Tales From the Chicken Bus

Day 113

One of the most enjoyable things about a long term trip is you can stay somewhere just about as long as you want. The Plantation House here in Salento is one of those places you think you may spend 2 nights and next thing you know its 4 or 5 or a month. Tim the owner really has a great thing going here. The house is full of character and the views are incredible. There is free coffee, a kitchen you can use, very cheap beer and some great hammocks to chill out on. All this is made even more enjoyable since Tim is an interesting guy and just loves to chat. Also with the setup of the house its a great way to meet fellow travellers. In the evenings everyone sits around a big table talking travel, politics a and whatever else. All while enjoying the .75 cent beer. What I’m trying to say is if you are ever in Salento, which you should be, then make sure you stay at Plantation House. Its one of the more special places we have found on our travels.

Right, so we have actually done more here than eat trout, drink beer and laze around. We spent yesterday on a pleasant hike wandering the beautiful countryside and visited a working coffee plantation. Most of the walk followed a dirt trail that looks like its sometimes used as a road. The hiking was fairly simple with a few steep sections. At the plantation we were taken around on a quick tour of the coffee plants and the process of harvesting the beans. Since we already did a very informative tour in English (this was in Spanish) in Guatemala we knew the basics. The interesting thing about this plantation is that it is organic. It was good to see the way everything is recycled, so that made it slightly different than Guatemala. To be honest though the free cup of coffee at the end wasn’t that great. Colombians don’t make there coffee strong, so often good coffee just doesn’t taste as good as it should.

We continued the hike down a steep hillside through the coffee plants to a wide river. From here we followed the valley out to the main road where instead of catching a bus we walked the steep 1 hour climb back into town. Finishing in the main square for some fabulous fried trout with patacones. Patacones are plantains pressed flat to a thin pancake then deep fried. They are massive and cover the entire plate, while the trout sits on top. Its damn good, I like to call it the Colombian version of fish and chips.

Today we were off again on a longer hike. Although I’ll tell ya its tough to leave the comforts of Plantation House but the surrounding countryside offers some great hikes in the Andes and today we were off to walk one of the best. We joined up with a German couple from the hostel to split the cost of a jeep to drive us the 8 km to the trail head of the Cocora valley. The hike began in the beautifully lush green valley as we followed a small river. On either side of us towered green mountains covered with pine trees. Further up the valley we climbed higher and entered the dense cover of the cloud forest. The scenery was stunning, thick green forest with a river falling down the mountainside. About halfway through the hike we came to the Acaime Nature Reserve. A paticuarly steep section were we climbed to 2770 meters. We emerged at a clearing where a man and his wife have a sort of rest stop going. Its a pretty odd spot located way up here on a mountainside but it is gorgeous. The temperature was noticeably cooler and clouds swirled all around us. The friendly couple offered us the odd combination of hot chocolate and cheese. The man has setup hummingbird feeders throughout the area that attract a large number of unique hummingbirds. It was a great stop to refuel, although I wanted to get going again as it was really chilly up there.

We came to a beautiful viewpoint just down about 1km after our break, even with visibility reduced by the clouds it was a good spot. We finished the trail descending into the Cocora valley with its surreal landscape of giant wax palms. Not only are the wax palms the national tree of Colombia but one of the tallest in the world. The valley was so green it almost looked as if someone had painted it, there wasn’t much tree cover except for the wax palms. Wax palms grow to heights of 60 meters, with the huge palms and silent green landscape it made for one of the most beautiful spots I have seen on the trip. As we completed the hike back at the road we discovered we had just missed a jeep back to town by a few minutes and the next one would not be for 2 hours. So we decided to walk the 8 km back into Salento.

