I smile when I think of the past and get excited about the future. – Julie Murphy
Sunday, March 24, 2013 (DAYS 384 - 386)
After spending just a single night in Cali, Colombia we were in a rush to get out of The Pelican Larry Hostel and on to our next destination of the small mountain town of Salento. The primary reasons for leaving in such a haste after arriving in the late evening was because of the awful coked up backpackers we were sharing a dorm with and the blatant lack of action the owner took to resolve the situation. Absolutely exhausted all Char and I wanted to do was to get some sleep. We were checked in to a dorm with only 3 other guys and things were going fine until about 4am these 3 blokes busted in the room, turned on the lights, turned on music, and began smoking cigarettes in the room. Completely annoyed I sat up and said, “c’mon man what are you doing it’s 4am and we’re trying to sleep here?” Their response was to scream and curse at me in French. Not having any of this I grabbed my bag and my bedding and stormed off to the next room because I was too exhausted to try and even have a simple conversation with these guys, which Char followed as well. First thing the next morning I sought out the owner, an Aussie I believe, and he explained to him our situation and his response was, “yeah we’ve had a lot of complaints about these guys for a few days now, I’ll talk to them.” I was thinking, really this is how you are going to handle a situation of people smoking in your rooms, waking up guests in the middle of the night, and attempting to incite a fight? Prior to this situation we had planned to stay in Cali to explore it for a few days and stay at this hostel, but after this response our plans altered to pack up as quickly as possibly and let other backpackers know that this is not the place to stay. I am amazed over and over again how so many hostel owners don’t realize that backpackers talk more than any other travelers and when you fail to resolve simple issues this will eventually come back to affect their business.
After spending just a single night in Cali, Colombia we were in a rush to get out of The Pelican Larry Hostel and on to our next destination of the small mountain town of Salento. The primary reasons for leaving in such a haste after arriving in the late evening was because of the awful coked up backpackers we were sharing a dorm with and the blatant lack of action the owner took to resolve the situation. Absolutely exhausted all Char and I wanted to do was to get some sleep. We were checked in to a dorm with only 3 other guys and things were going fine until about 4am these 3 blokes busted in the room, turned on the lights, turned on music, and began smoking cigarettes in the room. Completely annoyed I sat up and said, “c’mon man what are you doing it’s 4am and we’re trying to sleep here?” Their response was to scream and curse at me in French. Not having any of this I grabbed my bag and my bedding and stormed off to the next room because I was too exhausted to try and even have a simple conversation with these guys, which Char followed as well. First thing the next morning I sought out the owner, an Aussie I believe, and he explained to him our situation and his response was, “yeah we’ve had a lot of complaints about these guys for a few days now, I’ll talk to them.” I was thinking, really this is how you are going to handle a situation of people smoking in your rooms, waking up guests in the middle of the night, and attempting to incite a fight? Prior to this situation we had planned to stay in Cali to explore it for a few days and stay at this hostel, but after this response our plans altered to pack up as quickly as possibly and let other backpackers know that this is not the place to stay. I am amazed over and over again how so many hostel owners don’t realize that backpackers talk more than any other travelers and when you fail to resolve simple issues this will eventually come back to affect their business.
Flagging down a taxi since the bus terminal since it wasn’t quite within walking distance, especially when you have a 40lb backpack strapped to you and you’re with a Canadian (haha). The local bus took just over an hour and a half for the 32km relocation and we arrive a about 90-minutes before sunset. After checking in to an amazing hostel, Plantation House, we decided to take a stroll through the town and up towards the main plaza. As we were taking photos and enjoying a more positive experience than earlier that morning, a group of local guys invited us to sit with them as they were watching a futbol match between Colombia and Panama. Even through broken English we found a common ground of laughter and hand gestures that made for a very welcoming and inviting evening. Before we knew it the sun had long gone and we had a fifteen-minute walk back to our hostel. Excusing ourselves several times, as these older gentleman tried to convince us to stay for the next match we had to decline but thanked them for a wonderful first night in Salento and assured them that we would see them again since Semana Santa was beginning to gear up.
The next morning Char and I decided to take part in a coffee tour since it was less than $4 for the half day tour. We learned about the two main species of coffee; Robusta and Arabica. Interestingly enough, our guide and plantation owner was an Australian and told us that Colombia is #4 in growing Arabica beans, while Brazil is #1. The tour led us down a muddy winding road near the bottom of the valley where we were able to experience some of the most beautiful scenery and even roast and grind our own coffee. I’m sure that Juan Valdez would be jealous, and if he were to show up at that moment I might have to slap his smug donkey, or better yet Juan himself for being lazy and making his donkey carry those burlap sacks of coffee beans through this rugged countryside. Animal slave labor at it’s worst Mr. Valdez.
