Salento, Colombia

Salento was probably one of my favorite places I visited in Colombia.  It was a quiet, laid back town that wasn't too touristy for how beautiful it was.  It's located in the coffee region and was one of the top spots to tour the coffee plantations and try the famous Colombian coffee.

Cynthia and I stayed in a hostel out of town that had a very homely feel to it.  It was located in a beautiful area, surrounded by tons of greenery and trees.  For me, the nature and serenity of it was a much needed change from the hustle and bustle I had been experiencing in other cities.  The downside of its serenity though was there was no wifi for emergencies and it was 2 miles away from town.  So either we would hire a Willy (Jeep taxis) to come and get us, of huff it all the way into and out of town sometimes with our big backpacks, or groceries from town.  This got exhausting after a while, but for me was well worth it as nature traveling is more of my scene versus big city travel.


Day 1 in Salento, we decided to sign up for a more touristy type, English spoken coffee tour.  The tour was decently close to our hostel so we walked down a dirt road about a mile or so, and arrived at the tour.  They took us through how the coffee beans were grown and harvested, and we got time to pick some ourselves.  I got the most, I might add.  We then got to watch the process of grinding down the coffee beans and making our own coffee.  Pretty epic deal drinking Colombian coffee on a cool morning in Colombia.


The next day we went to Valle de Cocora, Las Palmas.  To get there we packed tightly into a Willy and took about a half hour drive up there. It was a long hike to rolling fields of endless palm trees.  The hike was decently strenuous, but the more difficult, the more energized I feel.  I practically ran up the hike.  When we got near the top, it was so fog covered, we could barely see anything.  We were a little disappointed at first, but soon ignored the feeling and instead took in the sight of the foggy view and outlines of trees.  As we descended, we realized the top wasn't even the view we were waiting for.  At the bottom, the very end of the hike, were where the open field of palm trees were.  They were extremely tall and skinny with little top hats of Palm leaves.

Cali, Colombia

La Capital de la Salsa.  The capital of salsa.  So when in Cali, one must learn to salsa dance.  Damn can those Colombians move their hips and dance!  I absolutely loved the styles of dancing around here.  It was so cool to see people actually dance still, instead of just grinding and dirty dancing.

The backpackers hostel we stayed at (which name escapes me) had free salsa lessons as well as yoga during the day.  Naturally I was going to absolutely be the first one to sign up for both as it was a first come, first serve basis.  If you went to Cali and didn't salsa dance, there really is no point of you being there.  So hell yes, in the salsa capital of the world, I learned to salsa dance, at least the basics, anyways.  I swear, every Colombian can salsa dance.  They explained to me that it was almost expected for people to know how to dance because who wants to go out of a club with someone that can't dance?  Well, I for one cannot dance and never have been taught so I found it absolutely awesome that they all knew how to.  It was hilarious when we all first went out to the salsa club, you could tell who the Americans and Europeans were not only by the way we looked, but by the way we danced.  We would all be in a group while the Colombians always had a dance partner.  Group dancing is definitely just not a thing.  So we all did our very best to salsa dance the night away.  After that night, Cynthia and I just hung back at the hostel by our pool and played cards.  Which we did everyday of every hour whenever we were bored.  We are now masters of slap jack and Cambio.

Dancing, Dancing, Dancing.  I loved Cali.

Popayan, Colombia

Popayan was the very first city of Colombia Cynthia and I visited.  It is known for it's beautiful white washed walls all around the city.  To get there, we rode a night bus from Quito to right outside of the Colombian border.  We got our travel visas, which were free for all except for Canadian residents.  It was an awesome feeling to finally be in another country. Colombia.  The interesting part was actually getting where we needed to go.  I had never once booked a hostel in Ecuador, and felt no need to in Colombia.  So once our bus arrived, at about 1 a.m, we walked around the city attempting to follow our directions to the hostel we found.  Once we finally arrived there, exhausted and a bit scared, the man told us there was no rooms for us so we were pretty much SOL.  Fantastic.  2 a.m, and we had no where to go.  The man gave us directions to a nearby hotel that was about the same price, so we did our best to find it.  finally, once we found it, we got the room for 3 nights.  Looking back, that wandering around with all our belongings was probably not the brightest choice, but you do what you gotta do sometimes when you're in a bind.  From then on, we booked our hostels online.

There wasn't a whole lot to do in Popayan, but it was nice to rest and get a little shopping done while we could, as well as wander around the white city and visit a few museums.

