Avri has a cold so we couldn’t go to the Cocora Valley, home of the famous wax palm trees. It requires either a 6 hour hike, or a 2 hour walk for the lazies — neither of which he was up for. Being the main attraction in Salento, I felt a bit of FoMO (fear of missing out) so while he rested in the room I decided to go to the town mirador and see if I could catch a view of a wax palm tree or two. I left without my camera and regretted it immediately. This is what I saw:
- After going up 250 steps I looked back and saw the small town’s main road from up high, filled with colorful people that came to hang out on a Sunday. To the sides, the terracotta rooftops that spread out only for a block or two and then gave way to nature.
- At the mirador I rented a pair of binoculars and searched for wax palm trees. I found one next to a white coffee finca on my left, and some more in a small valley that disappeared into the fog on my right.
- I saw the man who rented the binoculars recognize a guy from his childhood. They hadn’t seen each other in 15 years or so and I saw them hug and exchange stories and phone numbers.
- On the way back I saw a shop with a sign that read in Spanish “Association of Women United by the Love for Salento” and in small letters “Knitting and Crafts”. Inside were 4 elderly ladies knitting different things while chatting, and long tables showcasing their work.
- I saw, or stared, at the Bar Danubio, a huge pool hall with dining tables in the front, a bar to the right and the pool tables in the back. Wooden furniture and orange ceilings. A 50+ bar tender with a cowboy mustache. Two men sleeping at the tables, covering their faces with a sombrero. And a man staring back at me.
Those would have been the five pictures I would have posted.