South American Adventure

This epic eight-month overlanding trip through South America has been a long time in the planning! We will be visiting Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. Exciting times! 😊 Read more

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South American Adventure
The overlanding adventure begins!
October 21, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
After breakfast this morning, we packed up and then spent a few hours in the cool of the hotel reception taking advantage of the free WiFi and catching up with some posts.

We got WhatsApp messages from Leanne at Madventure HQ in Oxford and then from Nikki, our tour leader here in Colombia. From the people added to the WhatsApp group, it looks like there will be about 22 of us, mostly Brits, with 3 Australians, 2 Germans, 2 Dutch, 1 French, and 1 American. If this is right, it is a welcome number as there could have been as many as 36! We've never travelled with mainly Brits before - it will be interesting to see how it pans out. Nikki gave us details about the pre-departure meeting later, and plans for some street food and a few drinks afterwards. Exciting times ahead!

We left Casa Lorenza at about 1.30pm for the short walk round the corner to Viajero Hostel. We were too early to check in, so we waited in reception until 3pm when we were allocated our beds in a dorm room. I think the receptionist took our 'advancing years' into consideration and gave us both bottom bunks! 😂🤣

We left our big cases in reception and stowed our backpacks in the lockers in the room. While we were doing this, we met two of our fellow travellers. Later, in the bar (where else?? 😂), we met most of the others. We are mostly an older group, and mainly Brits, as we suspected, which is something new for us. First impressions are all good. They seem like a friendly group. We will leave Cartagena tomorrow with 23 passengers and two crew. Our numbers will increase to 26 in Buenos Aires and to a high of 33 in Santiago. So, not a full truck - but almost!!

After chatting for a while, we excused ourselves and went for something to eat. We went to Amasa - quelle surprise!! 😀 Today, we shared a burrata plate and some cheese pastries. Everything was delicious!!

Back at the hostel, we met with Nikki, our tour leader, and Ritchie, our driver, for the welcome meeting. They kept it brief as it was pretty noisy and several people were tired as they had just arrived. At least, we have an idea of how the first few days will shape up. We also found out that we will not be camping until we reach Peru!

After the meeting, some of the group went to Getsemani with Nikki and Ritchie to get some street food. Others (including us) stayed at the hostel for a chilled evening.

The tour proper starts tomorrow, and we're feeling a tad excited 😊.Read more
TravelerSo excited for you 🤩😁
10/22/24Reply
TravelerThanks, Trish 😊
10/24/24Reply
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South American Adventure
Cartagena to Santa Marta
October 22, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
We didn’t sleep too badly. My biggest worry when in shared accommodation is that I’ll disturb other people when I get up during the night. I’m a light sleeper, too, so I wake up at every slight noise and movement. Mark takes strong painkillers, so he sleeps through everything! Luckily, there weren’t too many snorers in the dorm last night!

We weren’t leaving the hostel until 9am, but most of us were up and about early ready for breakfast starting at 7am. It was absolutely lashing down, so we got soaked on our way from the dorm to the bar! Breakfast was plentiful and tasty. We sat with Nikki and chatted about previous overlanding trips. We found that we have several mutual acquaintances. The world of overlanding is very small!

At 9am, we all congregated in reception with all our luggage. Luckily, the rain had all but stopped. Ritchie couldn’t get the truck close to the hostel, so we had a ten-minute walk to meet him. We caused a few raised eyebrows and caused some amusement as 23 of us snaked our way through the rush-hour crowds of commuters carrying all of our belongings for the next few months!

We didn’t have to wait long at the meeting point before Ritchie appeared with the truck. It was exciting to catch our first sight of our home for 19 weeks! We didn’t have time to ponder, though, as we were parked illegally. We just had to throw our big bags in the lockers and climb on board. Because we are not a full truck, Mark and I managed to get a double seat each, so our first driving day was pretty comfortable!

Our destination today was Santa Marta, a four and a half hour drive northwards. It rained for much of the first half of the journey, so we couldn’t see much. I know we drove through the industrial town of Soledad. We had one stop for toilets at a toll booth and then pressed on. The weather improved as we got further north.

