Nick and I arrived in Medellin at the same time and went to our hostal to drop bags then to a coffee shop to catch up. Later in the day I went to the local slackline meet up, which happened to be over concrete, and I met some of the local slackliners there. I made a few friends and got invited out to a local spot where they’d rig a line a few times while I was there. Nick was nursing back to health a hurt foot from a kite surfing accident so he had to take it easy.
While we were in Medellin we explored some of the parks, chaotic streets, and fresh food markets. The city is surrounded by mountains and in one of the cities attempts to make it easier for the impoverished people living further away from the city to obtain jobs, they built 4 or 5 cable cars that go up the mountain and connects to the main metro system. We took one of those cable cars up the mountain and got a good look at the city from above. We also took a day trip to Guatape where there is a huge rock you can climb up. We climbed to the top of the stairs then enjoyed exploring the very colorful and vibrant nearby city before returning back to our air b&b.
From Guatapé, we went to Jardín where we spent about a week. Nick’s foot was hurting more and more so he couldn’t do much. We went birdwatching and saw the famous cock of the rock bird. We walked to La cascada del amor, where they say if you kiss in front of it your love will last forever. So we shared a quick smooch and then checked out the hostal that was right next to it. We found a slackline and a ping pong table that we took advantage of before Nick needed to head back to our air b&b.
I then headed out on the long way home around some back roads of the city. I passed another watering hole, lots of cows, lots of banana trees, birds, pretty houses and a few shops where you could get beer or juice. I stopped at one for a refreshing mango juice before continuing on. I got back just as a torrential downpour was beginning!
Another day I went on this pretty crazy hike called the 7 waterfalls hike (which deserves its own post so stay tuned). Another day we rode some bikes that we rented for $2/hour up to Cafe Jardín which had amazing views of the city and surrounding areas. Colombia is known for its abundance in coffee beans and trees so you can find coffee trees and fresh beans everywhere. We enjoyed an affogato, an espresso with ice cream and took in the views. After we returned the bikes we went and got trucha-trout, which is a specialty of Jardín because they have so many trucherias or trout farms. Nick got his stitches out in Jardín and found out he had a mild infection but got some cream to put on his food wound.
From Jardín we left to Salento! A short jeep ride away is the famous Cocora valley, with 100 foot tall palm trees. I did a longer loop day hike in Cocora Valley. It was very foggy but added a cool perspective to the trees. I hiked around and then down a steep muddy set of switchbacks and over some sketchy bridges and then once again through a trail of mud.
We did a day trip to Filandia, a colorful town off the beaten track that’s becoming more and more touristy. Then Nick and I went horseback riding on Valentine’s Day.
From Salento we went to Pereira where we got a night bus to Bogota so that I could compete in a highline competion there. We spent the week in Bogota. We went to the amusement park, which was fun. It only costed $13, the rollarcoasters only lasted a minute but the lines weren’t too long otherwise it would have been more of a drag. But it was a fun way to spend the day. We also biked around on the city bikes, explored the historic district, played a lot of chess and enjoyed the city views.
I participated in the highline competition and took second place out of the females and won $300,000 Colombian pesos or $81.
Discover more from Trekking Home
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