Popayan, Colombia

Popayan was the very first city of Colombia Cynthia and I visited.  It is known for it's beautiful white washed walls all around the city.  To get there, we rode a night bus from Quito to right outside of the Colombian border.  We got our travel visas, which were free for all except for Canadian residents.  It was an awesome feeling to finally be in another country. Colombia.  The interesting part was actually getting where we needed to go.  I had never once booked a hostel in Ecuador, and felt no need to in Colombia.  So once our bus arrived, at about 1 a.m, we walked around the city attempting to follow our directions to the hostel we found.  Once we finally arrived there, exhausted and a bit scared, the man told us there was no rooms for us so we were pretty much SOL.  Fantastic.  2 a.m, and we had no where to go.  The man gave us directions to a nearby hotel that was about the same price, so we did our best to find it.  finally, once we found it, we got the room for 3 nights.  Looking back, that wandering around with all our belongings was probably not the brightest choice, but you do what you gotta do sometimes when you're in a bind.  From then on, we booked our hostels online.

There wasn't a whole lot to do in Popayan, but it was nice to rest and get a little shopping done while we could, as well as wander around the white city and visit a few museums.

Popayan, Colombia

Popayan was the very first city of Colombia Cynthia and I visited.  It is known for it's beautiful white washed walls all around the city.  To get there, we rode a night bus from Quito to right outside of the Colombian border.  We got our travel visas, which were free for all except for Canadian residents.  It was an awesome feeling to finally be in another country. Colombia.  The interesting part was actually getting where we needed to go.  I had never once booked a hostel in Ecuador, and felt no need to in Colombia.  So once our bus arrived, at about 1 a.m, we walked around the city attempting to follow our directions to the hostel we found.  Once we finally arrived there, exhausted and a bit scared, the man told us there was no rooms for us so we were pretty much SOL.  Fantastic.  2 a.m, and we had no where to go.  The man gave us directions to a nearby hotel that was about the same price, so we did our best to find it.  finally, once we found it, we got the room for 3 nights.  Looking back, that wandering around with all our belongings was probably not the brightest choice, but you do what you gotta do sometimes when you're in a bind.  From then on, we booked our hostels online.

There wasn't a whole lot to do in Popayan, but it was nice to rest and get a little shopping done while we could, as well as wander around the white city and visit a few museums.

That breath of fresh air they call Colombia

So far, Colombia is the best place I have ever visited.  Perhaps because at the time it was my first taste of true freedom and ultimate inner growth.  It was November and I was still at my volunteering job, but I was ready to leave.  Not only there, but I was ready to leave Ecuador, and my past behind.  I had just gotten over getting Giarida, which I might add, is the sickest I have ever felt in my life.  I woke up one day and packed my things up in my backpack and left.  It was about a 2 mile walk to town, and I had no idea where I was going.  I decided the first bus that came by at the bus stop, was meant to be my next location.  As I was walking, a camineta, or a truck, stopped and gave me a free ride to town.  Right when I was dropped off a bus had just pulled up.  It was a bus to a nearby town, which then brought me to the town of Banos, Ecuador.  In my mind, that was a sign that was where I was supposed to be going, and that was the path I needed to follow.

There, I met a Quebec girl, Cynthia, who instantly became my friend and travel companion.  She taught me that it was okay to be free, and it was okay to let go of everything that was holding me down.  That it was time to focus on myself and do what I wanted to do.  That first taste of freedom after being held down so long and manipulated in my past relationship was the most myself I had ever felt.  I had a sense of euphoria and happiness that completely overwhelmed me.  This was traveling. This was what my experience should have been from the beginning.  Each day my state of mind became healthier and better than the day before.  I woke up everyday ready to explore, ready to adventure.  I decided then I was never going back to the person I was before.

For the first time in a long time, I felt powerful, and I felt truly happy with myself and with who I was.  This was a time of great transformation in my life. It was such a breath of fresh air after being suffocated for so long.
Not only was my state of mind at an all time high, but there really was something truly special about Colombia.  In the past, it had been a full of drug lords and a very unsafe atmosphere.  When my family heard I was going to Colombia they about had an annuirsm because of all the horror stories they heard about it.  At first, I was nervous as well, because of all the negativity associated with that once crime ridden country.  However, each travler I met reassured me that it was the most beautiful, lively, friendly country they had ever visited.  And it was.  The people there were proud of their country, and wanted to share it with all those who visited, so they could see it how they did. Completely beautiful and surreal.