Guatape Rocks!

The day after my dreadful 40th birthday, we boarded a bus for a long journey to Guatape. It was more than our massive amount of luggage that weighed us down that day; leaving Jardin was brutally painful. This little cozy blanket of a town had become home in a surprisingly deep and emotional way.

I'll skip the details of the bus ride, the Medellin city taxi ride of death that had even our taxi driver signing the cross over himself and get to the part where our second bus dropped us off in the charming, tourist magnet of Guatape. This hilly town was bigger than Jardin and rose up from the banks of the finger like lakes that separated it from the other islands, into a colorful town plaza. Each cobblestone street that stretched out from the bustling center was filled with high end tourist shops and cafes. There was nothing beachy about this place, yet it felt like the Yucatan towns of Mexico 20+ years ago. The colonial charm was apparent, yet it felt marketed toward us, almost for show rather than inherent. Don't get me wrong, it IS cute, but it is filled with English speaking tourists and you feel the separation from the locals and the connection to the culture we had in Jardin.

Our time was limited so we tried to make the most of it with night time strolls to see the ornately wood carved church light up in different colors, pass the soccer fields full of kids and the delightful lit up decorations of the open air restaurants. During our one full day in Guatape, that we dubbed as my '40th birthday do over', we set out to explore the greater area.

El Pinol is the name of the giant rock that is the #1 tourist destination of the area. I know it doesn't sound exciting, but this sucker is immense! 650 steep steps up the cement staircase (a case of asthma and a heart attack later) you reach the rock-top patio and look out. The 365 degrees of view was pretty incredible and this area is another wonder to behold as the brilliant blue water threads its way between mounds of emerald green land. A dizzying 650 steps back down the black rock and you find yourself in a maze of little shops. My adorable hubby, wanting 'take 2' of the birthday to rock (pun intended, yes I know I am a dork), he encouraged me to pick out several pairs of adorable earrings. It was shaping up to be a great day...until we got back to the hotel and discovered I'd lost my phone.

My phone is my most important work tool and holds every detail of my life. It would be like the panic of having left your wedding ring somewhere, not as horrible as if you had left your child somewhere, but definitely worth a deep belly sick feeling. I know some of you are holding back the urge to get on a soapbox about how reliant we are on our phones, I know, I hear ya, but save it, my phone is practically a part of my body at this point...if only it truly was then I wouldn't have left it...at the top of the big black rock.

Turns out the phone had fallen out of my bag, been found and turned in to someone that worked there who gave it to a taxi driver who waited until we called the phone (thank God I had it off airplane mode and accepting calls for an important work thing that day). One thing about the people of Columbia we found over and over again was that they wanted to take really good care of us. I wish I felt more of that in the United States. Once reunited with my beloved phone and I'd recovered from my panic attack, I needed a glass of wine. Now it really felt like a day to celebrate!

We finished our day with one of the most incredible meals of our trip, looking out over the delightful town, as we toasted to the next adventure, the much anticipated jungle portion of the trip.

*this post is sponsored by the questions: "now that I'm 40 will I start loosing things more often?" and "how much wine does one buy when headed into the jungle where none is available?"

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!