Cat is a travel addict, tech nerd and former IT teacher. She is a travel blogger who uses her teaching skills to share stories and support others in planning their own adventures. She travels at every given opportunity, with the goal of experiencing a variety of different cultures and engaging in adrenaline pumping activities.
Guatape is one of those town names that gets name dropped in reference to Medellin. It is a small town approximately two hours from Medellin where there are a few sights to see.
The Guatape region was predominantly farmland, and in the 1970s a large hydroelectric dam was built. While this no doubt had negative ramifications for the local people and their lifestyle, the end result for tourists is a beautiful green landscape with water surrounding bodies of lands. It looks almost like a lagoon dotted with islands.
Peñol Replica Township
On a hill overlooking the dam is a super cute replica township, with a brightly coloured church and some stores and restaurants. It is a great place to stop for an introductory view over the lakes.
Guatape Lake/ Dam
From the replica township, we walked five minutes down the hillside to a boat which took us on a round trip cruise through a section of the lake. It was absolutely beautiful.
Some of the fascinating sights to be seen from the boat included some of the famous drug lord, Pablo Escobar’s old houses. Some in good condition and some destroyed and burned out.
The boat ride was quite a fascinating experience, with music being pumped out at top volume at 10am, people enjoying sunshine and a beer and other partying hard with congo lines and salsa dancing. It was thoroughly entertaining!
Piedra el Peñol
Piedra el Peñol is a fascinating natural rock formation that towers 200 metres over the lake. It juts straight up and out of the earth, with only quite a small footprint/diameter. You can climb the rock for 15,000 pesos, and it takes you 750 steps straight up to the top.
Ignoring the obscene number of people on the top of the rock, the views are spectacular. It’s well worth climbing the rock, ad after having taken pictures, rewarding your efforts with an ice cold beer.
Guatape Village
Guatape Village was our last stop of the day, it is also referred to as ‘Town of Zocalos’. A Zocola is a colourful concrete bas-relief scene, throughout Guatape Village many buildings have Zocolas on them, together with incredibly loud, colourful painted door and window frames.
Some people refer to Guatape as the most colourful town in Colombia, while I feel Cartagena gives it a run for it’s money in terms of colour, it really is spectacular to see. I will say the biggest disappointment of the tour, was that we didn’t have time to explore the town for ourselves. As a group we only did a 30 minute walk through and I found that incredibly disappointing.
The colours and designs I did get to see though, were not in the slightest disappointing, they were absolutely gorgeous!
Tour Options
Firstly, I would say that you are best off planning your trip to Guatape in advance. If you have the time, it is financially the best option to go it solo and stay there one night, as the day tours are a bit rushed. Going solo, you can also do it in a full day but I expect it will be challenging for time with public transport.
For time and convenience there are a number of tours available. If you try to book the night before, you are unlikely to find availability for the tour you want, which is what happened to me.
The tour I wish I had the money for…
The tour that sounds pretty awesome is the full day Pablo Escobar tour. It hits the highlights of Guatape, such as the dam, the rock and the colourful town. It also visits some of Pablo Escobar’s houses, and has a bilingual guide. It does not include any food, and costs a crazy amount of money (USD$295).
The tour I realistically wish I had done…
A friend recommended visiting Guatape with Do it in a Van. Their itinerary sounds good and it is designed for a younger crowd. my friends experience was that the tour didn’t feel too rushed and was loads of fun. Transport is in funky old vans. It is a full day tour and includes breakfast and lunch. They don’t operate every day, and as I found out, they book out in advance. The cost was reasonable, but I don’t recall exactly what it was, perhaps around 70,000 Pesos.
The tour I actually did…
I did the full day tour with some random company whose flyer was in my hostel. The cost was 90,000 pesos and included breakfast, lunch, transport and visits to the places I wanted to see, unfortunately the guide could not speak a word of English.
While the tour group wasn’t by any means young, fun or communicative, the tour achieved what we wanted it to and that was to get us to each of the places we wanted to see.
I’m personally glad I did a tour because I felt the logistics and timing of going it solo for a day trip were going to be a wee bit challenging a stressful.
Medellin was a city I instantly warmed to, and not just because it was literally warmer than any place I had been to recently. The city vibe was friendly and relaxed. I felt very welcome as a tourist and I was really excited to explore a city that had once been the most dangerous in the world.
We took on board the advice online and from other travellers about staying in the suburb El Poblado, and from there we ventured out to other areas of the city and surrounds.
Before launching into my discussion of Medellin, a quick safety lesson…
The Papaya Rule
Taught to us by our walking tour guide is the Papaya Rule, just a helpful tip for increasing your safety and reducing your risk of being pick pocketed or having things stolen.
Don’t offer the Papaya
If the Papaya is on offer, it should be taken
What that equates to is, don’t have your stuff out there for people to see and take. If you have a nice camera, don’t hold it loosely in your hand, rather use the wrist strap or neck strap and have it attached to your body. Make sure that your bag is zipped up tightly, and in crowded areas wear it on your front rather than your back.
Remain mindful of how easily accessible your stuff is, and pay attention to it.
El Poblado
El Poblado is a really trendy neighbourhood where all the hostels, cafes, restaurants are bars are. It has a very lively atmosphere, particularly after sunset when people spill out of the bars and onto the streets.
There were so many places to eat and drink, I barely even scratched the surface though my one biggest recommendation is Al Alma for breakfast, it was AMAZING!! Though, be prepared to wait for your food and drinks as service on the whole in Colombia is not quick.
While you always need to keep your wits about you, the area really is quite safe to explore. I would have been quite comfortable to walk around by myself, even after dark.
There are loads of free (and paid) walking tours available in Medellin, the one we chose to do was highly recommended by a friend we met in Salento, it was the Real City Walking tour. If you are keen to do it, you need to reserve a place online as the tour is incredibly popular and can book out a few days in advance.
We met our guide Hernan, a Paisan, who is very knowledgeable and passionate about his city.
