Horsing around in Salento

After my time on the farm it was time to get back to backpacking reality!

Hello Salento!

I headed for Salento, which is the number one stop for gringos in the coffee region.

I didn't do much on my first day here. It's super lame but I wasn't getting the best sleep on the farm because every night there was a cockroach waiting for me in my room and I could not help but wonder what other creepy crawlies would find their way to me through the gaps in the walls. I was also a little hungover as on my last night at Steel Horse Yvette had the amazing idea of making a roast (Filandia style ie. Buy the chicken pre-cooked, make the veggies and Yorkshire and then add Bisto!), which we enjoyed with half a bottle of wine and a very strong margarita back in town afterwards. So when I arrived in Salento I was a little hungover (I'm a cheap date these days) and immediately went to Brunch, for a hangover busting burger.

This roast was absolutely a BIG DEAL!

And this burger was exactly what the doctor ordered!

After which I needed a coffee, which in Salento, is not a problem to find!

I was ready to chill at the Hostel when a couple in my dorm asked if I wanted to go and play Tejo. It didn't take a lot of persuasion!! Although unfortunately I still totally suck at it!

Tejo teams!

On my second day it was time to get serious. I couldn't slob around again, so I booked to go on a 3 hour horse ride with Cabalgatas San Pablo.

Once upon a time I had a pony. (We had a pony.) But then the late teenage years beckoned and boys and fun with friends was more important than going up to muck out or go riding. I could immediately tell that my horse for the day was... a little bit highly strung. My guide, Ruby told me that it was just that he liked to go fast, as he's bred partly with a breed of horse that naturally wants to move quickly. But for sure, he also liked to drive and ignore any instruction I was giving him with the reins. I came unstuck when Canelo walked under a tree with pretty scathing branches, which took some chunks out of my face. Ok, so, chunks might be an exaggeration but I do have two deep scratches and they don't look pretty!

A horse's eye view

I'm not sure if Canelo could tell I was a bit nervous but after the scratches I realised I had to manage the situation a little more. If Canelo's head looks a little taut, it's because I decided to drive. We seemed to get on much better after that.

The landscapes around Salento are stunning, with beautiful vistas of the bosque (that's "forest", to you and I).  Our ride out took us along the coffee farm trail in Salento, then heading downhill before we criss-crossed low rivers, climbed muddy tracks trodden only by horses and stumbled up and down many hills in order to reach the horses' resting point before El Peñon waterfall. "Up - lean forward, down - lean back", became a mantra and by the end I was leaning forwards and backwards "like a pro"!!!

Canelo, crossing rivers like the pro he is.

So good at leaning forward...

After parking up the horses, Ruby and I made our way on foot to the cascada El Peñon, stopping on the way for Ruby to show me one of the rarer types of butterfly in Colombia - one with transparent wings, flecked with electric blue. When we reached the waterfall, we bumped into Oscar, owner of San Pablo. We had a bit of chat - both he and Ruby seemed a little pre-occupied with my scratches. Eventually he took his four German friends off to continue their ride, and I debated whether to go for a dip in the waterfall.

Having a good old debate with myself!

The lovely grotto of El Peñón

You see, despite being a proud Northerner, I also avoid all kinds of cold things like the plague. Wind, snow, ice in my drinks, etc. But it had been a sweaty two hours on the caballo and the water looked so fresh, and it was just Ruby and I. And Ruby wasn't going in, so it was just me! I thought back to when I went to the coffee farms with Jo and Francis, and when we were debating whether or not to stop off for another coffee, or go for lunch, Francis said "let's go for a coffee. It's not very often that we'll be in the coffee region in Colombia." When dilly-dallying over whether or not to get in the bloody waterfall, I recalled this and applied it to the current situation. How often will I be in the middle of nowhere in Colombia, by a waterfall, on my own, with the opportunity to go for a dip? "Not very", was the answer! Sometimes you just need a reminder to not be so complacent!

If I look unsure, It's because I was!

Fresh to death

But one dip was enough, and soon we were back on our way to our trusty steeds, with another stop on the way, in search of transparent butterflies.

As we neared the town centre, Ruby asked "un pequeñito gallop?" Nah, not today, Ruby. I'm too busy basking in my lean forward/lean back skills!