Medellin

Today‘s dress isn’t anything special. I’m not sure why I still have it. But it has pockets, so there’s that. I came home and felt very overwhelmed. Everything feels messy. My brain, my apartment, all of it. So I got into bed and didn’t want to get out. I’m still in bed at nearly 2pm on Friday. But I wanted to finish my colombia story and try and motivate myself to keep going. to backtrack a little, I had a tour guide in Cartagena named Anita who was very nice. She was a little younger than me and asked if she could bring her 8 month old son on the tour, since it was just me. I don’t really like doing tours alone. I prefer to meet other travelers. But it wasn't to be. We had a nice time, walking around in the heat. I’d already heard some of the same things on the free walking tour i had already taken. But Anita herself was pretty interesting. Her mother had passed before Covid, and she had been very sad. But she was sent her baby, that she didn’t think she could have. He was very calm. I arrived in Medellin and felt better than I had in Cartagena. The mountain air was cool. I had a sim card and could communicate with others. I arrived at YOLO hostel in el poblado and met some other travelers. I settled into my room and walked around the busy Calle 10. I got a quesadilla. The next morning I woke up early to go to Guatape. It’s a town about 2 hours from Medellin. It’s very picturesque with a huge rock called El Penon. It’s 65 million years old and has been turned into a major tourist attraction. It has about 750 steps that you can climb to get to the top. I enjoyed the climb and the view was amazing. Afterwards we had lunch at a local restaurant. I had bandeja paisa, a colombian dish that is compromised of a lot of meat, avocado and an egg. It was tasty enough. The town was a few miles away and very colorful. Each business has a symbol under its window for all to see. the symbol represents what they do. It’s a source of pride in the town and adds to the uniqueness. I didn’t want to leave guatape but I had only booked a one day tour. If I go again, I’d like to stay a night or two. that’s all for today! Come back tomorrow for another dress and the rest of the Colombia adventure.