AKA "El Penol de Guatape"
We booked a day trip to a giant rock two hours west of Medellin in the town of Guatape. The idea, as crazy as it sounds, was to climb 77 stories to the top for what is billed as "incredible views" of the surrounding lakes. The rock is a chunk of granite pushed up into the air from plate tectonics. Two-thirds of it is beneath the ground.
The lakes are the result of a massive dam created in the 1970's to build a hydroelectric power plant, Colombia's largest.
Many of the nearby towns were to be flooded, one fought the government for 12 years until they got them to agree to build them a completely new town. Once the agreement was signed, the first to go were the dead. The cemetery was moved then those still above the ground packed and moved.
Our tour was a pretty good deal. Twenty five bucks for the bus ride, breakfast, lunch, two tour guides (Spanish speaking Lina and Jason, the English translator.), some sightseeing and a boat ride in the lake. There were folks from the US, Canada, Panama, France, Korea, other parts of Colombia, Mexico and Israel.
First things first, the climb. We'd ascended out of Medellin to Guatape, adding 2,000 feet. We'd be taking our first steps up the rock from 7,000 feet above sea level. Seven hundred and forty steps in total. Half of me was glad they marked off the steps the other half didn't want to know. I took them slowly at first then sped up later. My ears, already clogged from the high altitude, got even more blocked from the blood flow.
The staircase was wedged into a vertical crevice in the rock. They have one staircase for going up and another for going down. When we finally made it to the top, 20 minutes later, we were pretty winded though not too sweaty as it was in the low 70's.
This one looked cocky at the top, a far different attitude from when she was mid-steps.
The views were as advertised.
The walk down required less lung power but a lot more concentration. One mis-step could be trouble.
After the climb we ate at a restaurant at the bottom of the rock. I had a huge vegetarian plate, Dodo had deep-fried fish.
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