I spent my last week in Colombia traveling around with a group of friends from Blink School. It was a rotating cast of characters but the core 3 was me, Ursula, and Rebecca. Nice thing about traveling with girls (or just other people in general) is we got a lot of good photos of us. Content galore.
Jardín
Getting In
After our 2 hour bus ride from Guatape back to Medellin, Ursula and I had time for a quick beer at the Blink school hostel before saying our good byes. I’m going to miss Gal, he was my longest friend on the trip and we really got to know each other; yet another reason to go back to Israel. At the bus station I tried to get a quick KFC order in the 5 minute window before leaving, and of course there’s no such thing as fast food in Colombia. I sat there waiting 5 minutes before asking the woman at the counter where my food is. She said 10 more minutes. How could KFC possibly take that long. I told her my bus was leaving now and she said okay 2 minutes. She ended up leaving out my fries and I was in too big of a rush to notice. We all got on the bus and a few minutes later they had us get off. Uhhhh okay. The bus then left with all our bags; apparently the driver needed to get gas. They didn’t think of this beforehand…oh traveling in Colombia. I could have waited the extra time for my KFC to be just right. Then when we finally left, the bus stopped after 30 minutes to have its tires changed. We didn’t end up getting to Jardín until just before midnight, 2 hours later than planned.
The People
This was originally going to be a solo trip for me but that turned out to be fake. After 2 weeks of Spanish school I wanted to just chill, decompress, and review some of my Spanish studies. I had even booked a cheap Air Bnb apartment to have my space. But then during the Guatape lake house party, I found out that Ursula, Rebecca, Brandon, and Kelly were all going to Jardín too. Since it’s a very small town I wasn’t just going to hide behind a newspaper sitting on a bench in the main square. It’s fine I’ll chill with friends another day or two. I had booked a night longer then them anyways. Brandon ended up staying in the Air Bnb with me in the second bed in the room. Then what was supposed to be my second to last night, Brandon and Kelly ended up bailing on Salento and taking my Air Bnb because Ursula and Rebecca convinced me to go to Salento the same day as them. Ursula put it best; I’ll have solo time eventually but might as well travel with friends now while the opportunity is there. And she’s right, I did want to have experiences like this where I would travel a couple cities in a row with a fun crew. We called our group chat the Gauchos in honor of the Jardín cowboy vibe.
The City
Jardín is a small, quiet town a few hours away from Medellin. It’s in the south of the Antioquia department at the beginning of coffee country and often gets overlooked by the more popular Salento (and I ended up preferring it to the latter). It’s a beautiful colonial nestled between rolling hills that has an authentic and laid back feel.
Surrounded by colorful buildings with equally as colorful tables and chairs outside, countless coffee shops, and fruit drink vendors; Jardín had my favorite main plaza so far. There were old gauchos drinking coffees and smoking cigarettes, guys coming up on horses doing tricks, children running around playing, and general liveliness. Even though it’s a small town the plaza was always busy. It seems like the whole town hangs out there. And why not? Who needs a TV when you can just sit in a beautiful plaza sipping coffee in the morning and beers at night. It’s not a fast paced life here. You just sit in the plaza and enjoy the vibe. In hindsight I wish that we spent more time here than Salento.
The Food
This area is known for its trout so we got lunch at a trout farm called La Argelia Restaurante – Truchera – Molienda. Even though it was an open air restaurant, the smell of trout was incredibly strong, so we sat as far away from the pond as possible. But that strong smell meant fresh trout and boy did it deliver. The trout was super tasty and the sauce it came in was delicious.
Fun Day Around Town
If I was by myself I would have hit the hiking harder but since I was with a big group it was more of a leisurely stroll around the outskirts of the city. We walked to Cascada de Amor just outside the center before continuing up to a scenic viewpoint.
There was a little restaurant at the viewpoint with a large hammock overhanging the hill. We sat there drinking beers and soaking in the views of the gorgeous hillsides, luscious green flora, and small beautiful village. The crew was having a lot of fun together cracking jokes and enjoying the tranquil experience.
Then we took the rickety garracha cable car to get down the hill. This old, wooden box didn’t seem the safest but we had the exact number of people to hit the maximum so why not? It was less than a 10 minute ride but it was certainly an interesting one. And it brought us from the top of the hill right back into town. Great shortcut.
