After a few exhausting days of sightseeing in both Cartagena and Medellin, Ryan and I decided to try out some Colombian yoga. One of my goals for my trip in South America is to attempt a yoga class in each country that I visit. When I made this goal, I hadn’t considered the fact that the yoga would most likely be in spanish. Nevertheless, a goal is a goal, and I’m sticking to it. Ryan and I were both apprehensive about how the class would go, especially after being put in the very front row. In the end, the class was great and I’ve done yoga enough times that I knew what I was doing, despite the language barrier. Namaste.
On Wednesday, Ryan and I decided we wanted to continue to relax and spent much of the day lying around, amongst trying out a few of the restaurants and cafes in El Poblado. There are so many restaurants in the area that I think it would take months to try them all, but we hit up a few select ones in our price range! We also spent some time doing what I like to call our “administrative work”, which involved booking flights to Ecuador and a few hostels. We also spent much of the afternoon at an adorable cafe practicing spanish, and putting together spanish flashcards with hand drawn images to help us remember words. For anyone who is aware of Ryan’s (poor) artistic skills, you can imagine what these drawings look like! We moved from one cafe to another to have a spanish lesson, which left me feeling brain dead, and in need of a glass of wine. Don’t worry – I obliged that need shortly after!
On Thursday, we bid Medellin a brief farewell (we’re flying to Quito from Medellin) and headed off to the mountain town of Salento, located in the Zona Cafeteria (coffee area of Colombia). In order to get to Salento, you have to transfer buses in Pereira or Armenia. Pereira is closer, but it has less buses running to Salento, so we decided to go to Armenia, on the likely chance that our bus was delayed. We successfully purchased tickets in spanish, and our bus was actually quite pleasant – we even had wifi! Driving through the Colombian mountains while texting really made me question whether or not I’m really in Latin America. The wifi was also a pleasant distraction from the windy roads that we weaved our way along. The scenery was that of Jurassic Park once the t-rex has escaped; the fog was dense, and although we couldn’t see much for most of the journey, I couldn’t quite forget that there was a very steep drop down the side of mountain to our immediate right. After 7 hours, we made it to Armenia, which is not a town I would write home about. The concrete buildings were old and worn down, and there appeared to be a lot of chaos, noise, and poverty in the city. Fortunately, we were there for only long enough to use the washroom and catch the public bus to Salento. By this point, the sun had gone down, and as we weaved down the road, I was eager to see the town and the countryside in daylight.
We arrived in Plaza Principal in Salento and proceeded to make our way to our hostel. While crossing the street, a man in a car welcomed us and wished us a good night, and as I responded, I stepped off the curb, only to realize a moment too late that the curb was over a foot high. With a backpack on my back, front, and a bag in my hand, I went crashing down onto the road. Everyone in the vicinity rushed to help me, and I waved them off, attempting to both get up and not cry at the same time. After hobbling to the hostel nearby, Ryan went out to get us some food, and me a tensor bandage, while I iced and elevated my swollen ankle. Fortunately, my ankle is just sprained, and although I’m not moving quickly, I am moving. I’m also trying my best not to let a sore ankle ruin our time in Salento, as it truly is a gem of a town.