Jesus, The Armadillo and Oreo Mountain

(sleepy Salento)

A few days ago I went hiking in the Cocora Valley. The Cocora Valley is known for its gigantic wax palms, hummingbird sanctuary and sprawling view from the top of Finca de Montana (Farm Mountain).

(the Wax Palms)

It was 630am. I leapt out of bed at 645 after winning the battle against sleepiness. I quickly grabbed a coffee and food from my hotel. I was told that i could get some food at the hummingbird house but that I should pack a bit anyhow. I decided on a small bag of oreos, two croissants and some water from the store.

At 7 I jumped in the back of a jeep in the square and I was on my way. The jeep ride was about half an hour. When I got to the valley my first stop was El Bano. Its very important if you plan on hiking for around 6 hours.

(Finca de Montana AKA Oreo Mountain on the left)

(Is it any different if I wet my pants before I fall in?)

I hiked amongst the gigantic wax palms for a while and would be greeted by the occasionally moooo from the livestock around. When I made it to the forested area I saw the sign for the hummingbird sanctuary. It told me that the sanctuary was near. I would soon find out that the anti-Rainman made these signs and must have been terrible with numbers. After several precarious river crossings, I made it to the hummingbird house.

(Welcome!)

At the hummingbird house I spoke with the man who lived with the hummingbirds. He made cheese and sold me a piece. The Cheese Man began to tell me about the area. He told me that there are pumas and at one time there were a lot of bears. ¨There are not so many bears anymore¨ said the Cheese Man as he pointed to a comic on the wall depicting a man knifing a bear. Not long after our discussion, a man around my age walked out of the house. He told me that he was from Spain and that his name was Jesus. He also planned on hiking to the top of the moutain so we decided to go together.

Jesus and I got to the path leading up the mountain and we joked about the inacurrate distance markers. From there, we began the Grouse Grind-esque climb up the muddy trail. Luckily I found a sweet walking stick to help me gain traction. Jesus followed me for a while but he often fell back. He told me that he might be out of shape and that I shouldn´t wait for him. I waited for him for a while but then decided to move along as I wanted to make it to the top on time.

Eventually, I made it to a farm with a restaurant. It was at this spot that the trail was indistinguishable. I asked some people at the restaurant which way to go and they told me to go through the farm. I understood and opened the gate to the farm and began to walk up a trail crowded with horses and cows. I got close to the horses and they wouldn´t budge. Both of them turned around (likely getting ready to kick me if I got too close). Luckily, I know horse whispering and so they soon moved out of the way for me. I walked towards where I was told to go but there was no trail. I decided to take a break and drink some water while Jesus caught up. Jesus arrived at the restaurant at the bottom of the hill and told me he would be heading back as he was tired. I asked him to confirm the directions for me and he did. He told me that I could go either left or right. Oh okay! He told me that the paths connect. I decided to go through the gate on the right as I could see that trail. There was no signage on the gate. I opened it an entered the new trail.

The forest progressively closed in on me the higher I got. The trail got smaller and it began to get dark as a set of clouds descended into the valley. It was then when I was hiking through the shadows that I began to doubt that I had took the right trail. Could this be the trail leading to El Diablo?

I made my way around a bend in the trail and all of a sudden something came charging towards me. I stopped in my spot as I had no idea what it was. What the hell is barrelling towards me and is it running from something larger? It looked nothing like I had seen in the forest before. I identified it. It was an armadillo! It got about 10 feet from me and stopped as it probably had just noticed me. Whats it going to do now? Should I use my stick to flip it on its back if it comes closer? I know that turtles get stuck on their back. Surely armadillos are similar as they both have shells. I slowly reached for my camera to try and get a picture of it but it dashed off the side of the trail. I walked towards where it ran to. There was a big drop-off. I looked over the side and there was no sight of the armadillo. I´m not sure that any animal could survive from that height. I feared the worst for my shelled friend.

After being charged by the armadillo my paranoia began to set in. It was getting darker and I was the only one on the trail. I would also often hear large thrashing in the bushes. Were these the pumas taunting me before their feast? Probably not. I managed to see one of the animals. They were birds the size of wild turkeys. They swooped up in the trees and back down into the bushes. One of them began to follow me from above. It looked down with its vulture-like beak and observed. Did this bird know something I didn´t? As I walked away from it I think I heard it laughing.

I pushed forward. After a while I made it to the top of a ridge. I was told there would be a house at the top but there was only a dilapitated thatched roof. Was this the top? It was suggested that there would be a house with people. I sat under the a piece of the roof and looked around. The large clouds had climbed up the mountain alongside me and completely filled both sides of the valley. I was sandwiched on the ridge like a reverse oreo. This area would have had an awesome view if it had been clear. I was still unsure whether I was on the right trail or not but I decided I better eat something. I munched on the oreos and passed on the croissants as I had discovered earlier that there was surprise salty cheese inside them. I thought it was best to not eat the salty cheese croissant as I should keep hydrated. I looked at my watch and it read 1245. The last jeep at the bottom of the valley leaves at 5. I figured I could either briskly hike back the way I came but that could easily take 3-4 hours or I could continue on along the ridge. It would have helped if there were some proper signage! I figured heading back may take too long and if I were on the right trail it would soon descend off the ridge into the valley as I was told. I decided I would walk 15 minutes ahead and if the trail did not begin to go down I would go back the way I came.

The trail descended and I made my way off Oreo Mountain. On the way down I came out randomly above the farm with the restaurant. There was no way i would have found that trail earlier. I went down past the restaurant and took the trail Jesus took to get out. The clouds condensed and it began to pour. I made it to the jeep spot around 3, soggy and cold. The hike had taken around 7 hours. I waited an hour in the rain for the the jeep to ready. Some guy from London tried to talk to me but I wasn´t having any of it. I was too busy trying to stay warm and eat as I picked out the cheese from the croissants.

All in all it was a good day/hike. The scenery was awesome and there was plenty to keep me entertained. Im just glad I made it off Oreo Mountain. Legend has it that there are two ways to get off : off the side or to hike down. I´m glad I chose the latter!