Valley of Cocora (valle de Cocora), Salento, Acaime Reserve

Valley of Cocora
To get to valle de Cocora jeeps leave the central park of Salento when they have enough people so when I arrived on Sunday at 8:30 they had enough people so I didnt have to wait.  Cost 3,400 COP, ride took about 30 minutes.
From where they drop off in the valley they had some places selling food and snacks.  I walked up the hill to the blue gate where there are signs about the park and trails and started the walk to Acaime reserve.  It was pretty straight forward, just follow the main path and the signs.  On the weekends there are lots of people doing the trail so its hard to get too lost.  There is a trout farm at the beginning of the trail.  To enter its 2,000 COP and I am not sure the price but you can go "fishing" there.  I didnt enter as it didnt seem to be a tour but more a fee to enter.  The hike to Acaime took me around 2 hours.  At Acaime you pay 4,000 COP and then get a free drink of your choice of hot or cold beverages.  They have hummingbird feeders and quite a few different types of hummingbirds.  They also seem to have a small museum but it was closed.  Its a nice place to stop and relax.  From there I hiked the trail to the "mountain" or the viewpoint.  It was about a 30 minute hike uphill to a restaurant that served lunch and drinks.  The view wasnt very good as it was covered in clouds so I couldnt see any "view" so I kept walking.  The walk down was nice. The national tree of Colombia a tall very tall Palm tree called Palm Ceroxylon make for a beautiful landscape.

Salento
The town is cute and on the weekends the central park is very busy with locals. There is a street off the central park that leads to a viewpoint of the city and is lined with places selling food and crafts.  Then the mirador leads to another viewpoint of the valley.

Acaime Reserve humming birds

Acaime reserve

Acaime Reserve

Acaime reserve

Acaime Reserve

At the top there was lots of fog so I couldnt see anything

Lots of birds on the trail back

Trogan

Tall Palm trees make the landscape really interesting

The national tree of Colombia

Valley of Cocora

View of Salento after walking up the viewpoint

Bus travel Pasto - Cali - Darien (Lago Calima) - Armenia - Salento

Pasto to Cali
Wow I made a mistake.  From Pasto to Cali on a normal bus should take about 8-9 hours. I normally go to a few counters to ask but it was 5 am and I tried to stay awake most of the night so I could sleep on the bus so I went and asked how much the vans were and they were around 40-50,000COP and said would take about 8 hours.  So I went to ask at the bus companies and the first one COOTRANAR said it was 30,000 and would take about 8-9 hours. So I thought perfect that leaves me an hour or two to catch my next bus.  Wow was I wrong. The bus I was on made a stop every 5 meters to let people on and off so we arrived 11 hours after we started.  Ugghh!  Pay the extra money and go with another bus company, I heard Boliviarano is much faster and only maybe 5,000 COP more. I did have some funny companions in the seat next to me.  One guy starts talking to me and was talking about something then just adds in you are so beautiful you could be a model, then keeps talking.  Wow, I thought these guys are really skilled at lies, I am sitting on a bus with worn dirty wrinkled clothing, my hair in a bun and my face profusely sweating, and he is telling me I am beautiful and fit to be a model!

Cali to Darien (Lake Calima)
There is only one company TransCalima located on the third floor near door 12
Cost 13,600 COP (~$7) Duration: 2 Hours.  From Darien buses leave to Cali hourly from 5am to 6pm

Darien
I went to Darien to take a Kitesurfing class but was a bit disappointed in Calimakitesurfing company as they were not very helpful in helping me find them. They dont have any signs so when I got there I would need to call them but I dont have a cell phone.  I sent them an email asking how we can meet but they only said to call them and directed me to go to one of the shops to use a payphone.  I find it much easier to just arrange a place and time to meet over email than to walk to a shop but they just would not give me any information over email and after wasting a perfectly nice day without a response from them I decided to move on. 

