Okay, so bus rides here in Colombia are something else. It took me, all in all, 12 hours to get from Bogotá to Salento. It‘s only around 300 km, so back home that would be what, 3 hours? Some things are just different here. We were going up these winding roads, one bend after the other, one mountain after the other.
I don‘t think I have ever seen this much green in my life. The plants right next to the road are what we know as house plants or imported specialties - avocados, mangos, bananas, you name it, I saw it. There was signs for crossing wildlife, different ones every hour or so. Snakes, sloths, cows.
To get to Salento I needed to take a minibus after the normal one. That was an experience in itself. The driver didn‘t really bother to close the doors, perhaps because he was busy singing to the music that he turned on to max volume, at one point people were half hanging out of the bus.
So, Salento is part of the coffee region. It’s a small town, but there’s so many things to do and see here. Everything is super colorful. I‘m still trying to take it easy, firstly because I quickly notice whenever I do too much that my body sends me signals, like panic attacks, even though I mostly don‘t feel the fear. And secondly, because this is my life now. I am not on a two week vacation to somewhere, I can‘t just do as much as possible in my time here because that would make me burn out within the first month. I guess I don‘t have to name any of the 1000 reasons why I wouldn‘t want that to happen.
How lucky I am. This morning I had a horse riding tour booked. Turns out, it was just me and the guide, Jairo. Basically, I got a private tour, riding class AND spanish lesson in one, for 30€. I was picked up right outside the hostel. I got on my horse, Trujo al Blanco, for the 100th time, and off we went. Jairo instantly noticed that this wasn‘t my first time sitting on a horse, so as soon as we left the brightly coloured buildings behind us and found us on the trails, we started trotting and gallopping. We passed fincas, coffee and avocado plantations. We rode through thick forest, some road works, over a tiny creek and sticks and stones.
The horses were really motivated, I got the feeling they just wanted to run. The horse I’m used to from back home is about as hard to start as this one today was to slow down. From speaking to Jairo, I got the feeling that the animals are pretty well cared for. He loves his job - I mean, how could you not, if you can make a living by riding all day every day. The horses were really safe to ride, even though mine was a bit stubborn - whenever I needed a little help, the guide was right here, but I do think he tested me quite a bit and let me figure it out myself.
Getting off the horse might have been more embarrassing than the chewing gum (which, by the way, turned out to be a mint) or salsa situations those past few days. I thought I was fine, but after two hours of sitting on a saddle and being thrown around - it wasn‘t bad, my horse was super easy to sit, it‘s just that I‘m not used to it - my legs and but kinda gave out. I almost lost my balance and tried to make my way around the corner so that nobody noticed, but well, I‘m sure this didn‘t work out as planned. But you know what? Those guys just got on their horses (different ones, by the way), so they will know 2 hours later. Who‘s laughing then, huh?
Right now, I am sitting in my hostel, next to a bunch of people that obviously are doing actual work and not just writing to keep their dear friends and family updated. The rain is coming in over the lucious green mountains, clouds coming out in between the layers of rolling hills. There‘s barely any noise except the odd person walking by, the wind and a little thunder every now and again. What a way of life.
Well, I met the guys that were getting on the horses after me. Guess what? They didn‘t notice me walking funny! Actually, they were pretty impressed to see that me and my guide just gallopped through the town.
I was sitting at breakfast the morning after when my norwegian friends from the salsa class in Bogotá came around the corner. Initially, I planned to do the hike in Cocora Valley today. They wanted to do it on horseback, and I went with them.
Today‘s horse was Pacho. A much slower horse, but even sweeter than the other one. I cuddled him and he seemed to love me for it. The trail was really steep and very uneven at points, the horses kept slipping a little. At first I thought I‘d let Pacho find his own way, but I felt like he didn‘t always go for the easy way. I started steering him a bit more in the right direction, I could feel it when he started trusting me to guide him. We were such a great team.
But well, you don‘t go to the Cocora Valley just for the horseback riding. My Spanish is good enough to have conversations already (yes, I am very very veryyyy proud of myself), so I pulled as much information out of the guide, Alejo, as I could. These palm trees only exist here in Colombia. They are up to 70 m high, 130-170 years old, and in danger of extinction. The tourism apparently enables the people to plant baby palms and care for them.
The horses do the 1.5 hour trek up to 4 times a day. Alejo, on the other hand, has done it up to 9 times in one day - on foot. He also loves his job. The horses work for one week and then get one week of vacation, where they can roam free upon the rolling green hills.
The views? Incredible. I have no words. Look for yourself. The pictures don‘t do it justice at all. Imagine this view in real life, and then add the hooves of the horses hitting the ground as the only noise you can hear, besides the odd bird. Magical.
Waiting for the jeep, a bunch of Colombians approached us. They wanted to know where were from, so we showed them on a map. They gave us local candy and wanted to take a picture with us. I guess we‘re like celebrities now?
Did I come to a conclusion about the best mode of transport in Colombia? Busses work but they get me angry because of traffic and the slow speed. Walking I know how to do, I like it, but something‘s still missing. Jeeps? Long ass queues. Taxis? Quickly get expensive. Horses? Not the most comfortable (RIP to my butt for the next couple of days), not the cheapest, but certainly the most relaxing and the cutest.
