Salento sits in the heart of 'Zona Cafetera', Colombia's main coffee region. It is a beautiful small town surrounded by gentle rolling hills carpeted in thick forest. The peaceful streets are lined with restaurants serving up delicious local trout and cafes roasting the local beans. Snug bars surrounding the main plaza host old men in non-ironic ponchos and cowboy hats sipping 'aguardiente' (cane alcohol) while playing dominoes and breaking into ragged harmony whenever an anthem of heartbreaking personal relevance is played. The town has plenty of character.

Our hostel, an old plantation house, offered us an excellent and highly informative tour with demonstration of the coffee-making process . We were able to pick our own cherry beans and see them through the process of de-shelling, drying, roasting then grinding before enjoying the final product...Organic. We also took a scenic stroll out into the countryside to visit the charismatic old-timer, Don Elias, who showed us around his plantation and shared a cup of his finest with us.

Just outside Salento, the stunning Valle de Cocora is a lush landscape with cows roaming in a broad green valley floor framed by rugged peaks - we could have been in Switzerland. However, we soon remembered we were only a few degrees from the Equator when we suddenly encountered hills covered with the 'palma de cera' (wax palm). The trees tower above the cloud forests in which they thrive, creating a unique sight. We spent a day walking in this area, which included a visit to the 'Reserva Natural Acaime', a wonderful hummingbird reserve.

Onward bus to Bogota, via Armenia, 10 hours.