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Our bus journey to Salento took us back across the mountain range again but this time it was at least paved. It was still a bendy route and the bus driver was a bit of a lunatic once we hit the hill climb.
We needed to be in Armenia by 8pm to catch the last bus to Salento and there the last jeep at 9pm to the hostel. We made this by 5 minutes with Lotta running to find the bus as soon as the doors opened with Malou and I hurrying behind with the luggage.
Relieved to arrive at La Serrana I decided not to go into town but to stay at the hostel and have a nutritious dinner of crisps and beer by the camp fire with my new room mates. After a couple of beers and bonding we headed to bed ready to explore Salento.
The next day Malou, Lotta and I went to Ocaso coffee for an excellent tour from Hilary learning lots about coffee from the picking to the processing and finally the drinking - I did try the coffee but still not a convert.
Almost all of Colombia's A grade coffee is exported leaving them to have the coffee where the worms have got into the berries, the skins not come off properly and other defects.
After the tour we decided not to walk the 2.5km uphill back to the hostel but got a jeep into town and headed to Brunch for lunch. I had the most enormous helping of nachos that I couldn't finish and I definitely needed to walk off after. Salento is a lovely colonial village with lots of cool shops and colourful buildings enhanced at the weekend by locals and other Colombians celebrating the long weekend.
I headed to the town square and met up with Sher and Naseem from my room and we walked around the shops before heading back to the hostel to rest before heading out again for dinner and then an early night.
The next day Sher and I headed for a two hour hike around the Cocora valley where you find incredibly high wax palm trees. The walk was fine and short in nature as Sher was catching the 12 noon bus.
That afternoon Naseem and I headed into town to climb the mirador then do more shopping before heading into town that evening for food and leaving me there with Lotta and Malou to watch the Colombia v Paraguay match. I was actually surprised to enjoy a match - Colombia very much won the first half while Paraguay remembered they could play football as well in the second half.
Back to the hostel to make the final preparations for the bus the next day to Medellin.
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