Medellin, Colombia 🇨🇴 

I’ve booked us on a Exotic fruits tour today and so we need to make our way first on the metro and then changing to a metrobus to reach the Minorista market which is the meeting place. There are only four of us which is nice, good size to navigate the market and not get in the way, although we still manage it. I am really looking forward to tasting and learning about fruits I have seen for the first time on this trip.

The Minorista market was run by Pablo Escobar previously and extorted the traders to the point that locals were afraid to shop there. Apparently it was easy to shoot someone and run off so we were told at the end of the tour! These days is is slowly rebuilding with a police presence and cameras building the confidence of shoppers, along with the tourist tours which they hope will inspire confidence in the safety.  

We try 15 fruits, some in a juice form but all are pretty tasty. The Lulo, Tomate de Arbol and Cape gooseberry are all ones I have tried before, I can take or leave them. The custard apple or Cherimoya is delicious, full of calories and one that makes a tasty ice cream flavour. The Algarroba is in a solid bean like shell that smells like a foot infection and is opened by cracking with a hammer. It is very dry and needs water, Lesley’s face shows her true feelings on this one. 

 Great to try the Guava, Curuba and a Prickly Pear, all tasty. My favourites are the Mangostino, the most expensive at around £1 each and the Pitahaya, which is a strong laxative so you can’t have more than one. It was a really friendly group and we felt perfectly safe wandering around the market on our own for a bit.

We finally left and hopped back on the metro to El Poblado. Lesley forfeited lunch in favour of a trip to our French cafe to try their Carrot Cake, which she proclaimed ‘the best ever’. All too soon the day was gone and we had to get back for her final pack, ready for her taxi. Lesley headed off to the airport, after a great holiday but looking forward to seeing her family again, me? I had a tasty cerviche and watched Netflix.

Guatapé, Colombia 🇨🇴 

We are up with a bounce today, enjoying breakfast on the terrace before setting off to climb up El Peñon, the 200m monolith that is the towns biggest attraction.

We hopped into a tuk tuk, probably the fifth or sixth mode of transport for Lesley on this trip. Bumped our way out of the town and fifteen minutes later we were setting out for the rock’s base. The steps look daunting but it wasn’t hot and we have plenty of time so we just took it slowly. It was actually relatively easy, the stairs felt safe and the views got better as you went up. We made it in 25minutes, which we felt pretty good about. 

Once at the top there is a magnificent 360degree view from the 740th step. There were hundreds of flying ants up there, which made us take our pictures faster and when Lesley was stung, that was it, we started our descent. 

We had a 1pm checkout from our hotel, so plenty of time to take a refreshing shower and pack up. The bus terminal is only 2 blocks down and we arrive to catch the 12:30 to Medellin without any issues. It went back down the windy roads and set us down at the north terminal in Medellin, so a short metro trip back to El Poblado. As we walked up the hill we elected to have a snack and I tried beer with lemon juice and salt rim which was refreshing.  Our walk invariably led us to Cremotti where we could try another combination for our magnums. 

Our hotel is a bit further up near Lleras park this time, it’s a bit swankier and cheaper than the hostel. It is nice to be in a new area and we found a great salad place for tea, trying to offset the ice cream.

Guatapé, Colombia 🇨🇴 

We a quick coffee and croissants before walking to El Poblado park to get the shuttle to Guatapé. The company has oversubscribed the bookings and we have to wait around whilst the manager grabs his car to take us and another lad. We waited patiently, fully expecting a jeep or something but had to giggle when he pulls up in a battered Renault Clio. We squeeze into the back and are then on our way along the curvey road to Guatape. It is about an hour and a half to the replica of El Penol, a town that was submerged as part of the 1960s dam project that made all the beautiful waterways. 20 minutes further and we are in the town of Guatapé, we bid goodbye to Danny who is still apologising and grab a light lunch. 

We find our hotel in the centre of town and drop our bags off as we are a bit early for check in. The shorefront of the town has a bit of a walkway and we easily find a boat that will take us out onto the lake for an hour. It’s fun whizzing through the water, looking at the posh houses and the big rock in the distance we are going to climb tomorrow. We see a couple of Pablo Escabar’s houses on the shore, including a burnt out one and one that was his party or disco house. Our final point is a big steel cross which marks where the church of El Penol sits beneath the water, strange to think there is a village underneath us.

Lesley is keen to go the zip line and as we come back to shore she can see someone on it. As we watch she spots how they thump lad into crash pads and decides it doesn’t look like fun, shame as I was looking forward to watching her. We tour rounds the colourful town, with its freezes along the bottom of the houses depicting scenes or characters that are significant to the owners. The little square and church are delightful, the cold beer even more so.