Cali to Armeia 
OK I made another mistake with companies.  After my experience with the bus I decided to take a collectivo taxi service to Armenia with Coooperative Integral de Taxis Belacazar.  The ticket collector said it was only 2 hour direct with no stops.  I asked again cause I said its going to be dark though and I dont like to arrive late, so he said no it wont be more than 2 hours ride.  So I bought the ticket for 20,000 COP thinking I would arrive by 7pm then.  Well we arrived at 9pm so the bus ride took over 4 hours!  We did make a few stops to let on passengers and the engine was overheating so we had to ride with the cover to the engine ope to the bus and door open to let out the hot air coming in.  When I arrived in Armenia I asked what is the fasted a bus from Cali would arrive in Armenia and they told me 3 hours.  Expect a 3 hour journey even if they say 2!  So since I missed the last bus to Armenia I had to stay the night in Armenia at a very sad hotel for 18,000 COP.

Armenia - Salento
The next morning vans to Salento start running around 5:30AM so I got up to take the van at 6am.  It was 3,800 COP (~$2) and took less than an hour to arrive in Salento.  I got off at the fire station at the entrance to town so I could stay at Plantation House which is 19,000COP for a dorm room depending on which dorm the prices change a bit.  While its nice I think I would probably try Tralala Hostel if I were to stay at least 2 nights, as their dorm for 1 night is 22,000 COP and 20,000COP a night if you stay at least 2 nights.  Its newly renovated and located right by the square.

Ibarrra, Ecuador and back to Colombia - Tuquerres, Laguna verde, volcan azufral

I just had a wonderful day.  Having just arrived back in Colombia I am again reminded about how wonderful Colombians are.  Yesterday on the bus to border of Colombia in Ecuador the man next to me started talking to me and was from Colombia and when I asked him how much the bus fare was.. his answer... can you guess??? I will pay for you... After much back and forth and him trying to insist he finally let me pay.  Then another Colombian on the bus also offered to take me to my next destination but I explained to him that I had to go to both immigrations and I didnt want him to have to wait for me.

Ibarra

Yesterday I spent the morning in Ibarra in the north of Ecuador walking around the city and climbed up the to the arcangel viewpoint which overlooks the city and the lake.  The bus goes up to the viewpoint but I walked up then took the bus back to town for 25C.  There is a tourism office by the park Moncayo that gives out free maps and advice.   I stayed at Hotel Madrid for $9 a night for a nice room with a tv and private bath and they had wifi in the room.  Ibarra is about 2.5 hours from the northern bus terminal Quitumbe in Ecuador.  The bus costs about $2.5 and 20 cents for the terminal fee.

The bus station is just a short walk from the city center and markets.  The bus to Tulcan was $2.5 and they said it would take 2.5 hours but actually took over 3 to get to the bus terminal.   I got off at the terminal because that is where the collective van dropped me off when I arrived from Colombia to Ecuador.  But when I got to the bus terminal I was told that the collective vans leave from the park.  So I took a local bus (25 Cents) to the park and then took the collective van (75 cents) to the border.  You have to ask to let you off at immigration in Ecuador to get your stamp otherwise they go direct to immigration in Colombia cause locals just need their ID card and not their passport.  Both times the crossing was quite easy.. they two immigration posts are just a couple minutes walk from each other.  Then after there is a collective van to Ipiales bus terminal.  From the bus terminal in Ipiales  I went direct to Tuquerres since I had already been in Ipiales and seen the Lajas church.  

Arcangel viewpoint with the lake and city below

Below the arcangel, squinting cause of the sun!

 In case you havent realized by now I love maps.

Ibarra map from the tourism office

City center of Ibarra

Tuquerres

To get to Tuquerres I took the collective taxi which cost 7,000 COP (~$4) but I heard you can haggle them down to 6,000COP.  It took about an hour to get to Tuquerres.  I stayed at hotel Inti Ande across from the Hyper market and it was 15,000 COP (~$8) with a shared bathroom. They had wifi and a kitchen too.  It was a perfect location as I was hungry and wanted food and there were a lot of bakeries, restaurants, street food and market right there.