Medellin is a city in the province of Paisaland. People from the region are referred to as Paisa’s and they identify themselves as being different from other Colombians through their display of two characteristics. They feel they are different to other Colombians and they view themselves as being better than other Colombians. As a result they are often hated by Colombians from other regions. While Hernan felt that it was not a correct view, it is one that has been ingrained in all Paisans over a long period of time. Paisaland is a a ‘gold mine’ of coffee, gold ore, mining and other things that contributed to the regions development as an industrial city. They developed the first railroad in the country, which allowed industry and trade to flourish. As a result Paisaland became more wealthy than other regions of the country, it had well developed infrastructure and became quite modern. In their travels and trade efforts Paisans saw other Colombians continuing to work very hard using traditional methods of farming and mining, and the result was that Paisan’s felt superior them.
A member of the walking tour asked a really good question at this point, as to whether Medellin’s wealth was a result of drug money, as Medellin was for a long time the drug capital of Colombia, and home to ‘famous’ drug lord Pablo Escobar. The answer was no, the city was built up as an industrial city in the past. The industrial history of the city and region allowed the city’s infrastructure to be built up prior to the drug situation developing. It was due to Pablo Escobar in the 1980’s that drugs became a big trade in the region. The jungle provided access to many lands that were not easily easily accessible or monitored. So the quantity of land and accessibility to water for shipping was the reason for Colombia’s ‘success’ in the drug industry. Pablo Escobar was shot in 1993 in Medellin, while it was not discussed, my assumption is that the safety in Colombia started to improve after his death.
Colombia’s reputation as a dangerous place was well-deserved but since the the change of government in 2002, initiatives have been put in place to increase safety. Also part of the initiative was the creation of numerous public libraries which double as community centres; they are there to provide education and support to the communities, particularly to enlighten the children that there are other opportunities in life than violence. After the initiatives were put into place, within just one year the safety increased dramatically and kidnappings decreased by 90%. While there were also many negatives associated with this initiative as it is linked to the USA Plan Colombia, which I touched on in my post about Bogota, the positive outcomes are what contribute to us being able to visit Colombia today.
Throughout the tour we saw some bits and pieces around downtown Medellin, like libraries, sculptures, the Botero sculpture park, the worlds largest church made of baked bricks (which is how it is publicised though technically inaccurate) and other sights around town. The tour was more about the stories and history of Colombia and was throughly fascinating, especially when explained from the perspective of someone who lived through the bad years and into the good. Hernan was grateful that we took the time and effort to visit his country, as unfortunately it has had a bad rap in the past, but it is important to share with the world that Colombia is a beautiful and amazing place to visit and that tourists are most definitely welcome (This was reinforced by the interruptions of various locals throughout our tour to welcome us to Colombia and thank us for visiting).
Comuna 13
After reading up a bit on Street Art and things to see in Medellin, Comuna 13 kept popping up as an area to visit. Comuna 13 is the suburb where, just ten to fifteen years ago, people were being regularly shot in the streets in broad daylight. When the Government cracked down on crime and introduced an initiative to help educate the people and increase security, the area improved dramatically. I often like to do walking tours, but then I also like to explore by myself. With my desire to Comuna 13, I did quite a bit of reading and talking to others before determining whether the solo venture would be safe. I read a great blog post on Optimism Rampage that outlined transport to the area and what they experienced when they visited in January 2016, it gave me the information I needed to set off on my own.
I started by heading to San Javier Metro Station, where the first I did was catch the Metrocable (Cable Car) up and over the hills, so that I could see the local neighbourhoods as well as a good view over the city. Riding the cable car is recommended, but getting off at any point is not. These neighbourhoods are not safe for tourists to explore. So jump on the cable car, ride a full loop and enjoy the views. A round trip if you don’t get off costs 2,125 pesos.
Back at the Metro Station, grab one of the buses to Escaleras Mechanicas for 1000 pesos. The area around the escalators is the place you want to visit. The neighbourhood is on a very steep hill and some years ago, to assist people in getting to and from their houses, a series of outdoor escalators were built. I feel that they are a source of pride within the neighbourhood and are very well maintained.
As this started to attract the tourists, the people in the neighbourhood painted their houses bright colours and filled the blank walls with beautiful, colourful street art. The people in the area are super friendly, and all greet you with a smile. The kids are in for high fives and photos. Don’t stray too far from the escalators, but definitely go and see the area, take in the colours, the art and the view. It was the highlight of Medellin city for me!
Day Trip to Guatape
Guatape is one of those places that people keep mentioning. It’s a few hours out of Medellin and worth a visit. Coming soon will be a blog post about my Guatape visit.
Accommodation
We spent our four nights in dorm rooms at Caminante Hostel. It is a new hostel in the El Poblado suburb of Medellin, which is the recommended suburb to stay in as a tourist. Caminante is a very new hostel and hasn’t yet received many reviews online, we took a chance and it paid off.
The hostel was quite modern, clean and in a great location. The staff were really helpful and friendly, and their English was pretty good. I really appreciated them making bookings for tours and taxis on my behalf as I was not able to communicate on the phone myself.
A great place to stay for sure!!
Getting There and Away
We arrived in Medellin after a 6 hour bus trip from Salento for 37,000 pesos.
Departing Medellin for Cartagena we paid 65,000 pesos for a ride to the airport and roughly USD$75 for a budget flight with VivaColombia.
Salento is a day’s bus travel west of Bogota. It is in the coffee triangle and unsurprisingly known for coffee, but also, perhaps surprisingly for the crazy tall Palm trees.
Salento Town
The town is Salento is quite small, with its main plaza perched on a hilltop.
Everywhere you look the city oozes character and charm. The buildings are painted in bright and beautiful colour combinations. The town is busy, but relaxed with a positive vibe.
The aroma of coffee wafts into the streets from the numerous cafes, as the air is filled with chatter and laughter.
Tejo
One of the things to do in Salento is play the local game of Tejo. We played at a bar called Los Amigos, where the cost of playing is free (or next to nothing) while you are drinking.
