Hey girl hey! I’m here to share my travel experiences with you. I grew up in a small village in the south of the
Netherlands, which has always been too small for me. On my nineteenth I went London for an internship where I lived in a hostel. I was so fascinated by all the people I met who where traveling the world, I wanted to be just like them. Now -10 years later- I’ve been to over 40 countries and currently looking for a new home in South America. My biggest dream is to start my own hostel. In this blog I will tell you about my adventures in Guatapé, Colombia! – XOXO Kris
Guatapé, Colombia: The town that tells stories
Guatapé is the perfect place to relax; the weather is nice, everyone is relaxed and the colorful town will brighten up your day. Hike up a big rock to get the best view of your life. Okay, not really but it is very very beautiful. I only spent two days there and left my backpack in Medellin. But if I hadn’t had my ticket to Ecuador yet, I would have stayed for another week, or more.
There is something about this place that is just so relaxing. I stayed in a wonderful hostel called Estaciones. It sits on a hill and has a nice view over the fields. You can take a dip in their pool and the kitchen has windows all around making it feel like you’re outside. You only pay 7$ a night. The owner is really nice too, I think she is a local woman. There is one problem with the hostel: they don’t have lockers. And sadly, someone took all my money from my bag and some other girls got robbed as well. I am pretty sure it was another traveler who thought stealing was easier than working and has no heart.
I traveled with a German girl. Together we took the bus departing from Medellin, which cost us 15$ and took around 2-3 hours. We walked to the hostel, because we only had a small bag with us. There is a big lake where you can always spot someone in a kayak. We crossed paths with a girl who wanted to go swimming but she wasn’t allowed. Why? I couldn’t figure that out. We walked over a bridge to get to the hostel and the beautiful surroundings made me very happy. I did spent a lot of time in de city before, so the nature was very refreshing. It took us 20 minutes to get to the hostel. Upon arrival we chilled at the hostel for a couple of hours, then we headed to the town.
The town is absolutely adorable, so colorful with super cute decorations! Every house tells a story. Most of the times, the decorations resemble what is going on inside the house, this applies mostly to stores. We walked around for a couple of hours but mostly took a lot of pictures. It is a delight walking around the town. I had some lunch on the square but it was not very good, I like vegetarian food and that leads to problems outside the city. The fish is suppose to be good, but I haven’t tried it. I did try some ginger chocolate from the chocolate factory and I recommend you to try it too.
On day two we went to climb the rock. A lot of people take a day trip to Guatapé. They get off the bus at the rock, this is before you go to Guatapé. The busses arrive around 10pm, so if you don’t want to get stuck with a lot of tourists, try to go before 10pm. In the afternoon it can get cloudy which can ruin your view, so the morning is the best time to climb up. We walked for an hour to get to the rock and then walked 750 steps up. This is not as hard as it looks, there are some view points where you can take a little rest. Just before you think you can’t go anymore, you have arrived. They mark the steps every 50 steps so you know how far you still need to go. On top, Guatapé looks like a forest that is flooded and only the highest trees survived. It leaves a great view of small tree islands. You can take some Instagram worthy pic’s up there. Buy yourself an ice-cream and enjoy the view!
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Top 3 Activities |
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| The town |   |
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The rock |
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| Kayaking |  |
| Top 3 Restaurants | |
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Streetfood |
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Namaste Cafe |
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Favorite travel quote
‘Never stop doing things for the first time’