Salento

A station two of my instagram-friends recommended me independent from one another.
I heared my call and drove 3 hours from Cali to Armenia and from there 1 hour up the mountain. The temperature differences where big, so I moved from 30* to below 20* degrees.

Salento is a picturesque village with colourful small houses in the Colombian coffee growing area.
When I asked the locals what is the best thing in salento to do they answered:
“Just enjoy the calmness and the hospitality of the people. Here are all friends”

Indeed it was super safe and cozy with great nature around.

I was again alone on the road. Agustina stayed back in Cali because she could earn there some money and give dance classes.

The hostel with the two huge dogs was nice and I stayed in an 8-dorm bedroom with spacious cabins.

I only stayed for a night and a day. So after spending the arrival evening pretty calm strolling around the city and having lunch at an vegetarian restaurant, suddenly i saw a Futsal court build up at the main square of the village where at daytime the market was.
It was kind of an official match day, the teams had similar jerseys and there were referees.
Since I couldn’t join them I played with the kids around the court, wich were also pretty good!
After some hours it was 11pm, the teams kept on switching and playing, I left happy for bed 😴

The next morning I went on a hike through the coffee mountains to visit an organic plantation.
I learned about the cultivation and production and the different quality standards. At the end of the tour of course I got to taste the coffee. To be honest I didn’t like the espresso. It was super strong and sour wich comes from the high altitude. The stretched Americano was more enjoyable.

Back at the hostel I did a longer fascia release session with yoga because my back wasn’t that good in the last days. Anyways it’s not easy to find a routine for working out while travelling. My bag is also way to big and heavy with 18kg.

So I left the village to visit my old friend Miguel who used to be in the same social circle in Karlsruhe, like Antonio (Quito).

We met in Pereira were he just landed after business negotiations in Panama. From there we drove together to his home in Manizales. Another coffee city.Read more