hiking Archives • The Bliss Movement

Five Things To Do When You’re In Salento

Salento was one of the highlights of my visit to Colombia. Set in the country's Zona Cafetera, or coffee district, Salento is a charming little town where you could easily find yourself extending your stay. It's beautiful, the people are friendly and it's where you go to take a look at the tall wax palms. While I spent most of my 5 days relaxing after Medellin, here are a few things to do in Salento to make for a memorable experience. Hike the Valle de Cocora Easily the most well known attraction in Salento is the nearby Cocora Valley, where you can hike to see[...]

Colombia, South America, Travel

Hiking Salento’s Valle de Cocora

Visiting Salento was high on my list of things to do in Colombia, mostly for the stunning Valle de Cocora. The valley offers a great hike that you can do easily from town. A new friend and I woke up bright and early, walking up the hill to Salento's one and only main square, where all of the Willy's (jeeps and the town's main form of taxi) are lined up eager to be filled with the absolute maximum capacity of people wanting to drive into the valley. GETTING TO THE VALLE DE COCORA The Willy's that I mentioned are the only way to get to the valley. About 3,000 CO[...]

Caribbean, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Chasing Waterfalls in St. Vincent

I have been spending my days chasing waterfalls, in search of the tallest, most beautiful one. Ideally one that is hiding a secret cave for me to explore. After a turn in the wrong direction and a hike up the side of a mountain, we finally made it to the main road just north of Chateaubelair. We said hello to the goats, donkeys and cows that we passed by until we reached the sign. The fact that there is a very obvious sign to Dark View Falls is a blessing. In my experience in the Caribbean even notable tourist attractions are completely unmarked, making dire[...]

Caribbean, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Hiking La Soufrière, St. Vincent

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity," -John Muir His name is Franklin and at the age of 58 he has hiked St. Vincent's active volcano 317 times. His trip with us up to the summit will bring his count up to 318, with the majority of his hikes being on the leeward side, where the hike doubles in time and the difficulty intensifies. Feeling a little intimidated by the thought of hiking up this 4049 ft. active volcano on the more difficult side (Ba[...]

Caribbean, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

A Misadventure Turned Serendipitous Moment In St. Vincent

The palm trail was a straight forward hike, no more than an hour, or so they said. That hour came and went when we came to the conclusion that we definitely missed the trail - this shrub and dirt covered mountainside surely could not have been the right way. Just as we were about to admit defeat, a head popped out from further above. A Rasta man holding a machete was hollering something at us but with distance and difficulty understanding his accent, we were unsure what he was saying. After some yelling back and forth over the sound of the wind, it became c[...]