The game is played in aisles. At the end of the aisle is a mud pit containing a metal ring. Five small sachets of gun powder are placed on the ring. Standing at least two to three metres from the mud pit, you throw a metal weight at the pit, with the aim of exploding the gun powder. If your weight lands in the center of the ring and explodes all five sachets, you earn 9 points; if your weight lands in the centre of the ring it is 6 points; and an explosion is 3 points. Any of these things will finish the round. If none of these things occur, one point goes to the player whose weight is closest to the ring. The first person/team to achieve 21 points wins. It’s loads of fun!!!
Tim Edwards, the owner of our accommodation, The Plantation House owns a small coffee plantation and offers plantation tours. (Guests received a reduced tour cost, we stayed two nights and paid half the cost)
Tim does a brilliant job of explaining the different types of coffee in the world. The Robusta which originated in West Africa, has less flavour but more caffeine; and the Arabica having originated in Ethiopia, has more flavour and less caffeine.
Arabica coffee is grown between the tropics (Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn) and at altitude between 1200-1600m, preferably in some slightly acidic soil.
While Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world, producing a third of worlds coffee, Colombia certainly is a player in the industry as the fourth largest producer in the world, with over 300,000 coffee farms spread around the country.
Colombia only produces Arabica coffee, and as a result is known for quality and flavour.
There are over 100 types of Arabica. Arabica coffee is split into two broad categories: traditional and modern (moderns are hybrids of Arabica & Robusta). Most coffees grown in Columbia are modern.
After explaining the coffee varietals Tim went on to explain the process of producing coffee, from the planting the bean in sandy soil to achieve straight strong roots, through the replanting processes, harvesting, drying, shelling, through to roasting and grinding. We are able to witness the last few stages, shelling, roasting and grinding, to enjoy a super fresh cup of coffee on the plantation where it was grown.
It was a brilliant tour, one that I strongly recommend doing.
Valle de Cocora
Costs: Jeep ride 2,600 pesos each way 5,000 pesos entry to the hummingbird house, includes a hot drink (optional) 12,000 pack lunch from Brunch on the Main Street (optional)
Valle de Cocora is a short 30minute jeep ride from Salento, and the number one thing to visit in the area. The jeeps typically leave the main plaza of Salento by 7:30, so you need to get there early. Valle de Cocora is a combination of rolling hills with crazy tall Palm trees towering over the lands, and mountainous rainforest trails.
The area is fantastic for hiking a loop through the various mountains, hills and vegetation.
Start the loop by taking the branch to the right. It follows the river up into lush rainforest. The walk is a little challenging, but absolutely gorgeous.
After about 5km you reach the entry point for Acaime, the hummingbird house. While there is an entry cost, I would highly recommend the visit. The hummingbirds are beautiful and quite happily flit between the bird feeders and flowers.
After visiting the hummingbirds, there is an additional side trek to a waterfall if that tickles your fancy. As we were hiking in the rain, and the visit would have added 5km to our walk we decided against it.
When you return to the entry point of the hummingbirds, despite what the sign says, take the branch to the right and continue up the hill. Slowly the vegetation thins out and you pop out on a hill top. This is a great spot to sit and eat your packed lunch or snacks.
The walk down the hill is an easy walk down a road which leads you through all the giant Wax Palms (Palma de Cera), which I believe may be some of the worlds tallest palm trees. I found them to be absolutely beautiful and was the reason I wanted to visit Salento.
Note: In theory there is food and toilets available at the point where the jeeps drop you off, but they are not open at 8am. So come prepared as that is the only place to buy food. There are toilets at the hummingbird house for 1000 pesos per use.
Breakfast – Brunch on the Main Street leading to the plaza. Portion sizes are enormous, they have a great selection of menu items at a reasonable price and have free coffee refills
Lunch – La Casona on the main square has some traditional dishes for a good price. I enjoyed a dish called Patacon con todo (Patacon with everything). Patacon is a giant crispy piece of fried plantain. On top was mince meat, cheese and salsa. It was delicious, but you need to be prepared for getting your fingers dirty, as this is a meal eaten with your hands.
Dinner – Cafe Bernabe has a fantastic menu, also at a reasonable cost. Their cuisine is fresh, healthy and delicious. I ate an eggplant dish reminiscent of a vegetarian lasagna and it was amazing!
Accommodation
With four of us we rented a four bed dorm room with shared bathroom for 25,000pesos per night at The Plantation House
I really liked the location of the property, on the outskirts of town where it was nice and quiet, surrounded by trees.
Breakfast was not included, but there was free coffee and wifi. With Columbia experiencing an extreme drought, the water to the property was only turned on for approximately eight hours a day, split over three time periods.
Getting There and Away
To get to Salento we took the 10pm night bus to Armenia from Bogota. It cost 54,000 pesos and took approximately eight hours, arriving ahead of schedule at 5am.
On arrival in Armenia we took the half hourly shuttle to Salento. It cost around 4000 pesos and took about an hour.
Departing Salento, we caught a bus to Medellin for 37,000 pesos, taking approximately 6 hours.
When in Baños I enjoyed chatting to a fellow Netherlander, when asking for his highlights from his Colombian visit he mentioned the salt cathedral in Zipaquira, a short day trip out of Bogota. On seeing his photos I promptly added it to my To-See list.
La Catedral de Sal
Cost: 50,000 pesos for entry and tour
Zipaquira is home to a large salt mine. As it was being used so heavily and miners lived underground for long periods of time, a cathedral was built inside the mine.
Many years on the Cathedral has been developed as a tourist attraction though it stills houses a functioning Cathedral offering weekly mass, that is also available for weddings.
The tour leads you into the mine from a hillside, you are led through the stations of the cross, through the naves and to the main altar. Each part of the cathedral has a monument, a cross, carving or sculpture. Everything has been created with great attention to detail and in fine carving work. They are all highlighted with coloured lighting, for stunning visual effect.
