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"Estamos aqui, baby." We're here, baby. I spoke clearly in the Spanish that I could muster up from middle and high school, standing on my tippy toes to reach Shane's lips.
"Mhm, bienvenidos a Valle de Cocora." Welcome to Cocora Valley. He smiles against my mines, gripping my waist.
"Did you have to practice that?" I asked, still swooning over his foreign language speaking.
"Not at all." He smiled again, this time securing a kiss. The flight from California to the airport in Pereira took about seven hours and we landed early in the morning. Then we stopped in town for breakfast and we chose a popular dish called Calentado, which consists of rice and beans, served with an over-easy egg, and chorizo sausage. We found a small restaurant on the way to the valley and placed our orders for lunch, dinner, and we also shopped around for some snacks to enjoy for the rest of the day.
As the sun rose, we then drove to the entrance of the valley where our guide met us with a pack horse. After finally getting here through the trails that led through the forest and mountainside, I could wholeheartedly say that it was worth the trip.
We made our way through the valley, Shane and I holding hands while I took in all the sights around us. Our guide pointed out different types of birds and animals as we passed by. We even found a small cave with a waterfall, its rushing cascades were so large that we had to circle around before we were able to find an entrance. Shane and I made a mental note to visit it before we left.
The Cocora Valley itself was nothing short of breathtaking. We were surrounded by tall wax palm trees that towered over us. Their massive heights reached up to touch the sky and I couldn't stop taking in deep breaths of the clean and crisp air, the sound of a nearby river filling my ears.
While Shane grazed at my neck, I pulled away slightly to take in the view of the beautiful treehouse-style home that stood on stilts, high in the air. He had it built years ago for whenever he came to visit the Morales family and allowed them to rent it out throughout the year to tourists for extra change in their pockets, especially during the off-season.
Shane let go so that he could grab a fifty dollar bill from his wallet to tip the kind guide who had just made his way back down the wooden stairs from unloading our bags for us. Their cost of living was much lower than ours, so tips here went a long way.
"Gracias." Shane thanked him as he finished dropping off the last load.
"Muchas gracias, Senior. Muchas gracias."He says with such gratitude, his hands fixed in a praying position. I smiled and Shane returned the guide's thanks as we headed up the winding stairs.
Inside was cozy and rustic, complete with a makeshift fireplace and wooden furniture. Large drapes hung down from the pointed ceiling, all the way down and were anchored on both sides of the large, panoramic windows. I peered through the prism-shaped windows, which offered a stunning view of the valley and the surrounding mountains.
