Salento, Colombia

Salento, Colombia is a traditional Spanish colonial town set amid the Andes mountains.  The town and surrounding areas have a climate favorable for coffee production.  If you see a map of the top coffee growing areas of the world you will see each is between the tropics and contain areas of high elevation (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee/map.html).  

Saleto actually sits in what is called the "Coffee Triangle" of Colombia (http://www.investincolombia.com.co/regional-information/coffee-triangle.html).  Colombia is the 3rd largest producer of coffee in the world, but produces far less than the world's largest producer Brasil, which is also in South America (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-19/world-s-top-10-coffee-producing-countries-in-2010-2011-table-.html).  The area is also ideal for growing tropical fruits such as bananas, pineapple, lulu (new to me), plantains, oranges, and limes.

Salento is a big draw for Colombian and international tourists due to its access to outdoor activities, restaurants, shopping, and social atmosphere.  It also contains the largest concentration of Quindio Wax Palm trees, the largest palm trees in the world and the national tree of Colombia.  They are now protected by federal environmental laws. I have often heard that the people make the city, and the people of Salento are friendly, cheerful, and accommodating.  Salento is a safe town, as are most small towns in Colombia.  This is not always the case in larger cities as you may have read on my description of Bogota.  While in town I met a mix of Colombians and expats from America, Australia, and Great Britain.  The word "expat" is short for expatriate, which is defined as: a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing.  A common scene in Salento is of the local farmers who wear ponchos and carry machetes for clearing land.  Through research, I found that ponchos originated in the highlands of Peru worn by the native peoples of that area.  One of my first visits to Latin America was to Guatemala, which has many highland areas and many granjeros (farmers) who carry machetes.  I met a Canadian couple who, on returning from a hike, ran across a group of farmers outside of the town.  Upon seeing the machetes, they thought the men were bandits and ran back into the forest and hid until the coast was clear.  They learned of their mistake as they returned to their hotel.  I also met a couple of guys from Holland, years later, who were robbed by a group of teenagers in Nicaragua toting machetes.  So, if in Latin America if someone looks like a farmer with machete usually no worries.  If someone looks like a homeless person or street thug with a machete, don't ask for directions.  

My time was spent enjoying the local coffee, hiking on three different occasions, and visiting a coffee finca (farm).  The only transportation for those who live on farms in the mountains is horseback or by foot.  Each day trips by jeeps from the main plaza in town brings both tourists and supplies for the people who live near the Cocora Valley.  I also saw many people renting horses to visit the Cocora canyon, which looked like good fun an would be a good break from the difficult hikes in the region.  I did manage to get lost on one hike and turned a 10 km hike into a 24 km hike (roughly) which had me running down a muddy mountain falling multiple time in order to make it out before dark.  I did so,  barely,  and fortunately found a group of Colombians having a late dinner and who were willing to allow me to bum a ride back into town.  I had already planned on finding ground under a tree and putting as much of myself as possible into my backpack and await the jeeps to arrive the next morning in case i had to sleep in the woods.  Believe it or not I've had to do this before.  Rules for hiking: go with a group, bring a map, bring warm clothes in case, bring plenty of water, Oh and don't get lost.  

If in Colombia, Salento is a must see.  It will totally disprove all of the negative imagery people in the United States may have of Colombia.  Every time I'm in one of the small towns I wonder how they were affected by the more troublesome times of militia rebellions and drug cartels of years past.  That is why I need to study and practice my Spanish in order to have this conversations.

Picking coffee beans is done by hand.

 Don Elias Coffee Farm is organic.  Banana trees provide shade for the coffee and fruit for the family.  When trees die they are cut down in pieces and spread throughout the farm as organic compost.

 A fresh cup of coffee with the tour guide and son of the owner.



Drying the beans

 The son was having a hard time selling us a bag of coffee, so the old man (Don Elias) jumps in and gets 2 out of 3 of us to buy.

Jeeps that carry supplies and people into the rural areas 

 Wild Turkey (pava) in Valle de Cocora

The haves and have nots.  Wealthy Colombians take a tour and camping trip in the forest on horseback while the kids to the right hike behind them with their bags for the night.

 Valle de Cocora

 Not the sign I'm looking for.  3590 meters up and 11 kilometers in the wrong direction.