Wandering through a cathedral, up to 180 metres under the ground is an eerie but awe inspiring experience. Under the ground is both calm and beautiful. The guide I had was fantastic – both informative and with a great sense of humour and I absolutely loved my visit,
Getting There
To catch local buses you need to buy a transit card and top it up with money, ask the seller about the cost of a return ride to Zipaquira and entry into the stations and get that amount on the card. We used a combination of taxis and buses, so I lost count of costs, but I think it’s somewhere in the vicinity of 20,000 pesos round trip by bus.
To get to Zipaquira, catch a bus to Portal Norte. From Portal Norte get the bus to Zipaquira.
Returning, jump on a bus on the main street of Zipaquira that is headed to Bogota. Change buses at Portal Norte and jump on the J72 to Las Aguas.
After a late night arrival and only a few hours sleep, my friends Steve, Jake, Laura and I hit the streets of Bogota for our one day of exploring the city.
Conveniently we were exploring on a Sunday which meant that entry to all museums was free and most central streets were closed to cars, which filled the city with people and street stalls. We visited Museo del Botero, Casa de Moneda and Museo del Oro. I’m not much a museum person, so I have simply provided a short summary of each of the museums. Aside from exploring the city on foot we also did the Graffiti walking tour and rode the cable car to the top of Montserrate for an awesome view of the city.
Museo del Botero
Museo del Botero is an art gallery primarily displaying the artwork of Fernando Botero. His style is to represent women, men, animals as ‘voluminous’ or in my words, fat. In addition to the quirky artwork, then architecture of the building is beautiful. It is very Spanish looking, whitewashed, multiple archways leading to an internal courtyard with a garden and fountain.
Casa de Moneda
Attached to the Museo del Botero is the Casa de Moneda, a museum about the history of the currency in Columbia. It then also extends into another art gallery with a wide variety of works in various styles.
Museo del Oro
Further into the centre of town is the museum of gold, which informs the visitor of the history of gold mining in Ecuador. Showcased as also many traditional gold artifacts.
Plaza Bolivar
The main central square of the city is Plaza Bolivar. It is flanked on all sides by beautiful historic buildings. The plaza is a hub of activity, with street sellers of food and toys. Kids whizzing around on roller blades and bikes.
One of the main streets runs through the plaza, though I have forgotten the name. It is worth wandering down the main streets to enjoy the atmosphere, the local street performance art and random games, such as guinea pig racing. The streets were also full of various stalls selling almost anything you might want to look for.
The Bogota Graffiti Tour is a free walking tour (tips based) around the Candelaria area of the city and then continuing into downtown, where the artwork becomes more politically based.
Our tour guide Jay was absolutely brilliant at explaining the various art styles, as well as discussing the various artists their styles, history and motivation.
We were able to see numerous pieces by the same artist, and given visual indictors to look for in identifying the work of each of these artists. For example, the work of an artist referred to as Rodez can be identified by the use of multiple eyes and large array of colours. Jay’s intricate knowledge of the styles of each of the individual artists and the way he taught us to identify the artists made the tour so much more fascinating and personable.
Though I am not by any means a politically minded person, some of the more controversial and fascinating stories Jay had to share were regarding Plan Columbia and a concept referred to as False Positives. To assist Columbia combat the drugs issue, the USA implemented an initiative called Plan Columbia in the late 90s. While there is debate as to whether the initiative was successful or not. There were some definite negative results. Possibly the most negative result of the initiative, were the false positives. There was some form of reward for killing guerillas (I’m no expert on the matter, so I am not going to say who was providing the reward or what type of reward it was, though I suspect financial). In order to gain a greater reward and appear to have greater success in the war on drugs, many civilians were kidnapped, dressed in guerilla clothing and murdered. These deaths were referred to as False Positives and were absolutely horrendous. While the US may have had good intentions, this was a case where the assistance may have been misguided and done more harm than good.
So much of the art was absolutely spectacular and I would highly recommend the tour!
Montserrate
To round off our visit to Bogota, we watched a sunset from the peak of Montserrate. Access to the mountain top is via cable car and/or funicular. I was given the recommendation to catch the funicular up and ride the cable car down, but the funicular was not running that evening. No matter which transport method you use the cost of a return ticket during the day is 18,000 pesos, or 19,000 pesos after 5:30pm.
The view of Bogota from Monsterrate was absolutely spectacular. It gave a good overview of just how far the city sprawls. As the sun dropped in the sky bathing the city in golden light, the street lights came up and the busy street network became visible.
The sunset from the mountain was the best way to end our visit!
Accomodation
We stayed in Casa Bellavista Hostel for a reasonable cost per night with a delicious breakfast included; 28,000 pesos per night. The location was in La Candelaria, it was close to many bars and food options. It was easy to walk to all of the things we wanted to see, and there was loads of street art in the area.
I left cold Salasaka behind me and headed for the warmth of Columbia, a multi-day road trip with a few stops along the way. I started in Salasaka, Ecuador and finished in Bogota, Columbia, stopping in Ipiales, Popayan and Cali along the way.
Ipiales
Ipiales is mostly a border town with not a whole lot to offer, except surprisingly an incredibly stunning sanctuary/church which straddles a gorge over the Guáitara River with high arches.
Las Lajas Sanctuario is church built based on the story of a woman and her deaf daughter who sought shelter in a storm, and a miracle occurred when the daughter saw an apparition and regained her hearing and voice. The first shrine was built in 1756, and since has been redeveloped and the church in its current form was built between 1916 and 1949.
I thought the stop in Ipiales was well worth it to see this stunning piece of archtecture nestled into the surrounding landscape. Visits are free, but the taxi ride costs approximately $3 each way.
Popayan
Popayan is listed in the Lonely Planet guide as a hidden gem that most tourists miss, so I decided not to miss it. With a late night arrival and a hotel booked in the bad part of town, my first response was to get out as soon as possible.
However, after a night of rest I was determined to see what exactly Lonely Planet was on about. So off I went in a taxi to the historic part of town, and wasn’t disappointed.
The historic centre of Popayan is all whitewashed colonial style architecture reminiscent of the Spanish occupation. The avenues are wide, cobble stones and super cute to explore. If you happen to be passing through this town it a worth a stop to explore, just be sure to get a hotel/hostel in the historic part of town.
