Guatape (The closest thing I will get to Lake Champlain this summer)

While exploring the Colombian department of Antioquia (similar to states), we took a trip about two hours away from Medellin to the town of Guatape! Mom put this town on my list back in January when she found a hostel that we had seen on House Hunters International (a regular program in the Bailey/Gingras/Taylor family). Guatape is an adorable lakeside town famous for a giant rock to climb and zocalos, or intricate outdoor wall art.

The beautiful "House Hunters Hostel" El Encuentro.
Secluded on its own little nook of the lake.

Here is an example of the Zocalos.  Giving directions in this town must be fun,
"Turn left at the sheep and go three blocks past the donkeys 'til you get to the house with the daffodils on it!"

And this is El Penol. The giant thumb-shaped rock we  climbed. 

And something funny and typical to my life here happened. When we bought bus tickets, they asked for my name. I said Kate. Even though it may be hovering the top ten for years in the United States, Kate is nearly unheard of here. And even worse my name sounds a lot like "Que?" Which means "What?" But at the bus station my name appeared on the ticket as "Keith." K.E.I.T.H. This, my friends , shows the importance of pronunciation and spelling when learning a new language. And yes, now you can guess what the gringas have started calling me.

Me with my "Keith" ticket.

In Guatape, we went paddle-boating, went on an afternoon boat cruise, and ate some delicious fresh fish and yummy juice. Ben tried his first Pony Malta (a DISGUSTING Colombian soda) and aguardiente (a DISGUSTING Colombian alcohol). As I promised my fellow Americans, Ben is too easy to please when it comes to food, and he pretty much liked everything.

On the boardwalk, in between Ben's first experience with Colombian street food.

We also had an adorable puppy follow us around for the day and even swim to our paddle boat in the middle of the lake. We had a great time exploring this small town and taking a small break from city living. The more I explore the smaller towns in Colombia, the more I fall in love with the country--especially for it's beauty and diversity.

Our personal Guatape tour guide and new best friend.

View from the top of the rock. A close second to my summers in VT!

Gringos Explore Colombian Paradise

Happy Monday, friends!

Before anymore time passes, let me write about vacation part two! Ben came to visit, and together with my other gringo (American) pals we traveled to the Colombian city of Medellin. If this city rings a bell, it's probably followed by its not-so-positive reputation. Medellin was once the hub for all things drug-cartel and Pablo Escobar related. Back not that long ago, this city was one of the most dangerous and murderous places in the world.  If you want to dive deeper into the history of Medellin, I highly recommend the ESPN documentary "The Two Escobars."

But for the record, things have definitely changed. We joke in WorldTeach that the couple placed in Medellin is living in paradise. The "city of eternal spring" has been pumped with development money to turn around its rough reputation. it now boasts many things to be proud of: beautiful parks and architecture; cable cars that make public transit available for communities high into the mountainside; and of course its new reputation of beautiful women (as surgically altered and implanted as possible). It is a beautiful city, and it is neat to witness such a drastic change over such a short time. Medellin should be on everyone's list when coming to Colombia.

Colombia's famous Botero Sculptures 

DUCKS! In the Botanical Gardens.

My lovable gringo on the Metro Cable.

Beautiful graffiti art from the MetroCable

the very nice Poblado neighborhood at night.

Ecuador! (Or in other words... Thank goodness teachers get vacation too)

I made a goal for myself before coming to Colombia to travel to at least one other South American country while living on this vast continent. Some countries are easier to get to than others. So when my friend Brighid said she wanted to return to Ecuador after studying there, I jumped at the chance to join her. 

Some say Ecuador and Colombia are like twins. It’s undeniable that they are similar. But after just our first day there, we agreed that both countries have unique personalities, and I would tell anyone both countries are worth visiting. In some ways, I preferred Ecuador to Colombia. The women wear fewer heels, the food is a little bit tastier, and the indigenous culture is a little bit stronger. And many of the great things about Colombia can be found there as well- fruit juices, beautiful biodiversity, Spanish that is easy to understand. Of course living in and visiting countries are hard to compare. But I know I would love to return to Ecuador, and would put it on my list of possible places to live in the future.

So what did I love about Ecuador so much? Let me show you! (In 50 words or less for each, I promise.)

QUITO
In list form: my new favorite hostel "Travellers Inn;" amazing Mexican food at "Red Hot Chili Peppers;" giant virgins overlooking the city; the centro is the first UNESCO World Heritage site; It's like Bogota but a bit warmer and a lot smaller; the people were super friendly; and the souvenir shopping was Ah-maz-ing!

Overlooking colorful Quito with "the Wolfpack."
From left to right: Me , Natalie, Vanessa, and Brighid

OTAVALO
We joked about bring back a real alpaca, and I think we pretty much did with the amount of blankets, ponchos, hats, socks, etc we found. Stuff is made locally, with good quality, and thanks to Ecuador using the US Dollar- SO cheap. It was a little slice of consumer heaven even for the non-shoppers like me. I also loved the people wearing traditional, indigenous dress around town. The people are beautiful and seem to preserve their culture carefully despite the influx of alpaca-hungry tourists.

A beautiful (and feisty) saleslady in traditional dress. Please note all alpaca goodies behind her.
Photo courtesy of Brighid Carey. Read her version of vacation on her blog here! 

MINDO
One of my favorite places on Earth. Because: chocolate tour, sustainable eco-tourism, community ownership over development, waterfalls! butterflies! zipling and hiking and sleeping a tree house! It's a cloud forest only two hours from Quito. No Amazon this year for me, but this was a pretty wonderful consolation prize.

You can barely capture its green beauty in a picture.

...or two.

COTOPAXI
If someone asked me, "Hey, would you like to hike up the world's third largest active volcano?" My answer probably would not be an enthusiastic yes. I huffed and puffed my way a few hundred meters to the Refugio at about 16,000 ft, and had one of those "Wow, I really just did that" moments and even more surprisingly thought next, "I really want to do that again!" Volcanoes are beautiful and hiking them is badass. Also, if you weren't already sold, there were beautiful wild horses.

Photographic Evidence!

And like I said, wild freakin horses. (Cotopaxi in the clouds to the left)

Stay tuned for the second week of vacation round-up! Medellin and Guatape and Ben's visit!