial effects, however, made this one worth the $3 price tag. More insight into Ecuador's people was given, and I even found out how to shrink a human head after I do battle and vanquish my enemy. But the highlight were the demonstrations on the equatorial line. Displaying the popluar Coriolis Effect with water, you could see water spinning in two different directions on either side of the line, with no spinning at the equator itself (no, toilettes don't blow up on the equator). Also, balancing eggs on a nail is possible, due to something with gravity. I didn't really understand that part (tour was in Spanish, so that didn't help), but I did get a certificate because I balanced an egg on a nail all by myself. =D There were some other demonstrations, but I don't know that I buy them, and it would take a while to explain them to you anyway. So you are spared.

Now for the interactive part (or just skip to the videos below). To understand the Coriolis effect a bit better, get a globe and can orient the equator to be vertical to the floor. Now put yourself at the south pole, and spin the globe from left to right. Which way does Brazil spin? Now go to the north pole, spin the globe again (right to left this time, to keep the same direction of spin), and look how the States spins. Finally stand with the Equator infront of you and spin again. How does the equator spin? You should have seen Brazil spin clockwise, the States spin counter-clockwise, and the equator should have just been a line in front of you, spinning yes, but just a line, with no circular motion in the clockwise or counter direction. This motion is responsible for the Coriolis Effect, which I taped here (look at how the leaves spin):

Equator:


Southern Hemisphere:


Northern Hemisphere:


Oohs and Aahs and applause.

Finally, I went to nearby volcanic crater where there are people actually living inside the crater walls in the lush valley below. Unfortunately for us, it was cloudy and we couldn't see much. More unfortunate for the people below, volcanic activity started up four years ago, and now there is potential for an eruption on any given day.

Quito

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Ecuador's gran capital, the "City of Light", is a city near 2 million located 9,350 feet high in the Ecuadorian Andes. Green hills and mountains surround the city, whose attractions include a beautiful colonial Old Town, pleasant parks, and a more modern side with all the doo dah that goes along with it. Like all cities (at least to me), Quito gets redundant after a few days of walking through it, although it is up there on the list of my favorite cities I have ever visited. However, I did have a good time exploring churches, museums, and parks, along with being able to see the Ecuadorian Independence Day festivities. The architecture in Old Town was awesome, along with the generally more relaxed mood. Highlight of the city was their old, gothic basilica. For $2 you could explore the church's highrise towers via stairs, ladders, and boardwalks, getting a great view of the city while also a great sense of vertigo standing on wire mesh floors and climbing ladders with views to the ground far, far below.

Quilatoa Crater Lake & Cotopaxi Volcano.

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Parting ways with my Aussie friends, I then headed to Latacunga to do the Quilatoa Loop. Highlight was the crater lake and the crazy bus ride crammed full of irritable people, sacks of vegetables, and squawking chickens. After spending the night in an upclass cabin style dwelling, I visited and walked around the lake before returning to Latacunga.

I then did a rather dull circuit around Volcan Cotopaxi. It was three days of long hiking, with only limited views of the volcano because of clouds. Not that it mattered...slowly walking around a mountain with a 14 mile (23 km) base is dull whether you can see it or not. Otherwise, it was the typical, high altitude landscape of brown, grassy slopes, boulder strewn valleys, or extremely wet bogs. The mountain did manage to tempt the crap out of me to climb it. I almost caved in, but that chunk out of the funds was too much to bear. Instead, I'm heading up to the capital, Quito.

Baños and Waterfalls

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Next up was Baños, whose waters are considered holy by some, or just make for good relaxing for others. The town was a little bit touristy, with agencies strewn downtown renting out treks, canyoning, rafting, quads, bikes, horses, bridge jumping, and more. Above town, smoke rose from the active Volcan Tungurahua, and helpful brochures told us what to do in the case that lava and ash came spilling down into the township. We weren't lucky enough to witness that awesome sight. Still with Ryan and Kate, we did a bike ride one day down the Valley of Waterfalls, ending at the impressive Pailon del Diablo. The other day was spent enjoying coffee and really good milk shakes while relaxing and reading.

L - Woman kneels in prayer; R - Thermal baths

The crawl up to the main fall, which you could then stand beneath

L - Dare me?; R - Pailon del Diablo waterfall

Few things about the town catch your eye, but Baños did have one of the coolest playgrounds I have ever seen. This is one thing I love about Latin America: they don't sanitize everything they set their eyes on. So many experiences I have had just wouldn't have been possible in any Western country; even just that climb up to the waterfall would never fly in the States. In this case, rather than thinking about putting their kids in a round, padded room to play, they have stayed true the spirit of children everywhere. The result is an awesome complex where you might just scrape a knee, may bruise an arm, or could even break something in that one extreme case, but without fail you will hear shouts of glee come forth from the grinning kids who are absolutely enjoying themselves. Look hard enough, and you may even spot an envious American looking on in the background.

L - Zip line; R - cool swing that can seat up to 6