Climbing the rock

From Guatape town, we drove the short distance to the rock.  It is made of granite and has resisted weathering and erosion.  It is approximately 65 million years old and towers up to 200 meters above its base.  The name of the rock is disputed because the residents of both El Penol and Guatape claim ownership of it!  In reality, the rock and all of the land around it belongs to the children and grandchildren of Luis Eduardo Villegas, a local man who was the first to climb it in 1954.  He had the foresight to buy it, build a wooden staircase up it, and start charging people to go up it!  Today, it is a thriving multimillion dollar business attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

There are 708 steps to reach the top of the rock.  Mark was struggling today with a general weakness in his legs, so he wasn't going to attempt the climb.  I decided to give it a go.  It was raining quite heavily when I started out and the spiral steps were quite slippy and uneven.  I also didn’t like the fact that they were spiral so were narrower at one side than the other.  However, I took it steadily and kept stopping to take photos of the view.  I had to smile when I reached the halfway point!  There are a couple of statues of the Virgin Mary and you are encouraged to say a prayer for safe passage to the top!

Fortunately, I was spurred on during the second half of the climb by the fact that the rain stopped and the sun came out!  The view just got better and better as I ascended.  By the time I arrived at the top of the highest tower (where I bumped into Solenne, Kim, Emmanuel, Trudy, and Shonagh who had booked the tour run by the hostel), the 360 degree views were incredible!!  I was pleased I'd made the effort to get up there!Read more