Getting to know more than the Coast of Colombia

Day 1:  We should have known 

View from the hostel

As I waited for a bus to the airport, in the scorching costal sun, with a fellow PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) we both couldn’t hide our excitement to finally enjoy a week where we would not be constantly drenched in sweat; We were going on vacation outside the coast.  When we checked into our flight to Medellín we were so early that we were placed on an earlier flight.  However, we should have know that things were not going to work out as planned.  After asking why people were not looking happy and no planes were leaving, we were told that a military plane outside had caught on fire and the entire airport was temporarily closed.....After drinking all the free juice and soda we could--I guess the airline felt bad too-- the plane finally took off.  And after a brief stop in Bogota, we finally stepped off the plane in Medellin, the city of eternal springtime.  But when I went to get my bag, it was nowhere to be found....  Thus we waited and when I finally did get my bag a few hours later the three other PVCs that were accompanying us on the vacation arrived, so we took off together to the hostel.  

Botero sculpture

Day 2:  This can’t be Colombia 

Day two started off with all five of us talking about how we didn't feel like we were in Colombia for the first 10 hours of the day--no exaggeration.  First of all the weather was a key component and opposed to the upper 90s and 100 degree weather we are now accustomed to, we were now in a climate that was constantly around 75ish.  There were also traffic signs, cars that followed the traffic signs, trash cans, and a lack of ear drum bursting music.  When we finally started the day, we dedicated it to exploring the city via the Metro, the only metro system in Colombia.  So we walked around a bunch and visited a few parks.  It was weird not sweating because the heat.  Later, we headed out for the night and taught those Paisas (people from Medellín) how to dance-- The belief on the coast is that costeños are the best dancers in Colombia and that if you are not from the coast you can’t dance.

Park dedicated to Botero's sculptures

Day 3:  Are we really in Colombia?

View from El Pueblito Paisa

 Still in shock that we were in Colombia, we started the day off by visiting a tourist attraction known as El Pueblo Paisa.  This is a constructed pueblo that is supposed to resemble a typical township of the area.  After walking up tons of stairs built into the side of the mountain (good practice for the following day), we were greeted by welcome gusts of wind when we got to the top.  After exploring the town and the magnificent view for a few hours, we headed back to the unbelievably clean Metro and in the direction of the largest outdoor escalator in the world.  Again the view on top of the six connecting escalators was absolutely breathtaking--common theme of the vacation.  These escalators serve a huge purpose to the community, now making it completely free to go up and down the mountain side as they please where before the citizens would have had to walk a long distance up and down a steep hill or pay for a bus or moto.  Starving we looked for dinner in the community and encountered the Bandeja Paisa, the typical platter of rice, beans, plantain, a sausage, chicken, an egg, and an arepa.  All delirious after the unheard of amount of calories we just inhaled, we thought it would be a good idea to get matching spray on tattoos and did exactly that. 

Largest outdoor escalator in the world

View from atop the escalators 

Bandeja Paisa 

Creation of the Seahorse club

Day 4:  Stairs     

The Rock

After waking up late we decided to head to a small town outside Medellín, Guatape, where there is a huge rock with 740 stairs and a great view of the surrounding towns and lake.  So after wheezing up 740 stairs with a constant breeze, the top was actually a little chilly--I can’t believe I just said chilly when talking about Colombia.  Upon our return we were all hungry and decided that there was no better way to end the day than with two large Dominos pizzas!  We called it an early night because the following day we would be waking up at 5:00am to head to a nature reserve.  

View from the top

Tired after the 740 stairs

Three walled cabin we stayed in

Day 5:  Rio Claro and the splitting up of the Seahorse Club 

A nice and early 5:00 wake up call and a three hour bus ride to the tune of Vallenato and two children vomiting were well worth it when I arrived with two fellow PCVs at Rio Claro!  I could hardly believe that this nature reserve wasn’t the location Jurassic Park was shot; Everything was so pristine and green!  We hiked two kilometers to our three walled cabin and after being memorized by the clarity of the rushing river below us and the many animals that were making all sorts of noises in the close by forest, we decided to do some exploring.  So for the 4th of July  we swam, we rafted, we drank.  And  although we didn’t have fireworks, we enjoyed some beer and rum while watching the most spectacular lightning storm I have ever seen. 

The river

Day 6:  We don‘t want to leave

Waking up with the natural light that shined in our three walled room the three of us met and could not believe that we not only slept with covers, but that we had to leave the wonderland that is Rio Claro only one day after arriving.  We really didn’t want to leave so we decided to stick around for a few hours after we checked out.  We went ziplining, jumped off a 26 foot rock, swam some more in the river, and hiked barefoot through some muddy terrain.  The ride back was bitter sweet as we were really excited to meet up with and share stories with the two that didn’t make the trip, but at the same time we were all wishing we had a few more nights at Rio Claro--At least there was no smell of vomit on the ride back.  After sharing stories we did some souvenir shopping for out host families and grabbed one last meal in Medellín.  And since we decided to save some money, we didn’t book the hostel for the last night because we had an early flight, so we did what any true costeño would do....Stay out all night.  

Spider at Rio Claro

3:00am faces on the last night/morning

What an amazing vacation and I can safely say that although Medellín has a history of bad publicity due to the violence and drug related issues caused by Pablo Escobar, I never once felt in danger.  The question is now not weather I will return, but when I will return.