Tuesday, May 31, 2022
There’s so many places to go in Colombia that I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I won’t get to all of them. I’ve made the decision to head to Salento next, and I’m hoping it’s the right one.
I’ve also decided to take a flight, even though it’s a bit more expensive than the bus. I’ve heard some horror stories about the bus, and it’s really long, so I’m gonna skip it for my first outing in Colombia. I also make the best of it by getting my yellow fever vaccine for free in the Bogotá airport on the way out. Otherwise, I would have had to go back there to get it anyway, so it almost offsets the cost of the flight.
On the way to the airport I shared a taxi with a German girl and the taxi ripped us off. So much for saving money… It’s sort of funny though, because I feel like these situations only happen when I am trying to save money, and not when I just accept that I have to pay the full price on my own.
I still have to take a one-hour bus from Pereira (you can get to Salento via Pereira or Armenia airports) to Salento. It departs from the Pereira bus station which is about 25 minutes from the airport with some traffic. You can take a bus, but I couldn’t find it so I ended up taking a taxi.
When I finally got to Salento it was late, and I had to walk all the way through the town to get to my hostel. I read that it’s safe though, so I crossed my fingers. In hindsight, it totally was. The bigger concern was carrying my bag up the steep streets.
I finally make it to Coffee Tree Boutique Hostel. The room doesn’t exactly stand up to the “boutique” hostel standard in my opinion, but it will do. I have a top bunk without guard rails and it’s really high off the ground, so hopefully nothing bad happens.
All in all the hostel is pretty nice. The common space is super cool and friendly, and they serve breakfast. They don’t have a kitchen though! The main downside is that it’s not insulated and doesn’t have great showers, so I just felt cold and damp all of the time. The problem is pretty much solved by wearing layers.
For dinner I walk across town to El Camino Real Parrilla Bar. It was alright, but there’s better options I think.
Wednesday June 1, 2022
I feel behind on meals because of the travel day so I head to Brunch de Salento and order a huge breakfast. Then I go to the town square to go on a coffee tour. There’s tons to do in Salento and for the most part, you will need to leave from the main square on a Jeep called a Willy.
I meet some really cool English people on the Willy’s, and then we get separated. It turns out I was the only one going to Finca del Ocaso.
The tour at Finca del Ocaso was super awkward (sorry Esteban but you made me feel uncomfortable) and I was alone!! There’s other Fincas, and I later got recommended one, I think called Buenos Aires. I didn’t get to go so I can’t confirm that it is good, but don’t feel like you have to go to Finca del Ocaso because the hostel recommends it. (Edit: In Minca I met some people who also went to Finca del Ocaso and also hated the tour, so I’m not alone here.)
I ran into two of the people on the Willy back to town, as well as some other girls. We went to an Israeli place near the main square, by one of their recommendations. I got a traditional Colombian meal, but they got the shakshouka which looked delicious.
Once I got home, I sat in the common space reading, and secretly hoping to meet some people to hike with one of these days. I ended up meeting a ton of people including a guy who owned a hostel in Thailand, a guy who hiked in the nearby national park so high that there was snow at the summit, an American couple from Texas, and another American guy from Georgia.
Possibly the most memorable person we met was a Dutch guy who is a software freelancer. He told us the most wild stories about getting scammed and getting his phone stolen. I’m sad he doesn’t have social media because I would have loved to see his future adventures.
Unsurprisingly, the Americans agreed to band to together to go hiking early the next morning.
Thursday June 2, 2022
We grab some snacks at a tienda and then catch a Willy to the trailhead. The hike is a loop and we begin on the side we were recommended against starting at, but we just go with it. We’re laughing as we make it to the top, because it’s no big deal.
Then, it starts pouring rain. The second half of the hike is a treacherous walk downhill through mud. It doesn’t help that the trails are made worse by the horses and at parts it’s lined by barbed wire. I wore chacos but brought my sneakers to change into just in case. I ended up just wearing the chacos, getting terrible blisters in the last 45 minutes of the hike. The hostel offered rain boots, which I declined because I figured they would give me blisters anyway.