The next morning we woke up early at 7am ready to hike El Valle de Cocora, which is in the Central Cordillera of the Andean mountains and home to the tallest palm trees in the world, the Ceroxylon quindiuense. Yes, I’m a nerd and whenever I’m in a location in the world where this one plant or thing grows I feel like I have to make an effort to see it or experience it myself.
This morning we have a gathered another great international group that consists of; Emily from the States, Patrick from the UK, Josh & Iefke (from Holland, you can tell by their wooden shoes), Leigh from Australia, and of course Char from America Junior. After a quick stop at the bakery for brekkie we negotiate with a taxi driver to take all 11 of us (yes I’ve realized I forgot some names, but when you’re meeting numerous new people daily these things are bound to happen), in his Jeep for the 20-minute drive to the park entrance. After arriving Patrick wandered off and we realized that for only 37,000 pesos ($19.60) we could each rent horses to take us up the mountain, which generally takes 2 and a half hours or more. Choosing this option was one of the best decisions of the day since it had rained quite extensively the night before and the entire trail was covered in almost a foot of thick mud. As they brought our horses over to each of us based upon our weight, I decided to nickname mine unicorn, because, well, Ich bin ein einhorn! The trail riding was amazing as we crossed rivers, ducked under enormous jungle leaves, passed a Hobbits home, and just plain felt like Indian Jones.
Upon reaching the top of the mountain there is a hummingbird sanctuary where we indulged in some chocolate con queso, which sounds terrible but is extremely tasty. Relinquishing our horses to their handlers, we decided to hike down the mountain, which took us about 3-hours and gave us a chance to have some great conversation with each other. The best part was when Leigh told us of the “tested cow theory.” Something most of us had never heard of, but basically if you were to make a lot of noise to get the attention from a cow or several cows and then just fall down flat and stay silent they will be curious enough to wonder over to you and see what just occurred. One by one we each took turns yelling at the top of our lungs, waving our hands, and then abruptly falling down on our backs. After five attempts we realized this was a complete fail, but a great laugh.
As we reached the valley and the entrance to the park, we decided to take a lovely family photo, complete with a stray dog that had been following us that we named stinky. This was one of those perfect days that only got better when we decided to have a group dinner at Brunch, a restaurant that is owned by an American but has the most amazing dessert you could imagine. This magical brownie is made from scratch and is dual layered with a layer of homemade peanut butter in the center! I heard about this amazing treat all the way down in Peru, and it certainly lived up to it’s standard. After dinner we went to a local hangout where some elderly gentlemen were playing a game called “Tejos.” Basically it is a more manly version of cornhole for those that know what that is in the states. There are teams of two that throw round weighted discs at 45 degree angled shadow boxes filled with puddy. In the center there are four triangle pieces of paper separated to form a square. As you toss these weighted discs from 40 feet away, but for tourists it’s more like 10 feet, you gain points if your disc sticks in to the puddy, but the true surprise is when you hit one of the pieces of folded up paper because they are filled with actual gun powder and cause a small explosion! Every time this occurs you hear everyone yell out TEJOS! Since the introduction of this game, I feel that any game that doesn’t involve gun powder is for sissys. After a night of laughs I returned to my four-bed dorm only to find out that someone had stole my pillow off my bed. I mean, c’mon man. I was so tired I ended up just rolling up my jeans and using that as my makeshift pillow. Once again, the often bad side of traveling, but then again there’s always a story
The next morning was another one as we were awake at 7am to enjoy one last meal with everyone before we all headed off to different parts of the globe. One of the most annoying parts of traveling is packing up. It’s the one thing we all tend to dread and put off to the last possible minute, and today was no different. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 10:30am and we were literally running to catch this bus. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode as Jerry is explaining to Elaine that you need to run like a man and get your knees up. That’s what I was yelling to Char laughing as I did so. What a great friend I am, right? The bus to Pereira from Salento took only one-hour, but at our transfer terminal we were fortunate enough to get a direct bus for Medellin at for 30,000 pesos ($15.90) for the 423km (262 miles) 7-hour bus ride
and arrived in Medellin around 6:30pm and checked into Samán hostel–a cold feeling place like a hotel. Excited to be in Medellin we decided to walk around the area before calling it a night.
and arrived in Medellin around 6:30pm and checked into Samán hostel–a cold feeling place like a hotel. Excited to be in Medellin we decided to walk around the area before calling it a night.
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