After our trout farm lunch we walked to Cascada de Escalera. Brandon and Kelly didn’t join for that because it was a little muddy and slightly raining and they weren’t the hiking types. Plus they had some alternate motives. But Ursula, Rebecca, and I had some great convos during the hike and really got to know each other better. It set the scene for the bond our trio would have traveling together for the next week. If we had started earlier we could have seen 5 waterfalls but it was already later in the afternoon so just the 1 would suffice.
When we got back into town we had a beer at a restaurant in the plaza before dinner and capped off the night with a bottle of wine at a different little bar in the plaza. It was after these few drinks that I was convinced that traveling solo would have to wait and I would join Ursula and Rebecca in traveling to Salento the next day.
Salento
Getting In
The commute from Jardín to Salento required “Los últimos gauchos” aka me, Ursula, and Rebecca to take 2 buses with a change in Rio Sucio. We left Jardín just after 8 and about an hour and half into the ride while we were at the top of a hill, the bus stopped and a couple people started getting off. I was confused because it didn’t look like there was much civilization here. Then I realized everyone was getting off. I got out and saw there was a giant landslide in the middle of the road. Oh great. We all had to cross over it with our bags, it was quite the scene for 10 in the morning. Also the original bus had no way of turning around so the driver was going to have to go down the mountain in reverse.
We got to the other side and I had no clue how long we were going to have to wait. It only ended up being about 10 minutes so props to Colombia on this one. Obviously it was a known fact this landslide existed. And the ride that showed up was this colorful open air bus that was blasting cumbia and reggaetón. The bus was as wide as the road.
We went along this bumpy road in our fiesta bus going up and down the mountain as people unintentionally rocked back and forth to the music. I never felt too scared but there was certainly a few sketchy parts for a bus like this winding through the narrow mountain passes; especially knowing that a landslide could happen at any moment. In spite of this setback the timing actually worked great for Rio sucio > Salento, and we only had to wait about 15 minutes before taking off. This 4 hour ride went much more smoothly. We arrived in Salento by about 4:30.
Salento is a small town in the Quindio department known for coffee farms and the wax trees of the Valle de Cocora. It has grown in popularity recently as a tourist destination although not too long ago it wasn’t even safe for Colombians due to guerrilla activity. Just like Jardín, Salento is a colorful town surrounded by rolling green hills and a beautiful plaza in the middle; however the streets are much more packed with tourists. We were there during Colombian Independence Day so maybe that made it more crowded.
The City
Salento is a small town in the Quindio department known for coffee farms and the wax trees of the Valle de Cocora. It has grown in popularity recently as a tourist destination although not too long ago it wasn’t even safe for Colombians due to guerrilla activity. Just like Jardín, Salento is a colorful town surrounded by rolling green hills and a beautiful plaza in the middle; however the streets are much more packed with tourists. We were there during Colombian Independence Day so maybe that made it more crowded.
If you walk down Carrera 6 from the plaza, the street is lined with little shops, cafes/restaurants, and pedestrians wandering aimlessly. Then at the end of the street is a staircase that takes 5-10 minutes to climb to a scenic viewpoint of town.
Food
Salento is also known for having good trout but since we just ate some in Jardín I didn’t end up getting any. Ursula is a vegetarian which can be particularly tricky in meat-heavy Colombia. We went to an incredible vegetarian/vegan bowl place called Coco Bowl. It was so nice to finally have a meal that was healthy and loaded with veggies. We also had a delicious dinner one night by the square (don’t remember the name) where Rebecca and I split two meals, steak and ribs, plus I got a beer and all got less than $10. Overall I’d say the food selections in this town were solid, especially by Colombian standards.
Lodging
For the first two nights Urusula, Rebecca, and I split a room in a nice little B&B called Hotel – Hospedaje Camino Real where we were the only non Colombians in the place. The woman didn’t know a lick of English and there wasn’t even a front desk. We had to call her on WhatsApp to get our keys. It was actually a nice place with a backyard and little common area; and the location could not have been more ideal as it was less than a block away from the plaza. The last night we stayed at Yambolombia which was a hostel recommended to us by some friends at Blink School. Bente, another friend from school, was also staying there and she joined Los Últimos Gauchos for our activities in Salento. This hostel was a decent bit outside of town but they had a giant property with a pet horse that hung around like a house dog and a family style dinner. It was a good spot to spend our last night since it was walking distance from the coffee farm.