Wax Palm trees, the national tree of Colombia

Transport back to town in the cheap seats.

Bogota, Colombia: population 9-10 million

New to "blogging."  I hate that I'm even using internet lingo, but I need to accept that 21st century communication comes with what I consider ridiculous terminology (I guess similar to faxing or xeroxing in years past).  I still refuse and will always refuse to use Twitter or "Tweet."  Let our brilliant politicians, entertainers, and athletes have at it.  Young people, you're excused.  I used to have a rat tail and collect Garbage Pail Kids. We're all subject to terrible trends.

 I still insist on paper books and hand written journals though.  I'm in Bogota, Colombia, try to go around with your laptop or Ebook and you're going to walk home empty handed.  I'm exaggerating some, but Bogota did top the list in 2011 for the world's most dangerous cities (http://urbantitan.com/10-most-dangerous-cities-in-the-world-in-2011/).  How Bogota beats out Mogadishu, and Baghdad is not on the list makes me question the credibility of the article, but nonetheless there are some trouble makers down here.  The gangs and street hustlers make their existence from extortion, drugs, prostitution, and mugging (sounds a lot like home), and give parts of the city and eerie vibe after dark.  There are also young street people often addicted to huffing or smoking a drug similar to crack who are also notorious for robbing people at night.  But, like any other city, you need to know where to go and where to avoid.

Inner city gangs are not really a new concept to any North American. I emphasize "North" American because simply referring to ourselves as American can be offensive to some here in that it insinuates that South and Central Americans are not "American." Anyway, what is noticeably different are the disturbing images of the Native peoples forced to sleep in the streets and beg because they've been driven from their land by the paramilitary/narcoterrorist wars taking place in the rural areas of the country. Colombia ranks 7th in the world for refugees living outside of its borders and 2nd in internal refugees (Sudan is 1st--http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/24680-colombia-is-latin-americas-largest-producer-of-refugees-un.html). What began as a political movement and counter-movenment (left vs. right) has now become war between rival militias (or guerillas) for the cocaine trade.  The government run military represents a third party and is funded by the U.S. in order to fight the militias and wipe out the production and trade of cocaine.  The leftist guerillas claim the military helps and funds their rivals, and therefore ultimately blames the U.S. for challenging their cause.  This is the "War on Drugs" that is taking place in Colombia.  There has been some success here, but unfortunately the demand for the drug is too high and now most of the trade takes place in Mexico where as many as 47,000 to 67,000 have been killed since 2006.  The numbers vary as some claim the Mexican government intentionally publishes low numbers, but nonetheless Mexico has become the new center for the drug cartels (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/world/americas/mexico-updates-drug-war-death-toll-but-critics-dispute-data.html).

Bogota has it's problem as does any large city in the world, but the level of safety and international investment is improving.  Bogota, like most Latin American cities, is a primate city (geography term) meaning that it is the center of government, trade, and has the largest population of any city in the country.  I have really enjoyed my time in and around Bogota and would encourage all travelers to see this vibrant and historical city.  On a side note, I'm not a huge fan of graffiti considering that in most cases it's some egotistical representation of a self-prescribed nickname, but I have to admit, some of the political messages and murals around Bogota are poignant and often very artistic.  Check some of them out...(http://bogotaciudadgraffiti.blogspot.com/).

 I've stayed in and around Bogota for the last 2 weeks and will head 8 hours southwest to a town called Salento (http://www.salento.com.co/) in one of the coffee producing regions of the country tomorrow night.  Night bus travel means no need for a hostel (lesson #1 in budget travel).  I plan to visit and hopefully volunteer on a coffee farm for a few days.  Out of the city and into a warmer climate both in temperature and character.   Ciao.

Colonial city of Villa de Leyva, 4 hours from Bogota

Military presence in every city

Traditional wedding

Countryside

Laguna de Iguaque-The beginning of human life according to myth of the native Muisca people

The streets of Candelaria in the historical district of Bogota

Plaza de Bolivar-Bogota

Street Music and mural

Political graffiti

Traditional pickup truck

Police search of teenagers-constant random searches for both drugs and weapons

 View of Bogota atop Cerro de Monserrate

Bogota at night