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.
Drying the beans
Jeeps that carry supplies and people into the rural areas
Transport back to town in the cheap seats.
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