Thursday, October 7th, 2010
After a few nice days, where two of my friends reappeared in Salento and we all went dancing salsa in the evening, me and the british couple went trekking.
You start out in the Valle de Cocora, go past Acaime and up to the valley of the lost, where had arranged for a guide to take us to the finca: Primavera. We walked through different landscapes and weather. It took us about 5-6 hours to get up there, and half of the walk was through rain and mud. We were pretty demoralized and exhausted in the end, and had no energy left to avoid the muddiest parts or wet branches in our way. Reaching the finca was a happy bliss, but it was freezing at 3500m, as we tried to dry our clothes on the kitchen stove; the only warm place in the house, where an unfriendly woman would be cooking all day long. I know that, because I spent the whole next day in that kitchen, with my book and a blanket, reading with the nice kids and teaching them a bit of english. She did let me have a piece of cheese she made right in front of me, but when we returned, she wouldnt even smile or wave. There was no electricity in the finca(farm), so there was no point of staying up after dark. The woman was an amazing cook, and us being tired, hungry and cold, worshiped the food she gave us, however simple it was. It was cooked Perfectly!
The next day, after a horrible night of longing for sleep or a warm, comfy bed, it was sunny and beautiful. We decided to move to another farm, closer to the nearest mountain that we were going to climb. They told us it was 4500m, but a map said 4200. The other finca, a bit further down the valley, was much much better! They even had electricity to have light in the kitchen. The young daughter wasn't an experienced cook yet, but they were so much more friendly and generous. She took us with her to milk the cows, so I did that for the first time. Dont know why people say its hard!
The finca also had smaller bedrooms and a smaller kitchen, so it was warmer. We had a great trip that day! We stopped by another little farm, where we were greeted by the friendliest man on earth, giving us lots of fresh cow milk with panela, and coffee tinto when we came back down. Colombians really adore their sugar(panela is made of sugercane) and crappy cheese!
It was heavy to walk those steep grassy hills, and we even decided to make it a bit more difficult by doing some climbing. It was absolutely magnificent to reach the top and have lunch that high. You could really feel the altitude in your breathing, but it was warm enough to sit in your sweater! On the way down, I rode on the back of the nice mans horse and had a nice little chat. He was going over to our place for phone signal. The locals speak rediculously fast up there, but he wasnt too bad. After a late dinner with the family, and some of the dads friends that had come over to eat and sleepover, I suffered myself through another cold night. The problem would always be the feet, no matter how hot the upper body was. I found myself feeling homesick for the first time, then. After breakfast the next morning, we watched a goat get slaughtered in Halal fashion, and "processed". Then we began our long, muddy journey back home. It took us about 7 hours to get down, because the others didnt have Wellington boots, following the route to finca El Bosque and on. Do NOT go up that way. You will surely die. The finca does also not excist anymore. Muddy and exhausted, we reached the Valle de Cocora. It was strange to return to civilization. The only tourists we met up there was a travel writer, and a man working with www.ecoandes.org.
Its really nice to be back in Salento, and the dog Kira was ecstatic to see me again. My colombian colleagues too. All of the other people in the hostel are however new, but very nice. Today I've got a spanish lesson. Im trying to not do too much today. All I want to do in Salento is just to be here. If youre doing things, then time passes. Thats something I really don't want to happen. I hope to feel this way about a place again.
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