Man Made Lakes of Guatapè

Trip Start Jun 27, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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palm tree hostal

Flag of Colombia  ,
Friday, August 15, 2008

3 hours east of Medellín there is a gorgeous man-made lake community, Guatapé.  Once home to Pablo Escobar, this gorgeous town was once a dangerous place for locals and tourists alike.  Guatapé is now safe and has become a vacation destination for Colombians and foreign tourists.

I made my way to Guatapè this morning to "climb" La Piedra.  La Piedra or El Peñol is an unexplained geological phenomenon.  The vertical face is over 200 feet high and visible throughout the surrounding countryside.  To get to the top you must hike up a whopping 649 steps.  No easy feat in any condition, let alone high temperatures!  The views made the trip worthwhile. 

Even better still- once I was down from El Peñol, I saw this huge, vibrantly colored structure that could be only be described as a bunch of trampolines stacked upon one another without the "jumping" material.  In its place were strips of trampoline material formed into a weave... that you could climb through!  And of course you bounced as you climbed... (the pictures better explain this!)  What a hoot!  THIS was the highlight of my Guatapé trip!!!  Forget the views- WHO invented this??? And how in the world is this safe?!?  :) 

What a blast!

There are also a few photos from Medellìn.
Ciao!
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