Day three in Medellín and it’s time to visit this mythical Guatape!
A hill with a very peculiar shape on which you climb a staircase of over 300 steps and from the top of which you can admire the entire surrounding area formed by numerous small lakes and islands.
The journey to the foot of the hill is about a couple of hours by car. The ‘driver’ is Carlos, a Colombian friend of Luis’s, and with us there is also an American girl, whom we met the night before in the hostel.
We leave early, to have most of the day at our disposal. Carlos is a very nice and helpful ex-military man, who loves reggaeton and knows all the songs (a real jukebox, almost more than Luis) 😆. Aggressive driving and blasting music (which I’m told gives the car at least 5 extra hp, which when added to the 10 from the spoiler on the boot makes a total of 15! 🤣), allow us to stop for a generous breakfast (as always in South America, poor my shape 😆).
After some borderline overtaking, smoking wheel turns and numerous reggaeton songs, here we are at the foot of the hill. In the car park the first thing they try to sell me is water, the second and third are coke and weed (as always 😅).
We start the climb to the top, we do it all in one go, about 370 steps. Once we reach the top, we are presented with an incredible natural spectacle!
A series of small lakes as far as the eye can see, dotted with islets, peninsulas and surrounded by hills. All bright green and deep blue.
We roll down the steps and reach the harbour, where we haggle for passage on a boat. The boy explains to us the history of the lake and the various vicissitudes between the families of the drug cartels, who apparently loved this place.
We can still see Pablo Escobar’s villa, which was destroyed in an armed attack by a rival gang and is now an open-air museum.
Of course, during the boat trip, the rain doesn’t let up!
In the afternoon we visit a wonderful ‘pueblito’, all colourful, really very quaint and pretty.
In the evening we try again to find a fiesta, this time we manage to get into a disco, which soon fills up with kids, to the point that we find ourselves dancing practically one against the other, in an embarrassing heat. An exchange of sweat that not even 15-year-olds 😆.
Medellin, where are the right parties?!!!