Cali
Cali is a city known for Salsa, while I didn’t engage in any dancing I did however find the suburbs of San Antonio to be full of character and charm, not to mention absolutely fantastic street art.
Wandering after dark by yourself probably isn’t a brilliant idea, but exploring the streets by day is an absolutely brilliant idea. Wander, get lost, look at the walls around you and of course make stops in the gorgeous cafe’s for delicious coffee and tasty treats.
I stayed at Kingbird Hostel in San Antonio, which I would highly recommend for location, atmosphere and awesome staff.
Ecuador-Columbia Border Crossing
The border town on the Ecuadorian side is called Tulcan, and the border town on the Columbian side is called Ipiales. Neither town is exactly on the border, so you can catch buses to these towns and then a taxi to/from the actual border. Once you clear migration on one side, you walk across the bridge to the migration on the other side. It was probably the easiest border crossing I have ever completed.
Transport Summary
Bus: Salasaka to Quito (via Ambato)
$4
4hrs
Bus: Quito to Tulcan
$7
6.5hrs
Taxi: Ecuador border
$3.50
10mins
Walk: across Ecuador-Columbia border
$0
20mins incl. immigration
Taxi: Ipiales
$8 (was ripped off majorly)
10mins
Bus: Ipiales to Popayan
$11
8.5hrs
Bus: Popayan to Cali
$5
3hrs
Flight: Cali to Bogota
* I decided I was prepared to spend more money to save myself yet another 10hr bus ride!
Baños is a small town four hours south of Quito by bus. The full name of the town is Baños de Agua Santa, which translates to Baths of Holy Water. The town got it’s name from the abundance of natural hot springs and waterfalls in the region.
The mountainous region developed into what is essentially the adventure capital of Ecuador. It is here that you can engage in all sorts of outdoor activities, such as the adrenaline pumping sports of Canyoning, Puenting, White Water Rafting, Mountain Biking through to more sedate activities such as swinging over a cliffs edge, hiking, visiting waterfalls and bathing the natural hot springs.
The number of activities you engage in obviously depends on time, budget and interests. During my time in the rural Ecuadorian town of Salasaca, I made two weekend trips to Baños.
In that time I only got around to completing a few of the activities on offer…
Hiking Chimborazo
Cost: Free
My first weekend adventure was spent together with eight other volunteers from the volunteer house in Salasaka. We headed to a volcano called Chimborazo, which claims to be the highest mountain in the world, 2 kilometres taller than Mount Everest when measure from the centre of the earth.
We caught the bus to a starting point at 4300 metres, signed in at the office and started walking upwards.
While we could see the volcano was snow-capped, the starting point was dry, dusty and to me, moon-like. There was very little vegetation and a few wild vicuñas on the lookout for food.
With the high elevation, walking was very slow going, but the company was fabulous and the views simply spectacular.
At 4800 metres we stopped for lunch and a hot drink, as we were all completely frozen and had burned all our energy with the uphill hike. After the brief respite, we continued onwards past the second refuge to the lake at top, Condor Cocha, our highest point of elevation at 5100 metres.
Puenting
Cost: $20 + $5 for the cd of photos and video
In Spanish the word Puente means bridge, the activity referred to as Puenting is a pendulum bridge swing.
There are a few bridges in the Baños region where you can go puenting, I simply walked to the bridge over Rio Pastaza behind the bus station and local market. I spoke to the people running the operation on the bridge, paid and jumped off.
You can book and pay for a puenting experience at any of the Adventure Centres around town.
Casa Del Arbol
Cost: $1
Casa Del Arbol is a treehouse on top of the hill overlooking Baños, with some swing attached. Perched on the hilltop, it appears as though you swing off the edge of the world.
Swinging off the edge of the world was Bucket List Item 35 for me, and despite it not being a particularly high thrill activity, I loved every second of it!
You can either book a trip to Casa Del Arbol with one of the adventure companies or catch a local bus up and down. With a company it may cost around $12 or more, independently using public transport will add up to a total of $3. Buses are infrequent, so check the times carefully.
Pialon del Diabolo
Cost: $1
Ideally with enough time and good weather I would recommend renting a bicycle and cycling Ruta de Los Cascadas – the waterfall route. Alternately you can book a trip on a camioneta with any one of the adventure companies and they will transport you from place to place for approximately $6, not including entrance fees..
There are so many waterfalls in the area and they are all simply stunning and worth a visit.
Due to time limitations not to mention the incessant rain, I caught a local bus to Rio Verde for 50 cents each way, and walked the short distance to Pialon del Diabolo, the Devil’s Cauldron.
If you want to have a really good look at the waterfall and explore the area, then ideally you should wear a swimsuit and leave your electronics at home. Pialon del Diabolo is an incredible waterfall, with a huge volume of water. No matter how far away you are, you will be splashed as the water rushes down the mountainside.
Canyoning
Cost: $30
On the recommendation of so many people I have met, Canyoning was added to my To Do list in Baños. Again, basically every company offers half and full day canyoning adventures.
Canyoning involves descending through a canyon, in the water, by means of rappelling, zip-lining, jumping and riding natural water slides. It is absolutely truck loads of fun!
A good friend of mine highly recommended the company Natural Magic for a canyoning trip, based on the professionalism and safety standards of the company. I was not disappointed at all!
My guide John was fantastic, there were no issues along the way, we all felt safe and had a brilliant adventure. We chose the half day canyoning adventure down Rio Blanco for $30.
My preference would have been the full day adventure down Cashaurco Canyon, but with temperatures of 2 -4 degrees celsius forecast, I was unwilling to spend quite so much time in the cold.
Food and Drink in Baños
It feels like there are literally hundreds of food and drink options in Baños. Some places I have been and like are:
Honey – good food coffee and cake
Hickory – delicious, good value, burgers
Pizza Al Pazo – reasonably good pizzas, well priced, quirky decor and friendly staff
Casa Hood – cosy atmosphere and a good range of cuisine at a reasonable price
Stray Dog Brewpub – some decent food such as burgers, also a nice (but expensive) range of beers
In one of the main food streets you will also find an opportunity to taste the local delicacy “Cuy”, known in the English language as Guinea Pig. A whole one costs $22, but assuming you just want to taste, a piece costs $3.