Activities
Valle de Cocora Hike (7.7 miles, 2392 feet elevation gain)
In order to get to the Valle de Cocora you have to grab a Willy (jeep) from the plaza in Salento and ride in the back for about 30 minutes. They really pack it in to where the last few people stand up on the back of the Willy and hang on (which we did on the way home).
The weather was a bit foggy to start (which is standard for the valley, you have to get lucky to have good visibility) but it got slightly nicer as the day went on. The hike starts out along a wide horse trail and the signage wasn’t very good so we actually missed the entrance and started walking into the forest. It was super peaceful but if we continued we would miss all the good views of the wax trees so we turned around. There was a small entrance fee into the actual Cocora Valley and then later on you had to pay another fee to walk a small section of private land which was kind of BS. Even though Colombia has beautiful landscapes and hiking trails, it seems that most locals aren’t the biggest hikers. People weren’t really dressed for hiking a trail, and a lot of the Colombians went to the first area with the wax trees then turned around. Some of the wax trees are insanely tall and it looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. A few areas were dense but the trees were mostly scattered. It was a pretty steady uphill through the Bosque de Palmas with a few steep sections.
Bente isn’t too much of a hiker and she was struggling a bit behind us but I was happy with Ursula and Rebecca’s pace. There was a few scenic viewpoints and little hut photo ops along the way.
After the palms we continuing making our way up the trail with heavily forested rolling hills in the backdrop. Eventually you reach a point where the trail starts going back downhill, but there was no defining viewpoint at the top. We could have added on some extra mileage to go to the Hummingbird House but it cost more money and no one seemed too interested so we skipped it.
We stopped for lunch (there’s a nice spot in Salento to pick up bagged lunches with sandwiches, snacks, and a juice) along the river. The trail narrowed and continued to follow along the river with multiple rickety bridge crossings. At one point we got stuck behind a Colombian family who refused to move out of the way even though they clearly heard us. It took 10+ minutes to finally pass them. There is certainly different hiking etiquette, or lack thereof, in Colombia. Good vibes and convos were flowing throughout the hike and I was thoroughly enjoying my experience with the 3 ladies. Just like Glacier National Park it’s me and the girls. We finished the hike around 2 and Willied back into town for some delicious afternoon coffee.
Tejo
Yes you’ve seen Tejo in here many times now. In Salento, I played my 4th and final night of Tejo. We met up with a British couple that Rebecca knew from Blink and their two Swiss friends. We played girls versus guys. At first the explosions weren’t happening at all even after some very direct hits; we thought we had a bunch of duds. So we added more to the board and then the game got real explosive. I started out poor but ended up playing really well closing out with a few Mechas in a row. The guys won both matches. Once again it was another fun few hours of Tejo – drinking beers and making explosions.
Horseback Ride
Originally Rebecca and I wanted to mountain bike through the Cocora Valley and Ursula wanted to horseback ride but mountain biking was long and expensive so we all chose horseback riding. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it ended up being an incredible experience. Plus it was less than $15 for 3 hours of riding.
Our guide was a true gaucho of Salento who had been riding horses his whole life and even rode from Salento all the way down through Brazil. He didn’t know any English but he was very good at being supportive in Spanish frequently telling us magnifico and estupendo. It was the 4 of us plus a Colombian guy who was actually from the States and a Brazilian girl. At first everyone was a bit shaky on their horse riding skills. I hadn’t been on a horse since being a cowboy on the ranch in West Texas back in the fall of 2009 so it had been a minute. But as we made our way along the road everyone started becoming more comfortable, including the horses.
The first part was a slight uphill on a dirt road but then we made our way into the green countryside and it was absolutely gorgeous. This is when things really got fun. We ended up doing countless river crossings, splashing our way through. It’s so impressive how strong horses are to cross the river and walk over all the different size rocks like it’s nothing.
The guide would yell out which direction to go but in reality it didn’t matter because the horses have done this thousands of times and they were directing us, not the other way around. We spent a long time next to and in the river.
Then there was a section where the meadow opened up and we were able to get some speed. My small butt was bouncing up and down on the horse as it galloped at a pretty good pace. Not only was the landscape incredible but it was a super cool experience to get a different perspective going through it on a horse rather than by foot.
