Blogalaga: Salento- Coffee Region

relaxing at our hostel hammocks

hostel morning view

trout and patacone

Don Elias coffee tour

Don Elias and grandson

center Salento

roasting the coffee beans

Sunday morning we took a 4.5 hour bus ride to Armenia, then hopped on an hour shuttle to Salento, coffee region. We then took a “jeep”(public transportation) about 15 minutes up the countryside to our hostel, which was on a beautiful plantation, with great views of the countryside. We grabbed some dinner at the center of town we had trout (which this area is known for) and patacones with beef. We then walked back to our hostel and sat by the campfire with others from our hostel.

worker picking coffee beans

We woke early Monday morning and were blown away by the view we had when we walked outside. The countryside was gorgeous and so peaceful. We walked about an hour to a coffee tour at Don Elias plantation, where they have over 8,000 coffee plants and all their coffee is organic. After about an hour tour we got to try the delicious coffee, and chat a bit with Don Elias himself, before walking the long, hilly way back. We were lucky enough to grab some of the hammocks right along the pasture, where we chilled out for a bit, napped and then had dinner.

Tuesday we hopped in a jeep about 30 minutes away from Salento to Valle de Cocora. We did an exhausting 4 hour trek through the jungle, up massive hills, over streams, rocks, mud, and bridges. We walked to the top of this massive hill with a warning at the bottom saying, “Very Steep Take Your Time.” After 45 minutes of walking up this steep hill, we got to the top and it got cloudy and started raining so the view wasn't that good, but we were just happy to be at the top. As we continued walking, we got to see the quindío wax palm trees. They were pretty awesome and when we got down to the bottom of the large hill the scenery was beautiful. It felt like a different world, being around this stunning greenery and surrounded by the largest palms in the world.