Last days in Colombia: Medellin and Guatape


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South America » Colombia » Medellin
August 19th 2013
Published: August 23rd 2013
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We said our goodbyes to the Carribean Sea, taking our final swim at Tolu - during which Stu produced chocolate cake from the dry bag and we ate it whilst tredding water (a rare treat), later we boarded the night bus to Medellin: Once once of the most dangerous cities in the world. Despite its more than shady history, the place where motorcycle helmets were once banned due to too many shootings taking place by well disguised drivers, Medellin is a slick and modern city; by far the most modern weve visited in South America. One of the main factors in this is its efficient and uber clean metro, making it eary to get around the city.

We wandered around the centre of town, avoiding the hard selling market stall owners, eating some local delight that tasted like licqourice marshmallow fluff and embarked on a fruitless hunt for an English film at the cinema. There is very little colonial architecture left in the town and in its place stands modern sculptures and high rise buildings, enclosed by the surrounding green hills. At one point we did have to make a swift U turn when we realised we had wandered 10 minutes in the wrong direction and the street ahead of us was lined with drug addicts and a feeling of unease. I guess part of the remains from Medellins drug and violence fuelled history.

Being the sophisticated cultured travellers that we are, we also made it a priority to visit the Waterpark just outside of Medellin and spent the day shooting down slides on rubber rings and jumping off ziplines into the water (well...I did this once...once was enough). However, the most memorable part of the visit will no doubt be Stus attire. We arrived at the water park to be told you must have swimming caps and lycra swimwear to enter. Stus swim shorts were a no go, so we went to the nearby stall to lycra up and he selected the smallest pair of lycra shorts Ive ever seen. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for you) I have no pictures to share. (Dan Smart you will get to see these when you come to the UK).

Before heading to Bogota for our flight to Ecuador, we stopped at a small town called Guatape, which borders a resevoir created by the government for a hydro electric dam. It creates a beautiful network of water around the area and is surrounded by rolling green hills. The small town is pretty, lines with one storey houses all with painted stone carvings; its a popular spot with Colombian tourists from Medellin so on a weekend the plaza is full of people! We did a couple of walks in the area, one to the famous Guatape Rock- climbing the 675 steps to the top for a prety breathtaking view. If wed have had more time we probably would have stayed longer, with their being lots of trails and activities around the town. But flights are booked and we will soon be landing in Ecuador...for the last chapter of our travels!

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