Ignoring warnings from my household and that inside worry monster knowledgeable by nothing greater than motion pictures about narcotraficantes, I board the airplane for an journey in Colombia. From the second I see Santi’s welcoming smile as I wheel out of the luggage space, I really feel my anxiousness dissipating. That is going to be an incredible weekend with Wind Hill Tours, the brainchild of Damian Holman, a hashish grower primarily based out of Maine. He, his spouse Sonja, and their enterprise accomplice Santi have introduced down two different “hashish influencers” (Mary Pryor and Ace King) to evaluate the tour and to advise the best way to make the expertise as wonderful as doable.
Scooping our bags, Damian drives us out to Finca El Huerto. As we pull up, I look by means of the open air lobby and straight out to the Andes Mountains. My mouth drops open as I stroll onto the splayed-out ranch property. Bougainvillea and different flowering bushes and shrubs type a semicircle across the infinity pool. The rooms of the home encircle the bushes and I immediately really feel wrapped in a cocoon of nature’s luxurious.
We loosen up, smoke some offered pre-rolls, and chat because the cooks put together our first dinner. Damon tells me his imaginative and prescient for Wind Hill Excursions as the primary all-inclusive resort expertise centered on wellness by means of the lens of hashish. I counsel him that he’ll be capable of present the very best expertise for his company as soon as his personal hashish develop is established. There may be nothing like offering single-source high quality as flower or hash. Although the trade is nascent—private consumption in Colombia is decriminalized and a proposal to legalize hashish for adults is presently in movement on the time of my go to in fall 2022—there are not any rising circumstances fairly like these present in Colombia with its fertile volcanic soil and constant 12/12 photoperiod. I open the pre-rolls and reroll them with rosin smeared on the paper.
That’s higher.
On the break of day the following day, I throw on a lightweight hoodie, seize my already packed chillum, and pad out to the pool. I admire the flippantly scented breeze that whispers by means of the valley songs of contentment. Dealing with out to the Maravelez Valley, I take a deep hit and give up to the thick smoke which overtakes my airway, fees down into my lungs and blossoms into a pleasing heat earlier than sliding again by means of my lips. Nearly instantly I really feel rigidity releasing from my face. I had slept very properly, however typically I would like THC-laden moments like this to really let go. The solar has simply begun banishing the thick fog that had been blanketing the mountains after I end the final of my chillum. I knock it firmly into my palm and permit the ashes to fall down earlier than disappearing within the aromatic wind.
Our first cease is a espresso finca, La Pradera. We begin on a small hike to the property, crossing bamboo bridges over dashing creeks, wild espresso bushes crowding the trail, and different tropical flora. Santi offers us the espresso tour, plucking unripe, but nonetheless potent, berries for our candy sucking pleasure. Upstairs on the espresso terrace, we sip completely ready espresso, admire the mountains, and benefit from the candy sounds of salsa and merengue.
Newly charged with caffeine we head over to the hashish farm, IQ&A. We’re warmly welcomed and sensing our haste, the staff hustles us into blue scrubs and head coverings earlier than ushering us into the greenhouse. My face alights with pleasure seeing these splendidly wholesome vegetation. Though every family in Colombia can develop as much as 20 THC vegetation, this authorized develop is strictly CBD. We sashay by means of the rows; admiring the bountiful life and delight within the varied terpene wealthy varieties. The develop is as spectacular as any in California’s Emerald Triangle. We end off the tour in a lofty perch, smoking chillum and speaking concerning the wonderful view of the Andes.
Sunday morning finds me laying by the pool and puffing flower and rosin in my chillum earlier than it’s time for yoga with Jimy Betancurt. I slide by means of the poses with ease as I’m within the zone; uncaring of any of life’s trivia. Jimy assures us that with correct respiration and method, we will obtain the identical state of oneness and stillness that we get from our hashish. I imagine him, however I take one other puff simply in case.
A couple of hours later, we go round joints of Cholado, Bubblegum, and Bubba Kush as we head for Salento, a small city recognized for its wild colour; as if some bigger than life artist had chosen the entire doorways, shutters, tiles, and window sills, and splashed each floor with a distinct hue. We traipse by means of the city and up 242 stairs on to the Alto de La Cruz lookout which provides us the very best view of the city. The mix of the evident pigments, the solar beating from above, and the results of a number of joints has my head swimming in surreal, barely off kilter awe.
After a much-needed lunch, and below a persistent mist, we make our option to the close by Valle de Corcora. We wish to see the tallest wax palms on the earth. Because the Jeep barrels steadily down the street, bushes and grasses sporting essentially the most verdant leaves attain out to additional entice our senses. Between the grand flora, we get glimpses of untamed horses operating with wild abandon; oblivious to our huge eyed stares. A couple of waterfalls punctuate the grand panorama.
We arrive on the valley below relentless rain and I take a look at the proposed climbing path dubiously because the sodden floor squelches with each step. I awkwardly slip and slide my method over the pretty steep course and simply when I’m exhausted from the thigh exercise (and mentally pooped from the shortage of THC), I see the turnaround for the loop. It’s a lovely overlook of the valley and the wax palms, a few of them 200 ft tall, stand erectly and in full defiance of gravity. Now we have been suggested to not fly the drone, however the view is simply too tempting. In truth I too am able to throw care to the wind and I take out a vape pen to replenish my endocannabinoid system. I plop down on the ft of a statue of Groot and I shake my head in surprise at the entire lusciousness of this entire endeavor. Colombia has been good.
This journey has been a heady expression of nature’s magnificence and bounty. As THC has coursed by means of my physique, my thoughts has soared wildly; buoyed not solely by the cannabinoids, but additionally the sense of wonderment as Colombia reveals its subsequent fascination. I’ve spent my time in Colombia reveling within the psychedelic expertise of smelling, tasting, listening to, feeling, and seeing all the pieces in a bigger than life method. In a single weekend, Wind Hill Excursions has made appreciable strides in its mission to supply a secure oasis for private rejuvenation by means of hashish and immersion in nature, in addition to contribute to a brand new narrative of all that Colombia may be.
This text was initially Up to date within the March 2023 challenge of Excessive Instances Journal.