Day 125 - Think of a time and double it

Bogota to Salento

We were catching a bus to Colombia's coffee growing area, known as El Eje Cafeterio,  We had two options for an early start, 6.30am or 8.30am. We decided on the early one, since the trip is always longer than the quoted time and we don't like arriving in new places in the dark. The bus left about 15 minutes late, a little unusual, we then drive through the Bogota traffic and after an hour we were still in Bogota. We stopped at another bus station where the police checked our passports, and about 20 minutes after that we were finally on our way again.

Lunch stop

There were further delays as we went, the road was very windy and climbed steadily for a very long way, so the bus was stuck behind slower trucks, There was also a massive traffic jam, caused by a truck that had jack knifed on one of the corners.

We finally arrived at the bus station in Armenia and swapped to a mini van to take us to Solento. We were dropped off nowhere near the bus terminal or where we were staying (this seems to be a common theme) so dragged our luggage to our hostel, which was on the outskirts of town with not a a taxi in sight. All in all the trip that we were told would take 6 to 7 hours took about 12 overall, we've given up ever believing that we would ever arrive anywhere on time. We later found out that the town has no taxis, only things called "Willys", jeeps by the plaza that act as the only transport around town. 

The place we were staying at was run by a Colombian/American who had spent some time in Melbourne. The room was basic but had a nice view over the nearby valley, and being on the edge of town also meant it was nice and quiet. Later we ate at an Indian restaurant, which was run by a guy from Madrid who had lived in Melbourne as a child. Amazing that the two locals we'd spoken with at length had both lived in Melbourrne!