Lunch and a boat trip

From the rock, we drove for just a few minutes to a restaurant for lunch.  Again, we sat with the Scottish couple.  Lunch was good, but neither of us had much of an appetite, so we did waste quite a bit - not like us at all!

After lunch, we had a boat trip on the reservoir.  The Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir supplies 5% of all the electricity in Colombia, as well as exporting some to neighbouring countries.  Today, the lakes and islands that make up the reservoir serve as a major tourist attraction.

We saw the very posh houses of a couple of Colombian footballers and their ex-wives and the derelict holiday home that once belonged to Pablo Escobar.  

Many of the other houses we saw on the different islands now operate as AirBnBs.

The only house still standing from the original town of El Penol belonged to the local doctor.  He was well-known for offering free medical care to the town's poorer residents one day a week.  Perhaps his motives were not so altruistic, though.  He never married, but it is said that he fathered 36 children with 11 different women!

We also saw the cross on the column that I described in a previous footprint.Read more