Cocora valley

I sent Alison and Kevin off this morning on a bus to Medellin. I leave tonight for Bogota to catch a flight to the States early tomorrow morning. I feel both happy and melancholy for my last day in Colombia. I feel weightless.

One thing I know I will miss when I return are the subtle nuances of Latin culture I've come to love and most of all, speaking spanish. My spanish has improved considerably in Colombia since I don't have to switch over to English all the time unless I'm around gringos. Some days I find myself not speaking it at all. It helps staying in guesthouses like the one I'm in here where all of the guests are Latin American travelers and spanish speakers. Chatting with Lily, the incredibly sweet motherly owner I soon met some new friends yet again. Miguel and Natalia, an incredibly friendly Spanish - Mexican couple traveling up the continent North to Mexico and then back home where they work in of all places, Rabat Morocco. I love it

I spent my last day outside hiking in the hills, exactly as I would want it to be with Miguel and Natalia not too far off. We've come to the Cocora valley, a valley of gorgeous green hillsides dotted with tall wax palms in silhoutte over the landscape. These palms are slow growing, coveted for different uses by people, and quite rare. In Cocora the entire valley is dotted with them like small needles rising eerily over the misty hilltops. They are also the national tree, the symbol of Colombia.

The weather has been rainy since I've arrived in the coffee lands but today is sunny with narry a cloud in the sky. A perfect day to meander in the hills and let the sounds of the countryside soak into your bones. It is a good place to reflect and look back on the journey. It seems all the rain washed out the bridges up the valley trails and all that remains is a raging brown turret plummeting down the valley. So we turned round a few miles in and enjoyed the walk taking pictures and laying in the grass. It is all very peaceful and bucolic here.

Back in Solento I shared one last cafecito with Lily and hugged Miguel and Natalia farewell with kisses on the cheek Latin style. I have loved this place so much in the couple days I've been here. Of all the places I've visited around the world only a few have such positive energy and resonance with me that I could return and live in them. A place to call my own home. Solento is one of those places.

Weightless, free, inspired. Ready for whatever lies over the horizon.