Igor at dusk with a view of the lake at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun on December 17th!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

The town of Salento, Colombia

Yesterday, we relaxed for the morning and then went into Salento in the afternoon. This morning we are checking out of where we are staying and they only accept cash. We stayed two days more than we planned, plus we have to pay cash at the next place we are staying too so we had to find an ATM.

Otherwise, our cash supply would have been running low.

And we didn't know for certain if the next town had an ATM or not.

Found another possible RV parking area.

This one definitely has room to park...no idea of they have any services.

Not very colorful, but a different looking sort of bird.

The town of Salento is nice, although touristy. It gets quite busy on weekends with both Colombian tourists as well as the steady supply of international visitors. It's a pretty little town, and it has a series of steps leading up to a nice mirador (overlook).

The main tourist street. See the alternating green and yellow steps at the end of the street? We are heading up those stairs to see the view.

Hostels, restaurants, and tourist shops along this street.

The town is not so colorful from above. The roofs are all the same color!

Nice views from the top.

Love this guy's house!

We had had a late breakfast so really hadn't had any lunch other than a few handfuls of peanuts. By this time it was almost 4::00pm and so we found a restaurant that one of the other hostel guests had told us about. Man, we've never eaten in so many restaurants!

Casa Eliana is a restaurant and hostel.

Nice meal...I had the beef stroganoff with rice and a salad.

Ruth had chicken curry with rice and a salad.

With two beer, a lemonade, and a tip the bill was 46,000 pesos ($22.54 CAD). A little more expensive than we're used to, but the town is a tourist area and the prices reflect that. It was a good meal though.

Then we went to the plaza and found the BanColombia ATM. Sure enough, it spit out 600,000 pesos ($285 CAD) for us. The exchange rate has improved a little, so things just got even cheaper for us! And, it spit out all 20,000 peso notes which are much easier to negotiate than the big 50,000 peso notes that we usually get.

Walking home, we went by this typical farm scene. Calves, chickens, and a cat.

And we spotted another blue crowned motmot. But we only had the little camera with us, so this is the best zoom you get!

Today is another travel day. We're going to Filandia, a town that is only 10 kms away as the crow flies, but it's 30 kms by bus. We get free drop off in Salento at 8:00am so we're up early this morning!

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If you're doing any early Christmas shopping, here's a great price on a gift for the BBQ'er in the household...


And in Canada...I wonder if this would be a good vacuum for an RV...?




20 comments:

  1. There might be a good reason that rv park is empty:)

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    1. Well part of the reason may be the lack of RV's. ;-) Today driving on the bus we actually saw a little teardrop being pulled by a truck, our first RV sighting in South America so far.

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  2. Another wonderful day.
    Guess Ruth is feeling better now, thats good.
    Love all the colorful buildings there.

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    1. Yes, we love all these colourful buildings and the town we are in now is much the same. Really pretty.

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  3. Beautiful colorful pictures right down to your meal....awesome!

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    1. We just keep imagining how much pretty they would be if the sky was blue but instead we are just happy that it isn't raining. :-)

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  4. A different rocky barnyard - neat! Lots of color makes one happy!!

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    1. Yes, it is a bit rocky never really took a lot of notice of it until I looked at the picture again. Guess I was admiring the little calves and kitten all curled up resting and not even bothered by one and other.

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    2. Ruth, that's funny what catches ones eyes! I did admire the animals thinking they have the same kind that we have. In fact we have a cat that looks just like that. But then I noticed the stones - that we don't have! Everything is so beautiful there - love it! Glad you're feeling better!;) Connie

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    3. Thanks Connie, I am glad to be feeling better too!

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  5. Most of the meals seem very high on the protein content. Meat must be cheaper there!

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    1. Yes, meat is quite inexpensive here. It seems other than the vegetable soup and their "salads" if we what veggies we need to make our own meals which is what we did tonight.

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  6. Your black bird looks like a Groove-Billed Ani. We saw them in Belize and now here in Playa del Carmen. Kind of exotic, though not as beautiful as the Mot-Mots! Food looked good. Glad Ruth is feeling better!

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    1. Thank you Emily, it is possible but when I look on the internet for pictures and info it doesn't seem quite the same. The beak is not grooved, although it is possible that this one is not an adult yet! Another possibility was a smooth billed ani. Either way it is closer to an identification then we would have come up with. Thanks for the help.

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    2. A birder I know confirms that this is an Ani.

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    3. We agree that it is an ani, just not sure which type. Thank your birder friend for the confirmation. Maybe she could help us out on the one of the hawk from today's post. We think it is a Roadside Hawk but again not sure and again there are several types it seems.

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  7. Kevin, remember when you were talking about the rocket launcher thing you got for you grandson? Well, following your advice I got one for my great-grandson for his birthday and it was a huge success not only for him but his dad! So a big thank you for making me a really great-grandma!

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    1. I am so happy that your great grandson (and his dad) love it so much! I know that Cameron has sure had lots of fun with it. Thank you for letting us know!

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  8. What a pretty little town.. even if it is touristy, it sure has a great view after climbing those stairs!

    KarenInTheWoods and Steveio
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    1. Yes, it is pretty and colorful, and the town that are in now is much the same but less touristy. It also has a mirador (lookout) that we will go to today and this one looks like it might even have a better view. Just wish the sky was blue and it would even be better!

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