Salento is a very small town and I spent most of the time chilling out in the hammock, drinking coffee and reading. It managed to rain most afternoons which eased my conscience at being so inactive. Most days the mist hung around the mountain tops, and it wasn't uncommon for it to descend and blanket the town for a few hours.
On a clear morning I set off to Cocora valley, deciding not to wait for the 4wd taxis I walked the 11km road to Cocora, then the addition 5km along muddy trails and through wet forests to the Acaime nature reserve. It began to rain as I was walking the trail and the numerous horse back riders churned the paths into a mire, luckily I have great hiking boots.
I was rewarded by the long wet trek on my arrival to the nature reserve, I has handed a huge mug of 'Aguapanela', a very sweet honey flavoured drink, just the thing to warm me up. I sat and watched the numerous hummingbirds flitter to and from the many bird feeders around the lookout, well worth the effort.
So far the people in Colombia have been very friendly. On the walk to the nature reserve I met a really nice Colombian couple, as I was crossing one of the bridges they just came up to me and started chatting (and also gave me a cookie and a mandarin!). I also managed to get a ride back with another group who were visiting Salento for the weekend.
A very relaxed few days (except for the small earthquakes on my final night), the polar opposite of my next destination, Bogota...
More photos here