The most interesting part of the journey was when we drove on highway 90, which is built on a narrow strip of land that divides the Caribbean Sea from the Santuario de Flora y Fauna Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. The natural wetlands here are a haven for birdlife. We saw thousands of pure white egrets and herons. People here make their living from fishing. There are many stalls along the roadside selling ceviche and piles of fresh prawns. It’s a very precarious lifestyle as the area often floods. Many people have built their homes on stilts to overcome this problem. Sadly, safe and effective rubbish disposal is not really a thing in this area, so much of the water and surrounding land is full of plastic and other waste.Read more
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South American Adventure
Arriving in Santa Marta
October 22, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We made good time and arrived at our hostel, Dreamers, 6km from the centre of Santa Marta, at about 2pm. Our rooms weren’t ready, so we convened in the bar to wait! The hostel was lovely with a decent pool and a well-equipped shared kitchen. We were here for two nights, so we decided to forego our dorm beds and upgrade to a private room with ensuite. The extra cost was just 123,000 pesos (about £24). It was well worth it for two good nights' sleep!

Once we’d been allocated rooms (we were in Jamaica!), we dropped our bags and went to the local supermarket to buy stuff for dinner tonight and tomorrow night. We went for fresh chicken, salad, and saute potatoes.

Back at the hostel, we were contemplating what to do with our free day tomorrow. One of the reasons for coming to this area was to visit Tayrona National Park. Unfortunately, it closes a few times a year to allow access to indigenous people only for them to perform their traditional rituals and to give the land time to recover from too many tourists. Now is one of those times. So, our options were more limited than they might have been. We decided on a city walk and booked one through Guru Walks. We were joined by Marina, Susan, and Shonagh.

Santa Marta is South America's oldest European-founded town and the second most important colonial city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening having our meal, sorting our bags out, and socialising with others in the group.Read more
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South American Adventure
Walking tour of Santa Marta
October 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
As soon as I woke up, I went for a swim. I enjoyed a very quick 40 lengths (it wasn’t a large pool!) before my shower.

Breakfast was very good this morning. Mark chose the American option (fresh fruit, juice, pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs) and I had the house breakfast (fresh fruit, juice, arepas with cheese, sausage, and scrambled egg). There was unlimited coffee, which made a nice change.

After breakfast, we discovered that Mark and Chris also wanted to come into town this morning (they were not joining the walking tour), so we booked 2 Ubers. We went with Shonagh to the meeting point outside the Gold Museum in central Santa Marta. We arrived a few minutes early, so we had the chance to look at some beautiful hand-made bags for sale close by. Each bag takes 10 days to make. I was sorely tempted, but it’s only day 3 of the trip, and I don’t need a bag!!

At 10am on the dot, we met with our guide, Javier. We were joined by an Italian couple, an Austrian girl, and two others, so we were 10 in total. Javier proved to be an excellent guide. His English was impeccable. He clearly loved his home city and was keen to share his knowledge about its history and culture. It turned out to be much more than a standard walking tour with frequent stops for food and drink samples.

We began with a short visit inside the Gold Museum, which is housed in the impressively renovated Casa de la Aduana (Customs House) which features in the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel No One Writes to the Colonel. Many of the exhibits were very similar to those we saw in the museum in Bogota, but Javier added to our knowledge with his fascinating stories of the pre-colonial civilisations who lived in the area.Read more
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South American Adventure
Seafood for Mark's second breakfast
October 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
From the museum, we crossed the road to Plaza de Bolivar. Obviously, Simon de Bolivar is the most famous character in this part of Central and South America. We are going to continue to find references to him as our journey continues. His connection to Santa Marta is that this is where he died. On December 17th, 1830, he succumbed to tuberculosis. He was in the port city looking for passage to Europe for treatment, but no country there wanted him, fearing reprisals from Spain if they hosted him. So, he died here. The memorial statue in the plaza depicts him on a rampant horse, suggesting that he was killed in battle. This is not the case – it is one of the many myths surrounding the man.

There was a liberal protest going on outside the town hall in the light of the recent election of a conservative mayor. Javier explained the two-party system in the city and said that the protest wasn’t serious. When the next liberal mayor is chosen, there will be conservative protests in the same place!