Once we check into the hotel we relax in our nice and airy room listening to the world go by. We go back to the waterfront for dinner, a highly recommended Indian restaurant called Donde de Sam. Sam himself is in residence and he elects to make us something off menu. It is delicious, a lovely tomato based chicken curry with rice and naan. I haven’t enjoyed a curry since south Peru, so this was a real treat.

Medellin, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Back to the French cafe this morning for breakfast.  Lesley has decided to be healthy with a fruit and cereal trifle whereas I’m feeling much better and have a massive egg and bacon muffin. We take the Metro out to the Botanical Gardens which are free and really good. We spend a couple of hours walking round the garden, looking at the exotic trees and plants. We also managed to spot to iguanas in the trees, find it amazing that reptiles this big are happy so high up.

Next stop is the Botero Plaza. The statues are just as impressive the second time round and Leslie really is absorbed photographing the area. We enjoy a leisurely coffee whilst people watching on the Plaza there’s loads going on, from hat sellers to people selling fruit or large bottomed ants to eat.

The Museum of Antioquia is an art museum in that houses a large collection of works by Medellin’s favourite son, Fernando Botero and also Pedro Nel Gómez. There is the usual mix of interesting and strange in the museum, I like a 3D piece (love chamber) by Luis Caballero Holguín. The Botero works are the highlight and dominate a whole floor. There is also a temporary exhibition of his work on a religious angle, which seems odd as it almost pokes fun at Christ. We enjoy it in the most and are tired out by the end, so we metro our way back to El Poblado to our hammocks. Lesley is starting to get into the swing of it…

Pereria, Colombia 🇨🇴 

We had a nice leisurely start to the day after our energetic day yesterday. A breakfast of pancakes at the hostel before wandering into town for a good coffee. We walked up the colourful Calle Real one last time, on a bit of a hammock mission. Lesley has decided to take one home and kindly offered to take one for me (no idea where to fix it at home!). We have seen a few we like but decide on two from the same shop and we bargain a bit to get an even better price. All wrapped up we stroll back to the Jesus Martin coffee shop where we get a fabulous coffee and Lesley indulges in a slab of chocolate brownie.

We taxi transfer to the Pereria airport without issues and check in for our flight back to Medellin, me still at 17kg. The flight leaves a little late but we arrive soon enough mid afternoon to a warm Medellin. We got into a taxi at the rank, but the driver refused to put the meter on or give me a fair price so we got out 100 metres later and found an honest one. We are back in Los Patios for 2 nights and after a swift check in, we sit up on the rooftop with Lesley swinging in a hammock and working out where she will position hers when she gets home.

We visit the favourite Italian for dinner and afterwards I decide to have an ice cream. The ice cream over the road is decked out like a upmarket boutique and we discover it is essentially a ‘build your own magnum’ offer. Lesley changes her mind and we quickly select our base ice cream, coating and topping. The pictures do not do it justice, amazing experience and the ice cream is to die for.

Cocora Valley, Colombia 🇨🇴 

One of the highlights of Colombia is the Cocora Valley which has the world’s largest wax palm trees. I was really excited to go, but slightly apprehensive with the 5-6hour hike and my stomach playing up again. I was awake a lot in the night and so we set off later than planned. We climbed into the Willy’s jeep again, fortunate to get a seat for the windy 20minute ride. Once we arrived you could see the palms dotting the horizon and we quickly found the path through the blue gate. 

 The path took us past a trout farm and then followed a undulating path along the Quindio river. We ducked down into shade and then the vegetation changed to almost jungle style with the river raging down rapids. It was a lot of fun crossing the shakey wooden bridges and I took a funny video of Lesley. Around 2 hours in we had to decide to take a extra hour round trip to see hummingbirds or to keep on the loop. I left the decision with Lesley as I have seen plenty of hummingbirds. Lesley voted to push on as we knew the next section was the steep part. They really were not kidding, this switchback path took us up about 500m and felt more like a mountain than a hill. After a few stops and slow pace we were rewarded with views of Cerro Morro Gacho.

We sat and ate our packed lunch watching the clouds sweeping by before pushing on for the valley. The hard part over, we kept a good pace on a steady decent into the forest of Cocora. I loved the Palm trees, just great thin trunks with a bunch of palms sat on top but very photogenic. 

 We got slightly detoured on the last part but miraculously ended up down by a bar where we could have a couple of cold beers to celebrate. We found the jeeps and took one back to Salento, both knackered after making the loop in 5 1/2 hours. We met a group of Colombian teenagers in the jeep, which were fun, they even insisted on having a picture of us once we had managed to clamber out of the jeep.

We both enjoyed hot showers before grabbing a quick bite to eat and tucking ourselves into bed by 8.30pm.