For two and a half weeks in July 2016, I worked as a volunteer teacher during Summer School at a community school in rural Ecuador. Escuela Katitawa can be found in the small town of Salasaka, approximately three hours by bus from Quito.
Salasaca
Salasaca is a really tiny town. It has one main street and the other few streets are residential. There are a few small stores, an ice creamery, a bar and a very small souvenir market.The locals are incredibly friendly and welcoming.
If you ever need to grocery shop, get laundry done or complete any other similar chores, then the neighbouring town of Pelileo is the place to go (a 25c bus ride down the road).
Day-to-Day Volunteering at Escuela Katitawa
The Volunteers
The school and library are primarily staffed by overseas volunteers, of which I was one. During my time at Escuela Katitawa my fellow volunteers included some men from the U.S.A, Italy, France, two women from Great Britain, a couple from Italy and a couple from Belgium. For the last twelve years an older gentleman from the U.S.A. has run the school.
The volunteers live together in a volunteer house and do everything together, eat, work, play games in free time. During the weekends there is nothing to do in Salasaka so the volunteers often go on a group adventure to nearby areas for hiking and other fun adventures. On one occasion nine of us hiked an inactive volcano, Chimborazo, to 5100 metres; before heading to the adventure capital of Ecuador, Baños to jump off the bridge in a bridge swing (puenting) and soak in the thermal pools.
The camaraderie amongst volunteers is what makes the experience worthwhile.
The School
The school is a 25 minute walk, or a five minute ride on the back of a truck, up the hill from the Volunteer House and Library. The walk can be a little daunting as the dogs from local properties tend to get defensive and bark at you as you walk by; some dogs also chase you. Typically they are all bluff.
The School has four main classrooms; one office for the Principal; two composting toilets; a yard to play in; an organic garden; and a kitchen and dining hall.
Each of the classrooms have some tables and chairs and a small whiteboard. Unfortunately though the school has no electricity and no heating, so both teachers and students are always rugged up in many layers of warm clothing.
Most, but not all doors lock, which means that overnight many items (including toilet paper) need to be relocated to prevent theft.
The Library
The Volunteer House and Library are two joined buildings that can be found by the roadside a few kilometers from central Salasaka.
Community members may purchase library membership for just a few dollars per year to have access to the books, or they may pay a few dollars per month for internet access.
In addition to functioning as a library, the library building is also used for private tuition lessons. It has two classrooms and one open space where the books and main desk are found.
The Volunteer House
The Volunteer House is both the level above the Library and the building beside it. Several years after construction began, it is still under construction.
There is a communal kitchen, dining room, living room, wifi zone and bathroom. There are several dorm style bunkrooms. Most rooms have a small ensuite, though some lack doors, functioning sinks or toilets. None of the ensuites have a functioning shower. All volunteers share the bathroom above the library for access to the shower. The shower is the only place in the building where hot water can be found.
Several of the windows in the building lack glass, the living room window is a sheet of clear plastic and the kitchen has two holes where windows belong. There is no form of insulation or heating in the building, which once again means that all volunteers are permanently rugged up against the cold.
Laundry can be done either in a cold tub of water by hand, or it can be taken to the neighbouring town of Pelileo where rates are very reasonable.
In my second week we had no water for three days out of four, which creates major issues for cooking, bathing and going to the toilet.
If it weren’t for the amazing people I have worked with, I would not have stayed very long living in these rustic conditions.
It costs $7.50 per day to volunteer with Escuela Katitawa, or $20 per week. The money goes towards the running of the volunteer house (such as food for the volunteers, gas and electricity), school resources and construction materials.
The Daily Schedule
7:00 Porridge breakfast is prepared for the volunteers 7:30 The truck departs for the school, if you miss it, you walk 8:00 The first lesson of the day begins 9:30 Students have a short break, during which time they can buy crisps from the kitchen and play in the yard 10:00 The second lesson of the day begins 11:00 Students have a short five minute break to run around, some students change classes at this point in time eg. The five year olds switch from Mathematics to English 12:00 Lessons finish for the day 12:30 Lunch is provided for the volunteers in the school dining hall. It is typically vegetable soup or rice with vegetables 1:00 Volunteers typically walk back to the volunteer house to hang out, or perhaps travel into Salasaka or Pelilieo to do groceries or laundry 4:00 From 4pm until 8pm, volunteers are assigned hour long private tuition sessions with students. Students range in age from 5 years old through to adults. They may study subjects such as English, French or Mathematics. I suspect tutoring would be provided in any subject requested 8:00 Around 8pm the student are provided with a delicious vegetarian meal prepared by Margarita
Summary of the experience
After a 12 month sabbatical from the classroom I was quite excited about this volunteer teaching opportunity. Overall I felt I was able to help the students a little bit, but generally I found the experience more frustrating and disappointing than anything else.
The living conditions were incredibly rustic and I couldn’t cope with being freezing the whole time, no matter how many layers of clothes I wore.
I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know some of the locals and feel welcomed into their community. I also really enjoyed getting to know and work with other volunteers.
Some aspects of the volunteering program were enjoyable, but if I were to volunteer elsewhere, I would certainly look for a placement that was more effectively organised, with better overall conditions.
The Galapagos Islands are ancient islands formed through volcanic activity, off the west coast of Ecuador. They were discovered by a man from Panama, named Tomás de Berlanga in 1535. The islands were claimed by Ecuador in 1832. In 1835 Charles Darwin visited the region in order to explore the islands and research the geology, botany and zoology, in order to find evidence supporting his theory of evolution. Despite Darwin having not spent a great deal of time on the islands, his name has since been tightly coupled with any references to the Galapagos.
The Galapagos Islands are particularly special because there is an incredible biodiversity, and they have been well protected from human influence and damage. It is on the islands that you can see a wide variety of land and sea creatures that are not seen elsewhere in the world.
