On Wednesday I left Medellín heading south towards the Zona Cafetera. This is the region in Colombia where most of the coffee is grown, because conditions are very favorable. It´s a very pretty region, but recently heavy rainfalls have caused tremendous amounts of mudslides. As a consequence many roads have been destroyed and closed. This makes the bus ride quite adventurous. The bus ride is supposed to take 4 hours. Even though we leave half an hour late and spend half an hour replacing one of the tires, we still arrive in Manizales on time, thanks to the crazy but capable driver. I usually don´t get sick in a car, but this ride definitely pushed me to the edge.

I arrive in Manizales, the largest city in this region, where Taeke currently lives and he offers me a place to stay for three days. On the first day he shows me around in Manizales and we go to a piano concert at the university. A lot of things are going on in Manizales, but it doesn´t look very pretty. Parts of the city were destroyed in earthquakes and there are a lot of ugly concrete buildings. Nevertheless, we spend a nice evening in an Irish pub. Here we meet some of Valentina´s friends. These girls are happy to tell us how cheap liposuction is in Colombia and don´t hesitate to proudly show us the results of theirs. Medical care in Colombia is relatively cheap and for example many Ecuadoreans go to Colombia for this region. The next day is going to be a long one, so we don´t head back home very late.

A jeep picks us up in the morning to go to a finca (coffee farm). Most of the fincas in the region offer guided tours and sleeping facilities. On the jeep is a lady from Spain with her just adopted very cute Colombian girl. The region is pretty and we´re given a warm welcome on the farm, where they give us an extensive introduction to the smells and tastes of the coffee production process. We wander around the farm to a hacienda and are given the chance to taste some of the local fruits and vegetation.

The next day I leave Manizales and go to Salento. This is a cute little sleeping town near the Valle Cocora. In Salento I get off the bus and the first person I meet there is my Slovakian friend again, coincidentally. That was very funny and we have dinner together. I walk around a bit and explore the viewpoint where I meet a guy from Bogotá who offers me some tinto, a local hot tea-like drink that tastes sweet. That night we hang out in a bar with a mixture of nationalities and play Tejo: a traditional Colombian throwing game which proves pretty hard. It´s like jeu de boules, but with a heavy metal disc and you´re supposed to hit some explosives. The next day I get up at 6:30 am, to go the Valle Cocora. This valley is famous for its huge wax palms. Once I get off the jeep I´m offered several times a horseback ride, but I decide to hike the trail through the valley, where I meet two British girls. The trail seems tougher than expected: it´s full of rocks, mud and horses. But the view is amazingly pretty: wax palms, green hills and cows everywhere! After about 1.5 hours we arrive in a national park, which looks like a jungle. The trail goes through this forest and sometimes requires a challingeing crossing over a wild river on an improvised bridge. When I say bridge I mean two or three wooden bars, no more. So some acrobatics are essential. Sometimes I feel like I could use some Tarzan skills here. This part of the hike is really exhaustive, but it´s very exciting and pretty and we make it all the way to the end where we can rest a bit and enjoy some local food, before we hike all the way back.

I leave Salento on Saturday afternoon and arrive in the capital, Bogotá, the same nigh, where I´ll stay for about three days.