Salento, Colombia 🇨🇴 

Great sleep last night, back in the country air.  We are heading on a coffee tour today, whilst I did one a few days ago, Lesley hasn’t and I figure you can never know too much about coffee. We head down to the square from the hostel where the Willy jeeps are waiting. The jeeps were actually sold off by the Americans at the end of World War II cheaply and are really popular in this area of the country for transporting people and coffee. We bump into Chris who was on our bus from Medellin and invite him to join us. We get our tickets but the jeep seats are full so I make Leslie pull the age card whilst I stand on the back and hold on for dear life.

It’s only about 20 minutes down the road until we reach the farm of El Ocaso. Our guide, Maria is very bubbly and knowledgeable. The first step is understanding the coffee cherry and how the plants grow. It has has two beans inside each fruit and they are coated in a jelly which is surprisingly sweet.

We are then each given a basket which we tied around our waist like a traditional coffee picker and head off into the plants to see how many fruits we can pick. I am super competitive, but still only manage a handful. Next up we see the separation machinery and then the kiln and tunnel drying methods. The beans are dehusked externally but all the waste is reused, the husks fuel the kiln and the cherry skins are used as compost so nothing goes to waste. We learn a bit about roasting, but they don’t do this on the farm. Then we can take a seat, learn how to brew coffee and finally drink a tasty cup. I actually prefer this tour to my previous experience, even if the farm is only 18 hectares it was really engaging.

We hop back onto a jeep, and I thankfully secure a seat this time as we head back to town. Chris is an interesting guy, so we invite him to dinner before parting. Lesley and I climb the steps at the end of town to the mirador before having a good mooch in the shops.

It is a rainy night as we sit in a patio for dinner, but the company is good and we have a fabulous steak in blackberry & coffee sauce washed down with a excellent red wine. Thank goodness my stomach is better!

Salento, Colombia 🇨🇴 

I am still not 100% and am feeling slightly nervous of my stomach on a 7hour bus ride. I had booked the tickets a couple of days ago to ensure we got onto the limited direct service to Salento. We caught a taxi to the South terminal in plenty of time, so we can have eggs and arepas freshly made for breakfast. After a final toilet visit we climb aboard our minibus for the long drive. I confess to mainly listening to music and dozing for the journey as it is the same road I took last week to Manizales. Lesley on the other hand is like a dog with its head out the window, and it is lovely to see her in awe of the mountainous scenery and countryside life. We stop once and also have a couple of stops in roadworks, which gets the bus unbearably hot. 

 We arrive safely into Salento and walk the few blocks to our lovely hostel which as views over the surrounding hills. Salento is a beautiful and colourful town with a big central square. We wander up the Main Street, Calle Real and stop for a bit of window shopping. We stop at a place for a simple dinner, where Lesley has the worst glass of wine ever based on her facial expressions!  

Whilst Lesley enjoyed the bus, we both don’t fancy losing a day to a return adventure, so we book flights for the return to Medellin from Pereria.

Medellin, Colombia 🇨🇴 

I am feeling a bit better today as we head to a French cafe for breakfast.  It was a really tasty omelette, I even had broccoli which has been hard to find. We walk down the hill to meet our guide at El Poblado station, the group all seem really friendly and interesting. We are off to Comuna 13, once one of the most dangerous areas but now a safe regenerated area full of street art.

We take the metro and then a cable car up to La Aurora to see this area and learn of the social projects here. The cable cars are a big deal in Medellin as it has made the city centre more accessible and cut commuter times bringing more opportunities. There are tower blocks here that the government gave to people post the South American games, based on their home risk of landslide or need. Theirs to own or sell once they have lived for 5 years. We sit for a bit enjoying warm corn arepas with cheese which are delicious and much nicer than the white ones I have tried.

We glide back down in the cable car and hop on a local bus to Comuna 13, still can’t believe they have a turnstile on the small buses. The area has lots of street art, many of it depicting stories from the conflict, like the one that shows two boys who’s father was murdered on the basketball court and another with elephants that have white handkerchiefs signaling peace. They are all very vibrant and we even meet Choco, who lives in the area and painted many of the pieces that we saw.

We stop for a coffee, even trying coffee lemonade which was refreshing. Continuing up on the street escalators, the brick houses with corrugated roofs are a vast sigh below us, clinging to the hills. At the top the light rain turns into a massive thunderstorm which we wait out a bit before heading back down and saying goodbye at the metro.

Tonight we are joined by Manuel and Delphine for rooftop beers followed by a traditional dinner of Bandeja Paisa which is rice, red beans, shredded meat, chicharrón (pork rind), chorizo, morcilla (black pudding), fried egg, avocado, arepa and plantain….pretty filling!