Guatape

We left the coffee plantation just after 8am.  The drive today wasn't too far, but the roads and the fact that we were still winding through the Andes, meant that it would take most of the day.

We had an early stop for ice cream, which was tasty, and some of the best Banos (toilets) we have found on the road in South America.



El Peñol



It can be easy to take for granted how well Izzie and TJ drive, but every so often we get a little reminder.  Today's reminder was when we rounded a bend to see a large lorry half on its side, resting on the bank at the side of the road.  The driver presumably took the corner too fast and toppled the lorry over.  It is nice to feel confident that Izzie and TJ are far more careful and safe than that.



Cindy at the campsite

 As we neared Guatape, we passed by El Peñol, which is a very large piece of rock that attracts a lot of tourists to climb up it.  There is a walk to the base and then 649 steep wooden steps zigzagging up the side.  Being South America, they aren't the safest looking steps, and being wooden they can be pretty slippery if they are wet.



Guatape church



We arrived at Guatape and spotted the sign for camping.  We drove down the unmade road by the side of the lake until we came to a huge muddy area.  We had met up with a couple of guys doing the same trip in the other direction when we were in Ipiales, and they had been unhappy with Guatape saying it had rained constantly and their tents were almost afloat, so when we saw this mudbath we all  looked at it, hoping to hell this wasn't the campsite! We gave a sigh of relief when they turned the truck around and we went back down the road.

  

narrow streets with mouldings



The real campsite was better, but not that much better.  There was a bit of boggy grass  next to the lakes edge, a big patch of dead grass and sand, and a couple of small, uninviting looking buildings.  However it turned out we didn't have to camp on the sand, we could camp in the grassy area next to it, and the toilets weren't too bad.  The showers were cold water only, but there was potential to pay a small amounts to use the hot showers in the nearby hostel.  That hostel also had a bar.  So things weren't as bad as at first they seemed.  Still not great, but not as bad as in San Pedro.



colourful tuc-tuc



 We settled into the campsite and the cook group made dinner.  Izzie had bought a new gas bottle, so we old hands showed those who hadn't yet done the camp cooking how it all worked, and we were soon tucking in to sausages and mash.  We had a few beers at the hostel and made it back to the tent at about midnight, just in time to miss the downpour.



Chemists are pretty here



We had decided not to bother with going up the big rock the next day, so after we did breakfast, making use of the leftover sausage and mash, we went into the town.  We had dinner in the square while we watched them making the preparations for an international triathlon event to be held a few days later, and saw a few tired looking runners doing their last minute training.



life follows art

 Guatape is only a small town but it was pleasant to walk around and we spent some time admiring the artwork on the buildings.  Almost all of the buildings were decorated in a traditional style where the bottom two or three feet of the building have painted plaster moldings of animals, flowers or other scenes.  Some of them indicate what the people in the building do, but most are just decorative.



horses wander in the street



We had planned on the second day to join a boat trip around the lake to see Pablo Escobar's bombed out lakeside retreat.  Pablo Escobar was something of a Robin Hood character in this area.  Infamous drug dealer and murderer that he was, he apparently put a lot of money into local projects for the poor in Medellin and surrounding areas like Guatape, so he was well liked, with locals hiding him from officials when needed.  And of course some of the locals will have worked for him.  We did hear that some believe he is not actually dead, but is living in Germany; seems unlikely as his body was exhumed some years ago for DNA testing.



old gun turrets

But anyway, after breakfast the rain that had previously restricted itself to the night time decided to pour down while we were clearing up after breakfast.  As part of cook group, Nic and I were clearing stuff away, so hadn't yet got our tent down.  After one aborted effort where we got very wet, we picked up the whole thing and carried it to the seating area where we could let it dry for a bit and then take it down without getting any wetter.  We then decided not to bother with the boat trip after all.  So for us it was a few games of cards and then back into town for lunch, just dodging the second huge downpour.

We left Guatape in the afternoon to drive on to Medellin.