There’s several things I could have done here. 1. Just bringing hiking boots in the first place that are comfortable and durable enough for a hike like this, and won’t give me blisters. 2. Not doing it in the rainy season. 3. Take the rain boots as a back up. I honestly still think it would have been difficult for me in rain boots, so I’m thinking that next time I come to Latin America I just need to suck it up and bring my hiking boots, even if they are super heavy.
Afterwards, I head back to Brunch de Salento for the nachos I saw on the menu yesterday. They were delicious!
For dinner I go to Wasabi with my American friend. Then we head to play Tejo at Los Amigos, as recommended by the crazy Dutch guy. Then we meet up with all the people I met on the Willy on the first day, as well as meeting two more Dutch girls and the manager of the bar. I actually lost touch with the two girls from the Willy, but ran into them on the Cocora Valley hike and got their contact info then. I got the contact of the other guys that I ran into again and went to the Israeli place with.
I say all of this not because I expect you to remember all the characters in my story (that’s for me to remind myself of the good times when I read this back in 10 years), or to brag about how many friends I made. Instead, I want to stress 1. how fun it can be to solo travel in general and 2. show how amazing Salento is for backpackers. I was literally running into people left and right.
The manager of the bar taught us how to play Tejo for real, which was fun. The rules are actually a bit more complicated than you would think. By the way, Tejo is the national game of Colombia and the best way to explain it is that it’s like corn hole but with small explosions when you hit the board. Los Amigos is great because you can stay as long as you want and play as long as you want, you’re just expected to buy a drink (they have non-alcoholic options too). I’m surprisingly decent at this game so it was actually enjoyable, and even the Colombian guy was impressed. We went out for beers in the main square afterwards, but not before hitting up a billiards bar, which I refrained from joining in on.
Friday June 3, 2022
Today I’m heading to Kasaguadua, which wasn’t previously on my list before I came here but was highly recommended by the hostel.
I was told we would “walk through the wildlife while learning about it,” but make no mistake, this is a hike. You should bring hiking shoes or rent rain boots from the hostel. It’s basically a bunch of switchbacks and it will start raining halfway through, so you’ll be in trouble if you wear AF1s like me. From here on, I’ve decided to assume everything in Latin America is a hike, except maybe going to the mall or something. Anyway, the owner (or caretaker?) of the property is super passionate (maybe even a bit crazy, but in a good way), so it was a great experience.
My American friend and our English friends (the girls from the Willy and the hike) all head to Brunch de Salento to get nachos, since I’ve hyped them up. We only got the medium size and it was still a lot of food.
After a rest, we head to La Galería Salento for some Tapas, and then follow up with our favorite game: Tejo.
Saturday, June 4, 2022
I was going to try to do another hike today in a nearby town named Filandia, but after the past couple of days everything I own is sufficiently wet and I am sufficiently exhausted, so instead I’m just checking out the shops downtown. I get some fruit at the Plaza Market, and somehow still end up at Brunch de Salento (I’m needing extra calories from all of this impromptu hiking). Then I stop at the shops on Calle Real, and at sunset I head up to El Mirador de Salento. It’s not a hike because there’s paved stairs up to it, but it will make you a bit out of breath.
On the way back, I stop at Somevi Pizzeria, which was alright, and then head out again with some new friends (since my old group has all moved on now) to Los Amigos for some more Tejo.
There’s even more you can do in Salento than what I did, like a hot spring that I heard about. It’s also a nice place to just relax in! I had such a great time here, and I would totally come back even having done all of the most important things, just because the vibes are so great.
Check Out My Guide to Salento ⧉
My Google Maps Guides have all the important locations I mention in my blogs, and you can open them right in Google Maps to make it easy to plan your own trip!