Iglesia Dulce

"Iglesia Dulce" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Fruta Limpia

"Fruta Limpia" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Antioquia

"Antioquia" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Playing Loco in Medellin

Just as soon as I thought I could let my guard down for a bit and get appropriately lost for a little while, once again I found myself knee deep in shady characters on definitely the wrong side of the street.

The Medellin barrio Laureles that I'd docked at a cool hostel called Urban Buddha, is in a fairly nice part of the city. "Tranquilo" as they say and has an upscale vibe. After hitting the tourist "must sees" like the Cable Metro and the miniature Antioquian village replica at the top of one of the surrounding mountains, I hit the Botero plaza and thought I was ready to get lost again.

The edges of the plaza were pretty crusty with characters, but I'd told myself it was just because it was below a giant church, always a great place to panhandle. The light was getting very buttery and I figured I had a couple hours to find my way across town via metro eye line reference in the distance well before nightfall. That all looked good on the spreadsheet at least. ;)

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Medellin to Guatape Detour

"La Piedra" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Had planned to keep moving North toward the Caribbean, but heard about a colorful place up in the mountains called Guatape with this giant rock you could climb. Couldn't resist the call for more color!

Dreams of Kids

"Dreams of Kids" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Mujer de la Piedra

"Mujer de la Piedra" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Calle de Colores

"Calle de Colores" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Payaso Basura

"Payaso Basura" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Escaleras

"Escaleras" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

San Rafael Trip within a Trip

There is still so much to see here in Guatape, but the idea of jumping on a rural bus & exploring even deeper enticed. There's a small town that I'd been told offered a beautiful place to swim below the mountains at lower altitude called San Rafael.

Nina Rapida

"Nina Rapida" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Calle del Recuerdo

"Calle del Recuerdo" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Las Tangas

"Las Tangas" ~ San Rafael, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Ventana Amarilla

"Ventana Amarilla" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Marinilla

"Marinilla" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Coiffure

"Coiffure" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Guatape

"Guatape" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Calle Naranja

"Calle Naranja" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Casa Dulce

"Casa Dulce" ~ Guatape, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt