Day trip to Guatape
Woke up early (before 6am) so I could get ready and get myself to the meeting point in Poblado (a neighborhood in Medellin). I took the metro to the Poblado station, then walked into the main square--Parque de Poblado (all uphill, of course). This is mainly a business area, but they have various vendors here in the park with food and trinkets. Not much to see beyond a few murals.
We met at a church just off the square. Once again, I wasn't sure I was in the right place, even though they had sent me a photo of it in advance, so I knew I was correct. Finally started to see some other folks who were hanging around, then a guide arrived--Ginna.
We were escorted onto a large bus...then picked up a few more folks at local hotels. After about an hour on the road, we stopped at La Cascalla, a restaurant in some beautiful countryside in the hills to have breakfast--arepa, egg, cheese, bread and hot chocolate. As usual, it seems no one is interested in talking to me. Do I give off that vibe?
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While there, I'm finally able to get re-signed up for the Comuna 13 tour for tomorrow. About 90 minutes more on the bus and we are in El Penol, an area that is only about 40 years old--a replica of the old El Penol that was destroyed in a flood in 1978. We see a large stone church before we arrive that is one of the few things that is left...and a large sculpture of a phoenix--the symbol of their rebirth (much like Atlanta).
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This replica is basically a tourist trap (as per usual on these tours) of souvenir stands and a few spots to take a nice photo. We stop here for about half an hour. Lots of dogs hanging out. The water near us is a man-made basin.
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Next, we drive down a hill to a dock where we get onto a boat that is going to take us around the basin. I had originally assumed it was taking us to Guatape, but it just rode around in the water and pointed out a few interesting sites--a submerged cross from the flooding, the homes of some famous football (soccer) players, and the remains of Escobar's party home...which is nothing but ruins now, reminding me of the Shelley sonnet "Ozymandias."
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We get back and finally head to the rock. It is quite imposing. The letters on it were carved when they wanted to carve GUATAPE on it, but the government convinced the owner of the rock to stop...so it just says GI now. It would have looked awful...it is bad enough as it is. The really beautiful part is the water and islands that surround it. They built stairs so you can climb to the top (I believe there is even a restaurant up there), but I knew I'd never make it...so I spent time walking around the souvenir shops around the base of the rock...and taking a lot of photos of the beautiful surroundings.
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From here we head to another restaurant for lunch--bandeja paisa, a traditional meal with TEN items...but this one has 6--beans, rice, a protein, arepa, plantains, and avocado. I keep thinking about getting a snack, but I know lunch will be huge. It was pretty tasty...overall though, Colombian food doesn't have much flavor--not terribly spicy.
I thought we were heading back to Medellin at this point...but instead, we went into the city of Guatape to see the zocalos--paintings along the base of the buildings that tell you what is inside. The town is small and very beautiful. They even have little dispensers for dog food and collection boxes so people can donate to help feed all the stray dogs hanging out here. A lovely idea. It started to rain while we were there (they gave us about 45 min or so to walk around), so I got a hot chocolate and watched it rain. Then it was started to get cold...so I headed back to where the bus would pick us up.
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The bus took us back and dropped us at the church. It was dark now, and the square was filled with people selling things and also with a lot of students banging on pots and pans again. I took a picture but for some reason, it didn't come out. I had planned to take an Uber back to my airBNB, but my phone was pretty much dead. I was a bit nervous since it was dark, but I walked back to the metro and had no problems since it was so crowded with the protesters. Got back home in one piece :-)
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