Medellin and Guatape, Colombia (June, 2014)

After our time in Salento, we spent a week in Medellin checking out the city, drinking a lot of beer at the Bogotá Brewing Co Pub, and trying to find some kind of work.  Medellin is a beautiful city, with a 'year-round spring' climate, so it was great to dry out for a few days after the rain in Salento. After 5 days in Medellin Brendan left for the US, so Cass and I were back to travelling as just the two of us after having travel-comrades for close to four months.  We continued to look around for work for a couple more days, watched Colombia play in the World Cup (and drank more beer) and visited the small town of Guatape, before deciding to head to Bogotá where the job prospects were looking a little more promising.  

Enjoying a 'real' beer at the BBC (Colombia's first microbrewery) pub in Medellin. We spent three afternoons in a row here, enjoying their half price happy hour(s). 

The Plaza of Lights, downtown Medellin.  This area was once one of the more dangerous parts of downtown, with limited lighting, and was a no-go zone for both tourists and locals.  In an attempt to clean up the city and make it safer for all, the local government installed these 'light-towers' and made the space an open plaza which is now enjoyed by many. 

Some of the great Botero statues/sculptures in Plaza Botero.  Undoubtedly the most famous Colombian artist/sculptor, Fernando Botero signature style depicts people in an exaggerated, oversized form.

In an attempt to connect one of the poorer barrios, San Javier, with the city, the local government constructed these outdoor escalators which apparently rise into the hillside to a height equivalent of a 28-storey building (it didn't really feel that high-up). The barrio itself is said to be quite dangerous, though the views from above were beautiful. 

From Medellin, we took a short day trip out to visit the Embalse El Peñol de Guatape, a hydroelectric dam which provides over 30% of Colombia's electricity and one of the country's largest dam.  The view over the dam from atop La Piedra (the stone), a 200m high rocky outcrop, was incredible. 

The (600+) stairs heading back down La Piedra. 

The town of Guatape is well known for its brightly coloured buildings, most of which are painted a different colour and pattern to its neighbour, that often have artistic depictions of village life adorning the lower half of the building's facade. 

Even the rickshaws were painted in a similar fashion.