The road has very little traffic so it made for a great walk in the incredible green landscape. Its what I imagine Ireland to look like, only with the tall peaks of the Andes surrounding us. We only passed a few boys on horseback the whole walk back and two beautiful mountain billed toucans. Other than that the only other people we saw were the odd solider just sitting against a tree with his weapon, just waiting and watching. A bit disconcerning actually. This region is now supposed to be free from the FARC rebels but obviously the army still sees some threat. On the other hand I’m starting to get the sense that the huge military presence here in Colombia is a sort of scare tactic for the locals. Its more evident in the rural countryside. Its almost as if a constant and very visible military presence in every town will make anyone think twice about joining any kind of anti-government movement.

We finally reached Salento just before night fall with thunder rumbling in the distance. Jordana and I made straight for the town centre for yet another tasty trout dinner. I wonder when someone gets sick of the same meal everyday no matter how good it is. We returned to Plantation House and after much needed showers sat in the lounge area with all the other travellers as rain fell outside. We all chatted about travel and exchanged tips on places we had been and received information on places we were headed next. With all the talk of travel, politics and which countries have the best beer one thing everyone around the table agreed upon was that Colombia was at the top of their list of most enjoyable countries. So far its at the top of ours as well.

Day 111

It was tough to leave Medellin today, we had become so comfortable here. We had a daily routine of breakfast at our cafe and then afternoon beers on the patio at the Proximo supermarket. It was a tough thing to leave behind. Medellin was just about the most livable city we have visited so far. Even so I was excited about getting into small town Colombia, we were headed south to Salento. A small town located 2300 metres high in the Andes.

We took a taxi to the large southern bus terminal in Medellin. After again bargaining for our tickets we were off on a good bus for the six hour trip. The scenery outside of the city was stunning. High green mountains all around as the road followed a large river in the valley. We stopped for a lunch break at a restaurant. For some unexplained reason I get a great hunger when we travel. Maybe its boredom but I eat much more on travel days, I also have the luck of somehow rarely getting sick. Jordana is about the total opposite. I searched through the cafeteria style restaurant for something I could eat. Mmmm potato salad, looks good so I ask for a small plate. The woman scoops a plate for me, hands it to me and than says, “queso y pina”. Huh?! You mean this is not potato salad? Cheese and pineapples! Since I already have the plate. I pay and sit down with Jordana. I take one bite and feel sick. First of all cheese should not be mixed with potatoes, this is a general food rule that should be observed worldwide. Second, it was warm! Very disgusting. After I explain to Jordana what I received I was surprised that she not only tried it but continued to eat several bites. “You are going to be sick if you eat more, stop!” She just wouldn’t listen. “I’ll be fine, its not much”. We climbed back on the bus and drove off. About 10 minutes later I hear, “I have to go to the wash room now”. I thought she was joking but I watched her get up and walk to the rear of the bus. I held back on saying I told you so, although it was tempting. She returned a few minutes later. “So how was it in there?” “Dark! The lights didn’t work and I had to hold on cause the bus was turning so much.” Its never a good idea to use a bus bathroom, its even a worse idea to use one on a windy road through the Andes. “I told you not to eat it.” I had to say it, just couldn’t hold back. That led to about an hour of silence.

We arrived in Salento late afternoon as the bus stopped at a military checkpoint at the entrance to the town. One of the first things you notice travelling in Colombia is the huge military presence. No matter the size of the town there is always a few troops just wandering around and usually a checkpoint to enter. The very young looking soliders gave the men on the bus a quick search, including myself and then let us on our way. I never understand why they don’t search the women? The checkpoint worked out well for us as the hostel we were looking for happened to be just down the street. Plantation House, used to be an old coffee plantation. Today its a beautiful house, in an amazing location looking over the mountains and valley below. Its run by a very friendly Brit named Tim and his Colombian wife, Cris.

At night fall we walked down to neat town square. Salento is a small but clean and beautiful town with mountains surrounding it and at 2300 metres high it has a great climate. The local speciality is trout from the mountain rivers. We enjoyed a fabulous trout dinner and then had some drinks in the towns one happening bar. It was a great introduction to Salento, a packed bar with friendly locals, non-stop salsa dancing in the very narrow space between tables and many, many beers all around. It seemed the further into Colombia we got the better it was.