Our next stop was at a popular street food stall where they were selling a local seafood stew for 10,000 pesos a cup (around £2). Despite the early hour and the recent breakfast, Mark couldn’t resist! He said it was absolutely delicious! While he was eating, the rest of us went to look inside the Church of San Francisco de Asís, a Catholic temple attached to the Franciscan Order located in Santa Marta. It was built in the 16th century, and in its external structure, there are architectural elements that date from this era. Its interior was completely rebuilt after a fire in 1962.Read more
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South American Adventure
Santa Marta Cathedral
October 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We then paused for those who wanted to buy fresh coconut. Marina took the opportunity to go back to the seafood stall to buy a risotto. She said it was really good, but it was too much, so she ended up giving half of it to some local children. Another member of our group had already bought them a coconut, so we knew they wouldn’t be hungry today!

Next, we visited the city’s cathedral. The Cathedral Basilica of Santa Marta is a Renaissance- style Catholic church built in the 1760s.

Here, Javier told us the fascinating story of Simon de Bolívar's grave. After he died in Santa Marta in 1830, he was interred below the floor of the cathedral. We saw the plaque that marks the spot. However, shortly afterwards, an earthquake struck and split his grave in two. He was reburied in a vault in the wall of the cathedral. Later, the city suffered another earthquake, and, again, Bolívar's tomb was damaged. His remains were moved again to a spot behind the chapel. History repeated itself on a further two occasions. When he was moved for a fifth time, it was to a place directly in front of the altar of the cathedral to give him God's protection. Unbelievably, the city succumbed to another earthquake, which split open his tomb once more! By now, the people of Santa Marta believed there was a curse surrounding Bolívar's tomb, so when Venezuela demanded that his remains be returned to Caracas in 1842, they were more than happy to see them go! Now, all that's left in Santa Marta cathedral are the multiple plaques showing the places where Simon de Bolívar once rested!

After the remains were moved to Caracas, Venezuela was hit by its first earthquake in 200 years!

In 2010, President Chavez of Venezuela ordered that Bolivar's renains be exhumed in order to determine his cause of death. The exhumation was carried out in secret. Within 2 years of the service, all 12 people present, including the president, were dead! Just a coincidence? Or something more mysterious?

There is a memorial to Rodrigo de Bastidas, founder of Santa Marta, in the back of the cathedral. His remains were returned to the city from the Dominican Republic in 1953.Read more
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South American Adventure
Pretty streets in Santa Marta
October 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
From the cathedral, we walked down some very pretty streets with great street art and walls decorated with flattened bottle tops to LamArt, a restaurant Javier recommended for local specialities.
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South American Adventure
Street art and ice cream
October 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
A couple of doors down, we called at a gelateria. They were giving away samples of delicious ice creams and sorbets. Even the Italian couple with us agreed that they were up there with the best they'd ever tasted. We bought a scoop of stracchiatelli to share. This was always my favourite flavour when we lived in Italy. Having not eaten ice-cream for many, many months, it tasted particularly good to me!Read more
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South American Adventure
Fruit at the end of the walking tour
October 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We then walked along the seashore to our last stop - a juice bar. On the way, Javier pointed out an abandoned seafront mansion which had been confiscated from a narco by the government. Local people feel that it should be sold to a developer or someone to raise funds for their benefit, rather than being left to decay.

At the juice bar, Javier showed us several local fruits and gave us samples to try. These included tree tomato, lulo, the biggest smoothest passion fruit I've ever seen, guava, sweet mango, and zapote - a strange, caramel-tasting soft textured fruit. The last one was the only one I didn’t particularly like. We were then invited to buy a juice if we wanted. The most popular choice with locals is pog - a combination of passion fruit, orange, and guava. I went for lulo and orange, thinking it would be less sweet than the other options. Again, having not had fresh fruit juice in a very long time, it tasted particularly good to me!

Javier left us at the juice bar as he had another tour to do. He had been an excellent guide, and we all made sure we tipped him appropriately.

After finishing our juice, we returned to LamArt for lunch. This is the last time we will be on the coast for a while, so Mark ordered a seafood risotto which, bizarrely, came with fried cubed potatoes - carb overload!! I had a very tasty fresh salad. We then took a taxi back to the hostel.

We didn't need anything else to eat today, so we packed up our remaining chicken and salad to take with us on our long driving day tomorrow. I then went to the shopping mall with Marina and Susan and managed to buy a small cool bag. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any ice packs. When I tried to ask for them, they showed me to where the ice cube trays were. Close, but not really fit for purpose!