Despite being a volcanic region, there are currently only two islands with active volcanoes: Isabella and Fernandina. Unsurprisingly, we did not visit either of these two islands.
Galapagos Islands Tour
In July 2016 I ticked off bucket list item number 2, which was to take my mum to see the Galapagos Islands, something that was a life long dream for her. For ten days we toured together with family, friends and strangers on the Intrepid Travel Tour: Complete Galapagos (Daphne). The tour was all on a boat called the Daphne and our guide Wilo had recently been awarded “Best Guide in South America” by Intrepid. The crew were brilliant: Luis was a great Captain who got us everywhere safely; Benny and Herman took us everywhere in the zodiacs; Luis was a fantastic barman/waiter; Eric and Segundo prepared delicious meals for us daily; and Carlos kept the boats running.
There are a few reasons why I regularly tour with Intrepid, one of which is their commitment to supporting the community. Their stand on community support is in the case of the Galapagos backed up by legal requirements. Anyone who works as a guide or in any other capacity in the Galapagos Islands MUST be a resident of the Galapagos. This ensures the economic support of the islands, by providing income and jobs. It also means that you typically encounter people that have a vast amount of knowledge and passion for their home.
When to visit
I am sure the Galapagos Islands are amazing to visit at any time of the year. Despite the cold currents and high winds, July was a great time to visit as we were able to see many of the birds nesting. In some cases, July is the only time of year when certain birds are seen on land. For the bird lovers in my group, this was a dream come true.
Isla Baltra
As the plane descended to land on Isla Baltra I can say I have never experienced such an intense buzz of anticipation emanating from all the passengers in the plane. We were all so curious to see what awaited us!
Baltra is an arid island, and for us, was only the point of arrival and departure. Within an hour of landing we headed across to Isla Santa Cruz by ferry.
Isla Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is one of the few inhabited islands, with a population of approximately 23,000 people.
The main visit on Isla Santa Cruz was to a private farm where Giant Tortoises can be found after wandering into the highlands from the National Park. The land has been cleared, making it easy for the tortoises to find a greater variety and quantity of food.
The tortoises typically eat large quantities in the cold season, then travel to the lowlands to lay eggs.
A large old male can weigh up to 250kilograms. Tortoises never stop growing, though over time their growth rate simply slows down.
To see Giant Tortoises, Santa Cruz is the best island to visit.
Floreana
Floreana is another inhabited island, with a population of just 120. We visited an uninhabited portion of the island.
Our first stop was to Post Office Bay. Post Office Bay has a large barrel containing mail (letters and postcards), traditionally sailors would stop by here to collect the post to deliver mail to other islands they were heading to. Now tourists leave postcards there, so that other tourists may hand deliver them if the destination is near their home. It’s a really fun idea!
From there we walked to a lava tunnel where we did a short exploration in the dark and even swam to the end. The idea of hiking and swimming in a lava tunnel is so cool! But realistically, the one we visited was just like many caves I have visited.
Back on the beach, we went for our first snorkel in the Galapagos. We had the brilliant fortune of being able to see a large number of Sea Turtles in a range of sizes. We also saw some stingrays and fish.
The Sea Turtles were however, the highlight for me. They are such beautiful creatures, moving so gracefully through the water. I was also very impressed that they did not pay much attention to us and happily went about their business of eating, breathing and swimming as we watched in awe.
Devil’s Crown
Just off the coast of Floreana Island is a volcanic crater with a coral reef in the centre referred to as Devil’s Crown, and one of the best snorkelling sites in the Galapagos.
Dropping into the chilly water was rewarded with fantastic visibility and an abundance of sea life. We saw a huge variety of fish, not to mention a shark, eagle ray and marble ray.
Punta Cormorant
We finished our visit to Floreana with an afternoon walk across the island from one side to the other at a place referred to as Punta Cormorant.
Through the centre we were able to observe flamingos eating in the lagoon.
Across the island was a beautiful beach where we were able to observe the brightly coloured sally lightfoot crabs scampering over the rocks. We also watched the pelicans and blue footed boobies diving into the water to feed off fish.
Espanola
Española was the first uninhabited island we visited. An island where we made two stops.
Punta Suarez
Punta Suarez was our landing point on the island for a nature stroll. Instantly upon landing we were surprised to see hundreds of Marine Iguanas chilling out, soaking up the sun on the black rocks and warm sand. The Marine Iguanas eat red and green algae that grows on the rocks under the water, through their diet their skin has acquired a red colour and sometimes you can also see the green colour.
The Iguanas on Española are so abundant, it makes it challenging to walk, as every few steps you almost tread on one who has blended into the environment so well and is laying to perfectly still.
In addition to the Igaunas, we saw Lava Lizards, Frigate Birds, Nazca (Masked) Boobies and Albatross’.
The Nazca Boobie, was previously known as the Masked Boobie. In 2001 the name was changed to Nazca Boobie after the name of the tectonic plate on which the Galapagos Islands can be found.
Gardner Bay
We spent a lazy afternoon soaking up the sunshine and hanging out with the Sea Lions and Pelicans on the beach of Gardners Bay.
On the way back to the boat, Wilo, Andrea and I took one last dive to check out a sleeping Galapagos Shark on the reef.
As the sun began to drop and we motored our way to the next island, we were incredibly lucky to get an escort. A pod of bottlenose dolphins, jumped, swam and spiralled in the bow wave of the boat for about 15 minutes as we shrieked in delight.
San Cristobal
Mid way through our tour we made a visit to the inhabited island of San Cristobal. The population of San Cristobal is around 8000.
It was here that we said goodbye to some of our tour buddies and said hello to some new ones.
Kicker Rock
Prior to arriving at San Cristobal we had a 6am snorkel at Kicker Rock. Kicker Rock looks like an island with a hill, but to one side it appears to have split. It was through this split in the rocks that we snorkelled in search of sharks.