The whole group had huge smiles on their face and we were having an awesome time. We came a long way from our nervous selves in the beginning. By the time we got out of the meadow and back onto the main road we started on, we were going twice as fast on the way home. Toward the end we stopped at a restaurant with a great view and had a celebratory beer. The group was in good spirits reminiscing on the day. It was a really cool experience and I would definitely do another horseback ride during my trip. This one set a high bar but I’m sure there are plenty of other good places in South America to do another one equally as good.
Coffee Tour – Finca El Ocaso
We had a jam packed last day doing the horseback ride in the morning, eating lunch at Coco Bowl, Willying to Yambolombia, then walking to Finca El Ocaso for a 4pm coffee tour. It was a very popular spot and there was two separate groups with over 20 people in each. I had already done a great coffee tour in Minca so I was really only going along with the crew. Plus we were in the coffee region of Colombia so I had to see what it was all about.
We had a hilarious guide who liked to crack jokes at every opportunity he got. First he talked about the different beans and how the color determines ripeness. Then we actually went out and picked a few beans (although there wasn’t really many ready at this time). From there he talked about the different phases of the process from bean to coffee and some of the methodologies they use. At the end we finally got to try a small cup. Should have started with this!! The coffee was average but I wasn’t overly impressed. It was a fun tour because of the guide but I actually preferred the one in Minca for the authenticity of that Finca. After doing two coffee tours in Colombia I think I’m good on that type of activity for the next 10+ years.
Tatacoa Desert
Getting In
I was never even planning on going to the Tatacoa Desert, but at this point I was just being a follower with the crew so when Ursula said she wanted to go I said why not. It was pretty far to travel by bus just for a couple days but it was at least slightly in the right direction back toward Bogota, where I’d ultimately be flying out of (although I still hadn’t even bought anything). The trip was going to require a few buses and possibly even a ferry. The day started out smoothly. Right when we showed up to the Salento station there was a bus about to depart to Armenia.
After this 45 minute ride we had about 1.5 hours to kill in Armenia so we all decided to do some Spanish studies. We hadn’t done shit since Blink besides interactions on the streets. That is one problem traveling with a group, especially of English speakers, is that it’s hard to focus on improving Spanish. We were supposed to leave at 11:30 and by 12 when no bus had shown up, you always get a bit worried that you somehow missed it. The bus travel in Colombia isn’t exactly the easiest thing and it’s not always obvious which gate it is leaving from. Everyone gives different info on where to catch the bus and your just waiting and hoping you didn’t miss it. Gotta live life on Colombian time. Finally over an hour late, the bus showed up.
The ride was only supposed to be 4 hours or so and we were going to get off a bit before Neiva to catch a ferry across to Tatacoa desert; this would save us a bit of time. But lo and behold we hit crazy traffic in Ibague combined with construction and we end up being in a standstill for 4+ hours. As day slipped into night, there was no way we could take the ferry anymore so we were going to have to go down to Neiva then taxi back up to Tatacoa desert. This segment to Neiva ended up taking over 9 hours. Luckily we had bought bagged lunches in Salento but it was a long ride. The long travel days are good for catching up on music, blog thoughts, Spanish, sore muscles, etc but some rides really do start to drag and this was one of them.
Once we got to Neiva it was 10pm at this point and we had to get a taxi to our hostel in the desert. It was supposed to be about 1.5 hour ride but the taxi was super old and not cut out for some of these desert roads so it took 2 hours. The guy’s speedometer and gas gauge didn’t even work. Toward the end he kept asking if we were there yet and we had told him our hostel was in the middle of the desert. Then when we made it he tried to pull the card of charging more because it was further than he thought but tough shit bud you gave us a price and agreed upon it. We held strong and gave him the original amount. In the end it was a 16 hour day of travel to be in the desert for 36 hours…was it worth it?!
Lodging
We stayed at a lodge in the middle of the desert called Casa de Campo Los Cactuses. We were only able to book 1 night but luckily it was easy to add on the second. It was a cool spot with mostly Colombians and our little eco hut was made out of plastic bottles. There was 3 beds in the hut so Ursula and Rebecca shared a bed and me and Bente got our own. We had mosquito nets but the bugs really weren’t too bad; maybe it was to keep out scorpions. Unfortunately it was too cloudy both nights to see the stars but this had the potential to be a great spot for star gazing. The second night we did play some rounds of cards but otherwise there really wasn’t too much to do.