Back at the hostel, we sat chatting to some of our fellow passengers, including Sam and Megan, until it was time to turn it in.Read more
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South American Adventure
A long driving day
October 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
We were up at 5.45 this morning ready for a 6.30am breakfast and a 7.15am departure. It took a while for all of us to settle bar bills and get our breakfast orders in, but we got there eventually. I had the same as yesterday and Mark went for the avocado toast option. Both were very good.

We were on the road at the prearranged time and headed back across the narrow strip of land. Once we were on the other side, we turned inland and drove south. We were making for our overnight stop - the Acapulco Hotel in Caucasia 500 km away. It was extremely warm on the truck, even with all the windows open!

Our first stop came at around 10.30am, a quick pause for fuel and toilets. Ritchie was pleased with the progress we were making. We stopped again between 12.30 and 1.30pm for lunch. We just bought drinks as we had the chicken and salad we should have eaten last night. I also had some no-sugar Greek yoghurt and fresh blueberries.

After lunch, we continued our drive southwards. The countryside was lush and green with lots of cattle farms and small settlements. The roads were generally in very good condition, and our old truck coped well with the hills.

We stopped again for toilets about two hours later. We then continued to make good progress until we were just 70 km from Caucasia. At this point, we were flagged down and told that the road ahead was closed due to protests. We would not be able to reach our hotel tonight! We had no choice but to turn around and try to find a different hotel back up the road we'd just come down!

By this time, it was 6.30pm, and night had fallen suddenly and completely as it does in these parts! It was pitch black! However, we got lucky! Just 25km back along the road, we found a hotel (Estancia) that had rooms available! Nikki managed to get us all booked into individual rooms. We were soon able to check in, order food and drink, have showers, and relax. We were in a brand new room (I think we were the first people to stay in it) with ensuite and air-conditioning. We weren't that hungry, so we just ordered a portion of French fries each, had a couple of drinks, and went to bed.

It was a good end to the day - especially as we were thinking we might have to wild camp somewhere!Read more
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South American Adventure
The epic drive continues!
October 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
We then drove through mile after mile of plantain and banana plantations. When the bunches reach a certain size, the farmers cover them with perforated plastic bags which help with the ripening whilst allowing air to circulate around the fruits.

At this point, the road conditions deteriorated massively, and our progress was severely hampered. It was very hot and dusty, too! It's at times like this when, fleetingly, you question whether overlanding really is the best way to travel! Then, you catch sight of something out of the window that you wouldn't have seen if you'd been travelling in any other way, or you exchange a few words and a smile with a local going about their daily activities, and you remember that it definitely is!! 😊

Eventually, we reached a tarmacked road and were able to get a bit of speed up! The surrounding countryside was so lush and green. We were passing numerous horse and cattle ranches. Ritchie was looking for a suitable lunch stop. In the absence of one, we stopped at a garage to use the toilets. The guy there was selling just a few bits and bobs out of a small fridge. He had cold beers and bags of crisps, which suited most of the group! Mark had a beer, and I succumbed and had my first packet of crisps in several months. I was just craving salt! My low-carb regime is definitely suffering here, but my blood sugar still seems to be under control, so I'm not going to worry too much.

We then drove on to the busy town of Necocli where we stopped for lunch. About half of us ended up in the same local restaurant where we had the menu del dia - chicken, salad, patacones, and rice. It was very tasty and will do us for the rest of the day. I did call at the supermarket next door and get a couple of Greek yoghurts and some fresh blueberries, though!

Back on the truck, Nikki updated us on the situation with the protests. From what she was hearing, the road we were on should be OK. However, we did still have around 10 hours to go, so it was going to be a very late arrival!

We stopped briefly when we met an Oasis truck coming the other way. He had no passengers on board. Ritchie went over to chat to him. He was coming from Medellin and said the road was clear.

Between then and when the sun set, we drove through lots more lush countryside with views of the Andes. We passed lots of pineapple plantations and grape vines and saw herds of water buffalo wallowing in streams and rivers. Once the sun went down, though, we had several more hours of driving in complete darkness before we finally reached our destination.

We stopped again at about 6.30pm for toilets and for anyone who wanted something else to eat to get a takeaway. Then we continued. There was very little to see apart from the sheet lightning over the mountains.

As we carried on across the Andes, we went through many tunnels. In between, we could vaguely make out the shapes of the mountains all around. I imagine that the road would be very scenic in daylight!

