Being creatures of habit (and suffering from extreme decision fatigue), we decided to not make any decisions the night after our coffee farm tour, and went back to Cafe Bernabe. Plus, I mean, the place was great. We’d both seen multiple dishes we wanted to try, but I went with making no decisions and got the exact same thing.

There, we also ran into the Romanian couple that we’d met at the coffee farm. Being a small town, this would turn out to be a recurring thing (running into people we’d met, that is… although running into the Romanian couple too, specifically, now that I think about it).

Fast Friends Among Travelers

Other than the lovely town itself, there are two big attractions in Salento. We’d done one with the coffee farms the previous day, so on this day our plan was to go out to the Valle de Cocora for a big hike, and to see the valley’s star attraction: the wax palm trees! These are the tallest palm trees in the world, and can grow to heights of 150 – 200 feet!

Fun fact: Colombia is home to the worlds tallest and shortest palm species. There are a lot of palms here

Anyway, so we wanted to do the hike. To get out there, there are jeeps, or willys, (the same ones that go to and from the coffee farm) from the town center that can take you there and back. They’re cheap, and get you there quickly and easily, but they like to pack riders in. This means 2 people up front with the driver, 7 or 8 people crammed into the back, and as many as 3 people standing on the rear bumper hanging on. This means you can’t help but strike up conversation with those around you.

“Donde… you?” one of our fellow riders asked a woman next to Erika. This man was Shun, and his diving into a language he didn’t know was hilarious and charming. When he turned to us and asked “donde” us, and I replied “los Estados Unidos,” he delighted in learning the new term and trying to pronounce it correctly. We liked him immediately. Shun is from Japan, but most recently he’s been living in San Francisco and Vancouver. Turns out, Shun has something rather important in common with us: he too has quit his job and is traveling as long as he can. He’s going a little more… budget friendly, though, meaning lots of buses. He told us of the 50 hour bus ride he’s intending to do from Bolivia into Paraguay. Fifty. Five-zero. Erika and I give that a resounding Nope.

Also in our willy were a pair of friends from Charleston, South Carolina, vacationing in Colombia. He’s from Colombia, with his family in Cali, and she’s tagging along because Colombia is awesome. We spent the ride talking with them and Shun, and before long we’d arrived.

Valle de Cocora

There are many ways to enjoy the valley, but we’d decided to enjoy it as hard as we could: taking a 7-mile and change loop hike through the valley. We’d read that the hike reached elevations of just over 9000 feet. Salento is just over 6000, so even though we’d climbed some just driving here to the trailhead, we knew there was a good bit of climbing left to do.

Ahead of time, we’d read suggestions to take the hike counterclockwise, and after doing it we absolutely agree. This direction puts a lot of tough parts up front, with a lot of brutally steep climbs. But it puts the payoff at the end: the wax palm fields! I think going clockwise, and seeing those palms right at the start of the hike, would just make the killer hills even more demoralizing.

Anyway, so we started the hike, not really intending to hike with anyone. But we’d get out in front of Shun and our Charleston friends, and then they’d catch up; and they’d get out in front of us, and we’d catch up. And so eventually the 5 of us were going together.

The first half of the hike is beautiful, with mostly gentle climbs through a lush jungle. This portion of the hike mostly follows the river through the valley, giving beautiful views of the river. It also includes several crossings of said river by rickety suspension bridges!

It was during this portion of our hike that we ran into our French friend from the hotel, Marie, again. She was coming down the trail, on horseback (oh, right, you can ride horses out here on this trail, and there are lots of them; like, lots). Anyway, it was hilarious to run into her yet again. She was leaving Salento that day, but she said she’d left her contact information at the front desk for us. Bon voyage, Marie, et à bientôt!

Acaime y Los Colibris

When you get about halfway through the loop, you have to decide if you want to take a little side-track to go to a place called Acaime to see some hummingbirds. Shun was an enthusiastic yes, and we wanted to go up there too. But our Charleston friends decided to skip it, so we bid them goodbye, traded information, and headed on our way.