Desert
The Tatacoa desert is the second largest arid zone in Colombia behind the Guajira peninsula and it actually isn’t a desert but rather a tropical dry forest. It is know for a rich deposit of fossils. The Tatacoa Desert has two distinctive colors: ochre (red soil) in the area of Cuzco and gray in the Los Hoyos area.
Gray Desert
We started our morning walking to the Grey Desert and boy was it hot already, big difference in this arid environment than Salento. There was a couple viewpoints along the way but it really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. At first I was like why the fuck did I come here especially with the crazy long travel day the day before, but as we got to the Los Hoyos trail it did get more interesting. Plus I was with good company so I was still having fun.
Los Hoyos (2.4 miles, 334 feet elevation gain)
We started a bit off trail and were just kind of wandering through the desert. It was certainly a change of scenery from the rest of Colombia, although nowhere near as cool as some of the American deserts in Utah and Arizona. It wasn’t crowded at all though and we kind of just wandered where we wanted going to high points along the ridge lines and then inside the little valley. There were some really cool rock formations and it reminded me of a less impressive version of Petrified National Forest. Once I put my ego aside about the American deserts I was able to really enjoy it. We were taking a lot of fun photos and just being silly as we walked around. Like any good desert we got lost a few times but we eventually made our way out of there. The desert had a random pool area that felt out of place but the Colombian families were loving it, and it was a good beer pit stop.
Villavieja
We took a quick trip into Villavieja between the Gray and Red Desert grabbing a quick lunch at a brewery in town. Villavieja was very rural, real colombia feel but then the brewery had this western feeling space (music and setup) like it could be in RiNo in Denver. The art murals and space were really cool but the food and beer was awful. On the motor taxi ride in we saw 4 kids on a motorbike with the oldest looking 10 max. That’s the type stuff you saw out in these parts. We were in a very off the beaten part of the country beside the Tatacoa desert.
Red desert – Valle de Los Xilópalos (2 miles, 354 feet elevation gain)
We spent the late afternoon roaming around the red desert. It had Utah vibes but on a much smaller scale. The red rocks were very Mars like and you felt very far from being in Colombia. It was much more touristy and crowded than the Gray Desert, and for some good reason, it was very picturesque.
In the end the desert trip made for a fun adventure with good people but it wasn’t worth the trek. It was very pretty and felt way different than the rest of the country but was nothing compared to the big deserts in America. I would go if I was in the area and heading to San Agustin next but a bit of a stretch for all of our itineraries. No regrets though!
Journey to Bogota and Bye Colombia
Ursula, Rebecca, and I had to leave Tatacoa Desert early the next morning to catch a colectivo back to Nieva then the bus to Bogota. On Sunday’s the colectivo only goes when full rather than every hour. We wanted to take 9:30 bus out of Nieva but waited for over an hour in Villavieja square. If we knew it would have taken that long we might have each just paid double to just fill the seats because it was so cheap. We told the colectivo driver we were trying to catch the bus at 9:30 and he just shrugged and hopped on his friend’s motorcycle and vanished out of sight. Really have to be patient and not be in a rush for anything. And of course once we finally left and made it to Nieva by 10:30 there was a bus leaving in 5 minutes, even though online it said noon. Got lucky there for once.
The bus to Bogota was supposed to take 5-6 hours but took closer to 7-8. When we were in the taxi to the hostel it smelled really fishy. We weren’t sure why but knew it was coming from our bags. It turns out that they put our bags below the bus next to a bag of fish or something and the outside of my bag was absolutely covered in fish juice. God dammit, so lame. Luckily I was going to have a hotel in Lima the following night to wash it out but it was absolutely disgusting and an incredibly strong smell.
We got to the hostel then grabbed some dinner before having one last beer at the hostel and saying our goodbyes as “Los últimos gauchos”. It was meant to be a goodbye for now not forever. We all had a few more months of travel and would be on a similar path so we’re hoping to meet up again. At this point about 6 weeks later it still hasn’t happened but you never know; the 3 of us do still chat in our group message sometimes.
I did really enjoy traveling with these girls and had a great experience but also I was ready to go back to solo, independent travel. For some reason I chose a 6am flight out of Bogota so that 3am wake up was rough but after an amazing time in Colombia I was so ready to see what Peru has to offer. Good bye Colombia…for now. I explored a good bit but there is still so much more to see and do. Colombia will forever hold a special place in my heart as the starting point of my South American journey and it is a country that I will continue to visit for the rest of my life.