We had a final toilet stop at 11.30pm at a garage with 50km to go. We were a very tired group, but there was very little moaning. Everyone was still pretty upbeat - maybe it's because we are still at the start of the trip 😂.Read more
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South American Adventure
Another incredibly long driving day!
October 25, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
We were up before 6am for a 6.30am breakfast and 7.30am departure. Breakfast was extremely good! We both chose the omelette with cheese, tomato, mushroom, ham, and onion.

On the truck, Ritchie updated us on the situation as far as he knew it. The road closure that stopped us last night was due to mineworkers protesting about changes to their working conditions and contracts. Overnight, the protests have apparently gained momentum, and the miners have been joined by other workers. All the usual routes to Medellin are said to be impassable! Ritchie and Nikki have come up with a potential alternative that involves us heading back out to the coast before turning inland again. It's a road neither of them have driven before. It will add hours to our journey. If it worked, Ritchie warned us to expect up to 18 hours on the road! He said that if we arrived before midnight, it would be a good result! We were just going to set off and see what happened 😳.

We had our first toilet stop at a toll booth after two hours on the road. We bought fruit and drinks from some ladies on the roadside. I bought strawberries that I shared with the group.

A while later, we turned onto the coast road (route 90) and were finally heading south again. When we reached the seaside town of Arboletes, we passed a very fanciful resort, surely based on a Disney movie! I just managed to capture some of it on video.Read more
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South American Adventure
The epic drive continues!
October 25, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
We then drove through mile after mile of plantain and banana plantations. When the bunches reach a certain size, the farmers cover them with perforated plastic bags which help with the ripening whilst allowing air to circulate around the fruits.

At this point, the road conditions deteriorated massively and our progress was severely hampered. It was very hot and dusty, too! It's at times like this when, fleetingly, you question whether overlanding really is the best way to travel! Then, you catch sight of something out of the window that you wouldn't have seen if you'd been travelling in any other way, or you exchange a few words and a smile with a local going about their daily activities, and you remember that it definitely is!! 😊

Eventually, we reached a tarmacked road and were able to get a bit of speed up! The surrounding countryside was so lush and green. We were passing numerous horse and cattle ranches. Ritchie was looking for a suitable lunch stop. In the absence of one, we stopped at a garage to use the toilets. The guy there was selling just a few bits and bobs out of a small fridge. He had cold beers and bags of crisps, which suited most of the group! Mark had a beer and I succumbed and had my first packet of crisps in several months. I was just craving salt! My low-carb regime is definitely suffering here, but my blood sugar still seems to be under control, so I'm not going to worry too much.

We then drove on to the busy town of Necocli where we stopped for lunch. About half of us ended up in the same local restaurant where we had the menu del dia - chicken, salad, patacones, and rice. It was very tasty and will do us for the rest of the day. I did call at the supermarket next door and get a couple of Greek yoghurts and some fresh blueberries, though!

Back on the truck, Nikki updated us on the situation with the protests. From what she was hearing, the road we were on should be OK. However, we did still have around 10 hours to go, so it was going to be a very late arrival!

We stopped briefly when we met an Oasis truck coming the other way. He had no passengers on board. Ritchie went over to chat to him. He was coming from Medellin and said the road was clear.

Between then and when the sun set, we drove through lots more lush countryside with views of the Andes. We passed lots of pineapple plantations and grape vines, and saw herds of water buffalo wallowing in streams and rivers. Once the sun went down, though, we had several more hours of driving in complete darkness before we finally reached our destination.

We stopped again at about 6.30pm for toilets and for anyone who wanted something else to eat to get a takeaway. Then we continued. There was very little to see apart from the sheet lightning over the mountains.

As we carried on across the Andes, we went through many tunnels. In between, we could vaguely make out the shapes of the mountains all around. I imagine that the road would be very scenic in daylight!

We had a final toilet stop at 11.30pm at a garage with 50km to go. We were a very tired group, but there was very little moaning. Everyone was still pretty upbeat - maybe it's because we are still at the start of the trip 😂.Read more
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South American Adventure
Arriving in Medellin
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
We finally arrived at our hostel at just after 2.30am!! As we arrived in Medellin, we hit tons of traffic! Someone called Ryan Castro had been performing at the city’s arena and the concert had just finished. We managed to negotiate the madness and didn't get held up too much.

