October 23, 2013

Salento is surrounded by beautiful mountains, so Chandler and I figured we should do some hiking. The Valley of Cocora is known for tall palm trees, high on the hills, that are often shrouded in fog. It sounded like a perfect place to check out. We took a very tame jeep ride to the park and hit the trail.

The route was along the same path that the horses used, so things were a bit muddy. The palm trees were the most obvious features and just awesome as we had heard. We started out next to pastures with cows, but quickly moved into the jungle. The temperatures were mild, but it was humid, so as usual, we were covered in sweat in no time.

Misty palm trees

Bridge walk

The path led to a small farm up in the mountains which is known for the congregations of hummingbirds that the owners attract with feeders and bowls of sugary water. We had to pay a small fee to cover the cost of maintaining the trail and bridges. They gave us a large glass of warm Coke, which actually tasted pretty good at the time. The hype about the birds proved to be true.

Wings up

There were hummingbirds everywhere. They were zooming around between the four different feeders. It was amazing how close I was able to get to the birds. I was able to identify three different species of hummingbirds.

The Long-tailed Sylph

The Collared Inca

The Western Emerald Hummingbird

After our break, we opted to continue hiking to the top of the mountain. The path was less muddy, but the sun came out as we were climbing. Of course, once we reached the top, the clouds came out and it started raining. Oh well, we had a nice time.

View from the top

Chandler the palm trees