Salento is located in the heart of Colombia’s coffee region, a 5 hour bus from Medellin. It is less touristy than Medellin and Cartagena and noticeably safer. I didn’t feel the need to clutch onto my phone and wallet like my life depended on it during my time here like I did in other cities of Colombia. It has been made famous as being the gateway to the Cocora Valley, home to the worlds tallest palm trees and Colombia’s national tree. The town itself is lively and warm, featuring stunning colonial architecture, similar to that of Cartagena but without the humidity and aggressive sellers.
No trip to Salento would be complete without a tour of one of the various coffee farms in the region. We picked our own coffee cherry (seeds?), and got to see the process of how they make it, similar to the farm in Minca. It was my second coffee farm tour in Colombia and I’m still going with Matteo’s flat whites from Grafton – or maybe even Talo & Oaks coffees – remember that place Mum?
The next day was the main event – a trip to the Cocora Valley. In the main square, tons of 4×4 jeeps line up where you can purchase a cheap ticket to visit the national park, 25 minutes away. The park was as nice as advertised, with the tallests palm trees in the world living up to their hype: very tall. A brief but memorable time in Salento.
The silver lining of being sick in Colombia? By extending my time here I was able to see a football match that I wouldn’t have been able to see if I hadn’t have gotten ill. The Colombian football season was over but Independiente Medellin had a Copa Sudamericana game, equivalent to the Europa league, against Bolivian side ‘Always Ready’. I excitedly travelled back to Medellin, hoping the second visit would be better than the first. We purchased tickets through the hostel which included transport and pre match beverages, a higher price of course, but worth it to not get scammed or worse. The atmosphere was the best live game I have ever been to. Guatemala and El Salvador were great but I felt like I reached the next level of football atmosphere and entertainment being at this game. Medellin cruised to victory 4-0 which only fuelled the atmosphere from the home fans.
The next day, Finn and I embarked on the ever controversial ‘Pablo Escobar’ tour. A quick Google search reveals that this tour is, at best, a morally grey area for tourists and, at worst, a way for people to exploit the drug lords legacy and profit from its criminal history. Despite these ethical reservations, fuelled by my fascination with the Netflix series ‘Narcos’ and a genuine interest in Colombian history, I weighed the pros against the cons and decided to go ahead. A big tatted Colombian man picked us up in a 4×4. It was just me and Finn on the tour. First stop, the Monaco building. This was once a luxurious residence for Escobar and his family which was infamously bombed by the Cali Cartel in 1988. Today the site has been transformed into a memorial park honouring those affected during Escobars reign of terror. Our guide was extremely informative and knowledgeable, almost like he had first hand experience – I hesitated to enquire further.
Stop number two, a visit to Escobars graveyard. Surprisingly ordinary for such a notorious figure, it blended in with the rest of the cemetery despite the constant stream of visitors it attracts daily. Interestingly, Griselda is also buried in the same graveyard not far from Escobars grave.
We next drove to the rooftop where Pablo Escobar was killed. The building looked remarkably unchanged to the famous photos of the police surrounding a lifeless Escobar. Our guide offered an interesting theory about his demise: suggesting Escobar took his own life upon realising escape was impossible, challenging the popular narrative of a police shootout as depicted in Narcos.
Our final destination was perhaps the most captivating yet unsettling: Barrio Pablo Escobar. This neighbourhood in Medellín, once part of Escobar’s bid for political influence as he built thousands of homes for the impoverished remains adorned with murals of his face, sells Escobar-themed merchandise, and maintains a surprising reverence for the notorious figure. It was a surreal sight, considering what we now know about Escobar’s legacy. Yet here we were, not far from downtown Medellín, surrounded by a community that still hails him as a hero. It was a hard to believe a place like this existed and left us with us a sense of disbelief.
Divine! You make me laugh!