From what we could see in the dark, Medellin is a huge sprawling city.

Some general info about the place:

The vibrant city of Medellin is Pablo Escobar's old stomping ground. It is situated in a narrow valley. Its skyline sets high-rise apartments and office buildings against a backdrop of jagged peaks in every direction. Its pleasant climate gives it its nickname - the City of Eternal Spring. It's a bustling place of industry and commerce, especially in textile manufacturing and the export of cut flowers.

When we arrived at the hostel, we found out that there were no private rooms available, so we are sharing a dorm with Mark and Chris, Greg and Britt, Derk, and Ritchie for the next three nights. It’s disappointing, but there's nothing we can do about it! At least we have individual pods again, and there is a shower room and toilet for our exclusive use.

We were all incredibly tired, so got to bed as quickly as possible. Frustratingly, I woke up at 5am. I was knackered, but I was definitely not going to get back to sleep! I lay there for an hour or so and then got up. Mark was up, too. We headed downstairs and found that the majority of our group were already up, too! I guess all of our body clocks are out of kilter 😀.

The hostel started serving breakfast at 7am. There were several delicious choices. I went for a bacon and egg seeded bagel (Mark had half of my bagel), and Mark chose eggs benedict. The coffee they served was lovely and strong. It was a good start to the day.

After breakfast, we organised our laundry, chatted to a few people, and then went downstairs to the co-working area for me to catch up with some posts.Read more
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South American Adventure
Walking tour around Medellin
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Later, when everyone else in our dorm was up, we showered and sorted our bags out before heading to El Poblado metro station, the meeting point for our pre-booked 2pm tour of Comuna 13 and other points of interest in Medellin.

Greg and Britt had booked the same tour as us, so we met them along with our guide, Ezekial. All of the public transport we would be using during the afternoon was included in the price of the tour, so Ezekial gave us a pass each, and we entered the metro system. It seemed like a pretty straightforward system to use, but, tired as we were, we were glad we had booked a tour and could just follow our leader!

We changed metro once to reach San Javier, where we took a cable car up to a residential district. Medellin has 6 MetroCable lines. Unlike other places in the world where cable cars are used to get from point A to point B, often to access tourist attractions, here they are part of an integrated transport system. In a city surrounded by mountains, local people use them as part of their daily commute between home and work.

We got off at the first stop to take pictures of the closely packed brick built houses. Ezekial explained to us that there is no vehicular access above the level we were looking at. People who live and work in the higher parts have to leave their motorbikes and cars here and proceed on foot. Any purchases have to be carried!Read more
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South American Adventure
Sampling street food in Medellin
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
We then caught a cable car back to ground level where we were all invited to choose a street food item to try. I had a beef and potato deep fried croquette. It was very nice but huge! Mark had to finish it for me. He had something similar but with chicken. His was a bit dry.Read more
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Coffee tasting and a dance show
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
After our snack, we caught a local bus to visit a coffee museum. Here, we were shown the different grades of coffee bean and had a shot of the best quality coffee. It was delicious, but we weren't tempted to buy anything.

We then walked up to a covered area where we stopped to watch a couple of dance troupes. They were excellent!

After the dancing, we continued our walk into Comuna 13, one of the 16 communes of Medellín, with a population of around 160,000. The neighbourhood is associated with street art performances, graffiti, bright colours, tours, and an energetic environment that showcases its resilience. However, Comuna 13 was not always a vibrant community. It faced violence and insecurity due to drug trafficking, paramilitaries, and controversial military operations. The area was only cleaned up as recently as 2002. Since then, it has benefitted from investment in infrastructure, such as a cable car line and a series of escalators and social programs.

Today, the neighbourhood is full of colour and life. It was heaving with locals and tourists alike. We spent a couple of hours here exploring and soaking up the atmosphere.Read more
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South American Adventure
Photos of Comuna 13
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
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South American Adventure
More photos of Comuna 13
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
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South American Adventure
The end of the tour
October 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
After our walk around Comuna 13 and a welcome cold drink at the highest point, we returned to street level and took the metro back to El Poblado. There, we said our goodbyes to Ezekial and went back to the hostel.

