We hugged three-story-high dirt walls with vines clinging to them, passed dense bambooforests, fragrant hibiscus bushes and groves of towering rainbow eucalyptus, a rare tree with multicolored bark.
About 25 km from Palomino, 30 minutes by bus, is the Quebrada Valencia park, where bambooforests, enormous banyan trees and an impressive series of cascades provide shade from the oppressive heat.