From this point, we got to talk to Shun more and learn more about him. I’ve already given you a little bit of an idea of what he’s like, but it was at this point we found out that… he’d just gotten to Salento that morning. He’d taken an overnight bus from Medellin (yeah, that vomit rocket we’d taken a couple days ago), got dropped off in Salento that morning, heard some people talking about some hike and said “why not?” and jumped in the jeep. Yeah, he had no idea it was a 5-hour hike, or anything about it at all, but he was up for it and he just got in. This dude is so full of energy and up for anything. I love it so much.

From the split, the hike up to the hummingbirds is an ass-burner, far steeper than anything we’d done so far. Erika, in a sign of things to come, was starting to falter a bit. But we made it up there, paid our small admission, and got to see the hummingbirds. Also, with your admission, you get a coffee or a hot chocolate. Erika and I both got hot chocolate, and sat in the common area with Shun and traded snacks.

First, of course, when we got to the common area we ran into our Romanian friends. We also saw at least 3 other people who’d been at the coffee farm with us. Like I said, two major attractions here. We also struck up a conversation with another couple here (well, Shun did, of course he did, but then when we heard English and American accents we joined in). He’s from California and she’s from Spain, and they… well they just travel. They were telling us how amazing west Africa is, and later when Shun was asking about the Galapagos, someone else nearby was telling us how amazing Ecuador is. Listen, everyone, we’ve only got a year to do this and a billion things to see and do, don’t remind us how much we’re missing!

We took a pretty long break at Acaime, but finally decided to head back down the hill and continue. We still had a ways to go, and the palms still awaited us!

The Hike Kicks us in the Ass

We went back down the big hill, back to the junction we’d left our Charleston friends at, and headed the other way at the junction to continue our loop. We didn’t go far before the trail turned the difficulty up to boss mode. It got really, really steep here. That steepness, combined with the thin air at the elevation we were at, got Erika to start huffing. And puffing. And slowing. And cussing. “F* this!” and similar F-based exclamations rung throughout the valley as we slowly made our way up the mountainside. I mean, she wasn’t wrong. We’re out of shape, sure, but this section of the hike was tough. Still, it was hilarious. And meanwhile, there goes Shun–who I remind you just got off an overnight bus before starting this hike–running up the hill ahead of us to get the views first.

The climbing pays off, though, when you reach the top of it at the Finca La Montaña, and get to take in the views. It’s gorgeous and amazing, seeing the clouds bubbling and roiling up through the valley beneath you, and past the imposing peaks across the valley. We spent a while here, taking in the views, taking pictures, and letting Erika recover.

Finally, the Wax Palms!

The trail is all downhill after leaving the finca, and not long after leaving, you can start to see the palms out ahead of you! This part of the hike is also mostly exposed too, giving continuous beautiful views of the valley. Erika’s change of demeanor is hilarious. “What a great hike!” she says cheerily, and Shun and I have fun comparing that with the Erika of 20 minutes ago.

We descend and get closer and closer to the wax palms, until eventually you’re among them. They’re so huge! And so weird! Really it’s best to just let pictures talk for this.

You descend further and the trail winds through a palm conservation area with stunning scenery. This part is slower going than it should be, since Erika stops every 15 steps to take pictures. You can’t blame her though, I mean look.

We get back to the trailhead finally, our entire hike taking a little over 6 hours. It’s longer than the 5 hours we’d read online, but we stopped for a while at Acaime and Finca La Montaña.

On the jeep ride back to town, we met another couple that we recognized from the coffee farm the previous day. They’re from New York, and were in Colombia on vacation. But we found out that they’re in the midst of planning on doing what we are, looking to stop working in about a year in order to travel as long as they could. I think talking to us got them more excited and inspired about their plans. We loved hearing, once again, of other people making this sort of experience a reality. I can’t wait to hear about their adventures when they get started, and maybe we’ll see them somewhere!

The jeeps got us back to Salento, and it was time to say goodbye to our New York friends, and our friend Shun. Shun was going to stay in Salento another night… maybe 2 nights… maybe more, then head out by bus, probably to Cali. He really was just feeling his way through his trip, which I love and also could never do myself. Shun, you’re awesome, and we can’t wait to see you again somewhere!

What’s Next

We’re a little behind, but we left little Salento (by plane, remember, as buses were dead to us) for Colombia’s massive, sprawling capital of Bogotá. Check in soon to hear about our time there!