Coffee Farms

I'm still way behind on my blog and may just leave out a lot that has gone on in my life or write the clift notes version later. A couple weeks ago, Max, an Italian guy at the hostel, and I went to Salento in Zona Cafetera, the coffee lands. We took an 8 hour bus ride down south. I never realized just how lush and beautiful the landscape is here until that moment. We passed through so much greenery, rivers, and hills and I became dizzy from all the criss crossing through the mountains.

When we finally reached Salento, I immediately took a great cup of coffee at my hostel. The next day, we met up with some other tourists and hiked on through Valle de Cocora, a valley full of wax palm trees. The whole region seems so peaceful and serene and the perfect place to retire. We spent hours hiking and enjoying the beauty of the land while interrupting the beauty often with our discusion of American politics and the upcoming presidential election and our solid fear of Sarah Palin... but I digress.

In the evenings, we checked out the local night life. We played a game in which we had to throw weighted metal balls into a box of mud and hit one of the triangles with gun powder sitting on top of a metal ring. If I hit the triangle right on, it would blow up. I found the game to be loud, obviously. We then hit a local pool bar and stayed there for the rest of the night. We split up into teams of America vs Rest of World in which I, and another American teamed up against an Israeli and a Brit. The other pairs also played America vs Rest of World, of 2 Americans vs an Italian and a brit. America won 2 out of 3!

The next day, we hiked for a couple hours to Emille's coffee farm. I thought I met Juan Valdez himself when a little gray haired man appeared out of the bushes and greeted us so warmly. He then spent the next hour explaining all the intricacies of working a coffee farm. I honestly don't remember all the details, but I enjoyed the tour.

My last day in the coffee lands, I chose to just rest, chill and read a borrowed book from a woman at the hostel. All my friends and my family do not think I am able to relax since I am always on the go, constantly multi-tasking and involved in way too many activities. I made a conscious effort to slow down for the day. I found a durable hammock overlooking the valley and set up camp for the day. I watched as cows roamed the fields, horses grazed right by me and the clouds greeted me in their various forms. I also finished the book that day, 3 cups of Tea about how one man persevered to set up schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I love reading non-fiction books about ordinary people who do extraordinary things; they inspire me, fill me with hope in humanity, and confidence that one person can make a difference in the lives of many. That night, I took an overnight bus home-content, inspired and rested.