La Zona Cafetera is an area within Colombia in which the piasa (the name for the people of the region) farmers have continued to cultivate coffee as they have for hundreds of years. It is very mountainous, with a moderate climate, and covered with coffee plantations and cloud forests. It is also spectacularly beautiful and has just been named a World Heritage Site. The three main towns of the zone are Pereira, Manizales, and Armenia. I decided to stay in Salento, just outside of Armenia, because a couple of friends who had recently traveled to Colombia had really enjoyed their stay there.
The ride from Bogota to Armenia was pleasant if a little slow. We left around 6:00 am and arrived about 5 pm, two hours later than expected, recent rains had made the roads a little tricky to navigate. From there I hopped onto a minibus to Salento, another 30 minutes away.
I was dropped off in the main plaza and looked around for a bit, bought some groceries (I was staying on an eco-farm about 20 minutes walk from the town and doubted there would be any place to buy food out there), and hired a tiny carriage/taxi out the hostel/farm called La Serrana. La Serrana had information on all sorts of activities from getting up at 4:30 to milk cows, to horse backing riding tours.
I arranged to take a three hour horseback ride the next day. Three of us from the hostel rode though trails in the forest once used by Simon Bolivar, two centuries ago, out to a waterfall. It was very scenic, we occasionally passed by a few farms and abandoned train tunnels. Once we arrived at the waterfall, our guide, Don Alvaro, encouraged us to go for a dip. Of the three of us, only Jonathan had experience with horses, but by the end of the tour, we were all riding close to full gallops. It was exhilarating.
Salento
I took a taxi the first time out, but afterwards just walked between the town and the hostel, its very scenic.
La Serrana
One of the ferocious guard dogs
VERY early the next morning
The sun finally rises
A little later
An unfinished and abandoned train tunnel
Don Alvaro
We kept seeing clusters of butterflies close to the ground on the trail. Alvaro explained it is because they are attracted to all of the horse urine :)
Treacherous river crossing ahead!
Heading back to the stables.
What's this?
Oh no! Under attack!
Saved by Jonathan.
Saying good-bye
On our walk back to the hostel we were suddenly joined by a small squad of soldiers, probably on patrol. Constant military presence has helped to keep many regions of Colombia secure.
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