Jardin

The bus from Medellin to Jardin was a beautiful but bumpy ride. It seemed the bus didn’t have suspension, but I’m still unsure how even on what appeared to be a smooth motorway, the bus was jolting around so much I was unable to watch, read or type anything. Luckily the views were stunning and I listened to music and watched the endless mountains pass, including the geomerically satisfying triangular peak of Cerro Tusa.

My hostel was around 20 minutes walk from the town centre, and locals were suggesting I should get a tuktuk, the primary form of transport around the town. I decided that for a backpacking trip I had done relatively little walking with my backpack, and I shouldn’t shy away from a little walk, albeit with a heavy load. I was rewarded with views of the town and its colourful buildings, a tree-lined cobbled path and a small gravel road leading to a cascading waterfall, opposite which was my hostel. Inca, one of the hostel’s dogs, very quickly made friends with me (there were three dogs and two cats, all of which I befriended over the course of my stay) and soon after checking in I went out to enjoy the remaining daylight for that day.

I headed up to a nearby viewpoint from where you can see the town of Jardin far off, and its surrounding mountains covered in coffee and banana plantations. Jardin felt like it should be touristy, but the natural beauty nearby was quiet, the majority of people around were Colombian and the town square, as much as it looked built for foreigners, didn’t feel it. After a good half an hour looking at my new surroundings from the big hammock there I headed off further up the mountain and was surprised to run in the Nathalie. Surprised because I hadn’t met her before, but she recognised me from photos she’d taken of me when I happened to be in the pool in Medellin. An odd way to meet someone, but I was grateful for some good pictures of me (some of which were used on the Medellin blog post!) and we exchanged numbers to meet up for drinks later that evening. A rickety old cable car down to the town and a little more exploring (this time back pack free) around the town square and church rounded off the afternoon.

I was planning to hike to Cueva del Esplendor the next day, a short hike leading to a cave with a waterfall coming through the ceiling, but I’d heard reports that it’s often so full of people it’s difficult to full enjoy. The previous evening, chatting to a group of backpackers that slowly grew every time someone we recognised walked past, I’d spoken to a few who had done a different hike to 7 waterfalls, which I hadn’t yet heard of, and that became my new plan. After some tips on how not to get lost from Elena, one of my room mates, I set off.

The hike was certainly a challenge - my marker for difficulty is the Laguna de los tres hike I completed in Patagonia, and it wasn’t as tough length wise, but the obstacles along the way were probably just as difficult. There were overgrown paths, small swamps, steep climbs, steep downhills, root ladders, river crossings and parts that could only be described as short rock climbs or abseils, only possible with knotted ropes. There were also cows refusing to move from the path, one I couldn’t get round due to the slopes either side and had to wordlessly negociate with. We came to an agreement. There were butterflies everywhere and the waterfalls were poweful, majestic, and, perhaps most importantly, deserted. It was a fun, rewarding and varied hike over around 5 and a half hours, and afterwards I stood under one final waterfall, the one opposite the hostel, to cool off. Probably my favourite day in Colombia so far.

I had all kinds of plans for my final day in Jardin, but when I woke up the next morning I could hear my body loudly telling me to have a little rest. I’d been sleeping on buses and filling days to the brim with exciting acivities, after a long and tiring hike I needed a rest. After breakfast next to the hostel’s lilypad covered lake I caught up with myself, spent some time with the hostel pets and planned my next movements. A much needed and much deserved rest, in lushious surroundings.