Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Day trip to the rock of El Peñol and the village of Guatapé (August, 23rd)

The cell phone wakes me at 7:15, but I need another 10 minutes to mentally prepare for leaving the warm sheets... But then it´s high time to get ready, have a healthy breakfast. I meet Renate and Eva, two women from Berlin who I first met at El Cantil. We have a nice chat but then I have to get going. I take the metro to the bus terminal and get on board a bus that takes me to the sugerloaf-look-alike El Peñol in litrtle more than 2 hours, driving through beautiful hilly farmlands. The bus drops me off at the turn-off to El Peñol from where it´s a 1km-walk up a steep hill before I reach the entrance to the 700-something steps up the granite dome. 




I reach the top just when the heavens open and so I buy a drink and meet Jorge and Adriana, a young couple from a town 5 hours away. We spend about an hour talking, until the grey clouds give way to sun and blue skies. The view across the Antioquian countryside and the Guatapé reservoir are fantastic! 




Once back at the foot of El Peñol and after some negotiation I hop into a tuk-tuk and off we are to the nearby village of Guatapé, which according to my guides is a pleasant stop because of its nice houses. When I get there it starts to rain cats and dogs, although the sun is shining. So I sit down in an al-fresco cafeteria and have two delicious black coffees (known here as tinto). Eventually the rain ceases and so I explore this beautiful and very colourful village. I have never seen anything like this! 



















Then it´s time to get back to Medellín. On the bus I get to know Carlos, a psychologist from Cali, and we talk all the way back to the city. Before I return to the guest house I buy some food for tonight and then work on my blog. Renate and Eva stop by and we have a look at some of our pictures. It`s way past midnight when my bag is finally packed and I can go to bed (for about 5 hours) - tomorrow I`ll catch a flight to Cartagena on Colombia´s Caribbean coast.

No comments:

Post a Comment