Laguna verde & volcano Azufral

Volcano Azufral - hotel reception told me a taxi would cost around 20,000 COP (~$11) to get to the ranger station.  I was also told I could take a motorbike but the receptionist thought it would be around the same price and recommended taking the bus that leaves from the park and costs 1,000 COP but I would have to walk maybe 4KM to get to the ranger station and then 6 KM to the crater lagoon.  I had read on another blog someone was able to get a motorcycle to take him for 7,000 COP but just decided to go for the bus.   I had bought some food and water the night before and had all my warm clothes cause I heard it can get very cold at the crater.  The bus dropped me off and I walked for maybe 15 minutes and saw a house with guy standing next to a motorcycle and asked him if he would be willing to take me to the ranger station.  He said yes and when I asked how much he said 5,000 COP.  So I said ok since I wasnt sure how far it was, the receptionist had said it was 2 hours walking from the where the bus would let me off, but I thought that meant 2 hours walk to the ranger station.  He had to get gas so while I waited for him they invited me in for coffee.  I kept saying no but they insisted.  Then they brought me coffee and a muffin and some other bread type food. But I couldn’t eat it cause I had just eaten.  So after my coffee off we went.  We get to the ranger station and I register and pay the 1,000 COP to enter.  Then he goes back and forth with the rangers while they insist he cant drive past the ranger station saying he will damage his bike and he kept insisting that he wont so finally they say ok go ahead if you want.  So off we go to the top of the crater.  Its 4,000 meters high and the lagoon is nice though clouds sometimes float over obscuring the view so we waited till the view cleared and the sun came out and walked down a little ways.  He said it was a nice opportunity for him to go there cause he has only been a few times.  Then we ride back to where we had started from and of course they try to feed me and give me some coffee or juice while I wait for the bus to pass.  He puts me in what he referred to as the “bus” which was a car or taxi.  He said it goes by every half hour or something on market days and goes pretty much to the ranger station for just  1,000 COP but only on market days and today is Thursday which is a market day.  I am not sure why the receptionist didn’t tell me this but it’s the cheapest option on market days to get to the ranger station.  They dropped me off a half block from the park and I assume that is where it leaves from.    Well I didn’t get in any hiking since the guy drove me the whole way on his bike but I wasn’t too disappointed cause it was nice to have the company and he only asked 5,000COP but I gave him 7,000 COP after he would accept 10,000.  Both he and his family were so nice and were talking about how they would like to go to US sometime cause it looks so nice and different in the movies.  But I also told him that the movies aren’t always reality, not everyone lives in a mansion.  

beautiful bird that has bright blue under its wings

Laguna verde

laguna verde

Laguna verde has an altitude of 4,000 meters

Pasto

From Tuquerres to Pasto took about 2 hours and cost 5,000 COP (~$3).  Although the lake is supposed to be nice here I decided I am going to get up early to take a 6am bus to Cali since it takes 8 hours and I heard that the buses are not always safe at night in the south of Colombia.  I walked around to look at some hotels near the bus station since to get into town is almost 20 blocks away and I am leaving early.  I ended up at Hotel Poala which was recommended by my guidebook lonely planet.  Its nothing great but it is 14,000 COP (~$8) for a private room with tv and bath and its very close to the bus station for an early morning bus. It has wifi in reception but they have to plug in the wifi router when you want to use it.  Around the bus station is pretty ugly, lots of motorcycle repair shops, but it has a huge market with lots of fruits and vegetables.

San Agustin, Colombia farm stay, Ipiales las Lajas

 I arrived in a town called San Augustin to be a volunteer on a coffee farm outside of San Agustin. When I arrived it was a weekend long harvest festival where they had music and dancing and a dance competition for a Harvest Queen.  The first picture I took.. was from one of the floats.. I somehow ended up in the parade in one of the floats.