We had a drink with most of the rest of our group in the rooftop bar, collected our laundry, and had an early night ready for our early start tomorrow.Read more
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South American Adventure
Day trip to Guatape
October 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
We were up at 5.45am. Luckily, I woke up before my alarm, so we were able to get up and go without disturbing the others in our dorm.

We were too early for breakfast, but I did have my yoghurt and blueberries from yesterday.

It was just an eight-minute walk to the meeting point for today's tour at San José church.

We were early, but our guide, Alex, was already there and we were able to get on the coach straight away and choose our seats. We turned out to be a mixed group - from countries as diverse as France, the US, Scotland, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador, Mexico, and Germany.

We set off on time, making our way out of Medellin to the east. We climbed through beautiful countryside peppered with picturesque fincas. The crops grown in this area include strawberries, corn, tomatoes, and avocados.

At about 8.20am, we stopped for breakfast at a lovely mountaintop restaurant. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily at this point, so the views were somewhat obscured. We sat with the couple from Scotland and chatted about travel!

We then drove on to the small town of El Penol. The town was originally founded along the Negro-Nare River in 1714 by Fray Miguel de Castro y Rivadeneiro and inhabited by the indigenous Tahamí people.

In 1971, Empresas Públicas de Medellín determined that more water and power was needed to support the rapidly growing city of Medellín, 30km to the west, and decided that the Negro-Nare River should be dammed at Guatape, flooding the Negro-Nare River valley in which El Peñol was located. The original town was flooded in 1978 to create a reservoir, and the 4000 inhabitants were relocated to this new location.

Obviously, when the forced move was first suggested, the residents objected. When they realised that the demolition of their town was going to happen anyway, they asked that their local church be saved. The hydroelectric company said no because such a large building would impede the flow of the water in the reservoir. They did, however, agree to preserve the church's facade as some kind of underwater memorial. Later, though, the mayor of El Penol and the manager of the hydroelectric project had a big argument. As a result, the manager instructed his workers to dynamite the entire church, including its facade!

Years later, once the reservoir was up and running, there was a drought, and water levels dropped to just 5% of their usual volume. El Penol residents took the opportunity to build a 180-foot column into the bed of the reservoir at the exact spot that their church once stood. They topped it with a cross so that, even today, everyone remembers the El Penol church. We were to see the cross later when we took a boat trip on the reservoir.

Unfortunately, we didn't stop in El Penol, so we were unable to take photos of the upside down house or the interesting statues we caught sight of through the coach windows. This is also where we saw the famous rock that some of us were going to climb later!

We drove on to the town of Guatape, recently ranked #11 in a Time Out list of the most beautiful towns in the world

In Guatapé, every building is a work of art. Residents paint their houses and businesses in gorgeous bright colours and decorate the bottom of every building with fresco-like panels called 'zocalos'.

With its steep and windy streets and bright colours, Guatapé is ridiculously photogenic, but it’s the zocalos that make it distinctive. Some friezes are simply pretty - sunflowers, doves, and sheep are popular. Other zocalos advertise businesses - loaves of bread on a bakery, sewing machines outside a clothing store, etc. The most complicated tell stories - several panels showing a journey - or commemorate history, musical instruments marking the house of a famous local musician, for example.

The zocalo tradition seems to have started about a century ago (no one seems sure when or why), but it has accelerated in recent years. Today it’s rigorously maintained because it helps make Guatapé one of the most popular vacation towns in Colombia and a favourite day trip from Medellín.

Alex took us on a walking tour of the town and we got to taste coconut milk sweets (too sugary!), coffee dark chocolates (very good), and the local tipple (not for me, but Mark enjoyed it 😀).Read more
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South American Adventure
Guatape
October 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
We then had an hour free time to explore further. We walked along the boardwalk by the lake and then back into town, taking loads of photos on the way. It certainly is a picturesque place!

When we got back to town square, it started to rain quite heavily. We nipped in and out of shops looking for a daypack for me as I've realised that my backpack is far too big for day-to-day use! I found a lovely woven one for the princely sum of £12. I'm very happy with my purchase ☺️.Read more
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South American Adventure
More photos of Guatape
October 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
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South American Adventure
Yet more photos of Guatape
October 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
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South American Adventure
Climbing the rock
October 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
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
TravelerWell done. Looks quite a climb. Reminds me of climbing up to some temples in Asia.
10/31/24Reply
TravelerYes, me too! 😀
10/31/24Reply
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