Day #6 Quindio Wax Palm

This is the national tree of Colombia, the tallest of its kind in the world and found here in the central Andes Cocura Valley.

Omar, our guide shared the experiences of he and his family during the 1970s, 80s and 90s.  During that time, the region was ruled by para military/ gorillas funded by the Soviets and Chinese.  Extortion was the cause of the deaths of Omar's father-in-law and two son-in-laws, and his own father died due to the stress of attempting to keep his family safe.  Since 2002 and the advent of the new constitution, conditions have improved considerably.  But the constitution is wrought with compromises that for instance, protect the former gorillas from prosecution.  The current president is among them.  

Following the talk, we took a short but crazy hike up the mountain to about 8700 feet.  It was two hours up and down from our starting point.  We saw the famous palms and had spectacular views of the Cocura Valley.