San Augustin Parade

Gallo fruit.. there were so many fruits I got try on the farm that I had never tried before

This is where the coffee beans get processed

 It comes from the top and goes through a grinder that takes off the flesh or skin of the bean then gets washed where all the stuff that floats to the top is discarded. Which is the flesh and some of the beans not considered good.  They use these to seed new plants or to make their own coffee.

These are the washed beans drying

Freshly picked coffee beans

Gifts..

 I always have a hard time picking gifts for people.  It seems like al the children like coins from other countries so I started making origami boxes and putting small coins from other countries in them to give away to the children.  This also helps to lighted my backpack since I have quite a collection of coins now.

This is the dryer.. its like a greenhouse but to dry the coffee beans.

Coffee plant.. with ripe and unripe beans.. the red are ripe.

arracacha

Arracacha is  a root vegetable that is quite good and is related to a carrot and is a bit dark yellowish. We dug this up and then gave the stem and leaves to the rabbits and guinea pigs. 

Yuca

 Yuca root is delicious just boiled and they eat is with almost every meal.  It quite a large bush almost a tree that they uproot for the roots and then stick some of the branches in the ground to grow new ones.

An entire cow

 There was a community event where the government gives a free cow to each community.  The cow comes and they needed volunteer to butcher it.  I got to be part of the process.  While we were butchering it people were eating and drinking.. yes that is a beer in the middle of the meat that we just cut. They found it quite strange that I wouldnt eat (using their hands no utensils) and drink with them while my hands are all bloody.

Some of the insides of the cow that they made into a soup

 After butchering the cow we shared in a soup consisting of the insides of the cow. I found the textures a bit strange and had trouble eating it so I had to give mine back mostly uneaten.

Everywhere has woodfire stoves. 

Making of blood sausage

 They told me I could help make the blood sausage but I politely declined.  I did try it though. The next day at the event where they gave away the grilled meat of the cow and had soccer games and music and speeches I did try it.  I didnt realize it was basically blood rices and spices before since I have never actually eaten blood sausage.  It was actually pretty good but I couldnt eat the intesting because it was too plastic like, but I dont think I need to eat it again.  We took home with us some of the meat they would not use for the event, I think like the fatty or skin parts and the hoof of the cow.  Some lucky person took home the head.

Fresh caught fish

 They caught fish from their pond that they had recently stocked.  They said the fish were small but would grow bigger.  I got to learn how to gut the fish.. they were joking how the day before I butchered a cow and now I was learning how to gut a fish. We gutted something like 130 small fish, it took quite a while.

Ruins at San Agustin

ruins at San Agustin

 San Agustin is famous for its ruins.  They are funeral ruins from the indiginous people.  My guide books lists this as one of the 4 places in Colombia you have to visit.  Since I was in San Agustin I decided to go to the park where they had the ruins.  It took me three hours to walk around the park.

I had a great time on the farm.  I stayed over 2 weeks.  The people were very nice.  I was surprised how interested they were in learning to bake cakes and things from the US.  I made a bananbread which came out normal, and I made a brownie which wasnt great cause when I went to the store I asked for butter but they gave me margarine and I didnt notice right away. I think thats why it didnt come out great.  They also baked alot. But after over 2 weeks its was time to move on.  My stomach also tends to get a bit sick of eating potatoes rice and plantanos almost every meal even though the food was really quite tasty its almost the same thing every meal.

IPIALES, Las Lajas Church
After leaving San Agustin I headed to the border of Ecuador.  Where I made a stop at the border town to the see the famous church Las Lajas in Ipiales which is located above a river.

Ipiales river

Church at Ipiales

Ecuador, Quito

Quito, view from my hostel

Well I finally made it to Quito and my hostel has a beautiful view.