After a long night bus from Bogota we reached Salento just when the sun was going up, flooding the small, sleepy Salento with warm light. No one was on the streets as we were heading to our lodge, leaving us the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and the beautifully colored houses without any interruption: red, green, blue, pink, yellow… it’s like a puzzle of colors in the middle of the nature.

After a copious breakfast we went for the 10 km trek on the Cocora Velley where the highest wax palms in the world (over 60 m) grow. The landscape was just surreal, with enormous palms here and there on the hills. After crossing more than 7 bridges and going up on muddy soil we were rewarded with the chance to see colibri and many other bird species in their natural habitat. It was wonderful!

And of course we couldn’t have stayed in Salento without making a visit to one of the coffee plantations nearby… the area is home to the famous Colombian coffee we all enjoy all over the world. We saw the entire process of planting, production, marketing and preparation…we even gathered some coffee ourselves and we learnt new tips for the perfect cup of coffee: never boil the water, just warm it up to max 90 degrees.