Everyone was an incredibly good sport about getting into the icy waters at 6am. Unfortunately our early morning diligence was not rewarded with good visibility. Close to the rocks you could see some nice coral, fish and algae. But through the center of the chasm all you could see was blue. At one stage through this blue a galapagos shark was spotted heading straight for my aunt and I. Hearing our tiny shrieks of surprise, the shark disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Island Adventures
On land, we said our goodbyes and gave hugs, before enjoying a spot of souvenir shopping as well as coffee and wifi connections.
Having recruited our new tour members, we enjoyed a brief land excursion starting with a visit to the Interpretation Centre.
The Interpretation Centre provided some geological facts about the islands and their formation. It also covered the history of the islands, and other information regarding its inhabitants, lifestyle, geology, botany and zoology. We continued through the visitor centre up to the viewpoint and statue of Charles Darwin, which was great for some photos.
From downtown San Cristobal we headed into the highlands to see another farm for Giant Tortoises, so that our new tour buddies would have an opportunity to see them.
We finished the day with a visit to Lake Junco which is at the peak of the island. This gave us a great panoramic view of the island as a whole, as well as the crater lakes nearby.
Isla Santa Fe
Exploring the uninhabited island of Santa Fe was indeed a treat as it was the first chance we had to see the Yellow Land Iguanas. Much like the Marine Iguanas, these guys were super chilled out, and only occasionally opened their eyes to check where you were in relation to them. I was impressed too, by the bright yellow in their skin, perhaps coming from their diet of Prickly Pear Cactus.
During our walk we also saw Sea Lions, and a variety of different birds.
Snorkelling
With our new tour buddies we dropped into the ocean once more. At this site we again saw a huge variety of sea life. The notable fish I saw included a Scorpion Fish, Mexican Hawkfish, Blue-Eyed Damselfish and Cornet Fish. We also got the opportunity to swim with playful Sea Lions and a lethargic (thankfully) White Tipped Reef Shark.
Plaza Sur
The Plazas Islands are a pair of Islands: Plaza Sur and Plaza Norte.
Plaza Norte is heavily protected and no one is allowed to visit. Plaza Sur is however a great spot to go for a walk along the island trails to see both Land and Marine Iguanas, Sea Lions, Tropical Birds, Swallow Tailed Gulls, Red Billed Tropic Birds and Blue Footed Boobies.
Genovesa
Genovesa is another uninhabited island where we took some opportunities to snorkel and walk.
Snorkelling
This was the place I was most excited about as it provided the opportunity to swim with Hammerhead Sharks! Unfortunately, the visibility wasn’t fantastic and I got only the tiniest snippet of video footage and no photographs before my GoPro went flat, but I was lucky enough to see five or six of these majestic, not to mention HUGE creatures! I was bouncing off the walls with excitement!
The other highlight of snorkelling here was to see a huge school a Manta Ray swimming directly below me. It was amazing to see them swimming as such a tight cluster.
In addition to the Hammerheads and Mantas, we saw a large range of fish species including Parrot Fish and Angelfish.
Walking
We made two land trips, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
In the morning we landed on the beach and wandered along the rocks to see Red Footed Boobies, Frigate Birds, Swallow Tailed Gulls and Nazca Boobies.
Our afternoon walk started with a steep ascent up the Prince Phillip Steps. Named after the prince who stumbled down them in 1972. Up on the clifftops we found the nesting grounds for a variety of the bird species’. We saw the Swallow Tailed Gulls, Red Footed and Nazca Boobies with their chicks.
We were also incredibly lucky to spot the Short Eared Owl (seven of them in fact, when spotting even just one is a rarity). The Short-Eared Owls are quite evil creatures, to hunt they don’t swoop down on their prey. Rather they hide in the burrows of their prey, awaiting their arrival before attacking them as they enter their home. It seems rather evil to me, but clearly it is effective as the birds haven’t starved into extinction.
Santiago Island
Sullivans Bay on Santiago Island was the place that I considered most fascinating in terms of the landscape. The entire landscape that we explored was 140 year old, cooled black lava.
What I found so fascinating were the patterns in the lava, the lava flow visibly change direction at some points. Some sections had tight ripples, other loose ripples and other sections were flat and smooth.
Over time, the layers of lava have occasionally split and cracked, enabling you to see the layers in the dried lava, with it’s various degrees of density and colour. Unsurprisingly, there was no animal life to be found here.
An afternoon snorkel around the islands’ coast was also fascinating, seeing the rippled lava under the water. It was here that we saw a beautiful juvenile turtle enjoying lunch, a variety of fish and for the first and last time, a Tiger Eel.
Bainbridge Rocks
In our travels from one island to the next, we passed by Bainbridge Rocks. A volcanic crater with a lagoon in the middle. The lagoon is often home to flamingoes, but on this occasion we weren’t lucky enough to see any.
Despite missing the flamingoes, I personally found the island/crater to be simply stunning and was not in the least bit disappointed at the lack of flamingoes!
Rabida Island
Our visit to the uninhabited Rabida Island was our last island visit. We enjoyed a walk and a snorkel.
Walking around Rabida
On first seeing Rabida Island, I feel we were all surprised at how red it was. The earth was a deep ochre colour everywhere you looked. The red looked magnificent set against the silver coloured, bare, incense trees and the lush green prickly pear cactus’.
Snorkelling along Rabida’s Coast
Our last snorkelling trip of the Galapagos Adventure was around the coastline of Rabida from one bay to another. As usual we saw a large variety of fish, some Sea Turtles and Starfish.
We were also on the lookout for more sharks, at least I was. I was not disappointed, and in fact was a little put out by the large number of sharks we came across. To start with I enjoyed swimming a few metres above a large a wonderfully graceful Galapagos shark. Soon he crossed paths with two others. As I continued on, another two were not simply swimming along the bottom, but headed upwards towards me. While I am sure we would not have been snorkelling if these sharks posed a threat, having a two metre shark swimming in your direction is not a comforting feeling.
I continued on and soon the number of sharks increased to about seven, mostly staying low in the water, until one swam past me at chest height, in the two metre gap between me and the rocks. This was incredibly exciting, but at the same time, I felt I had had my fill of sharks for the day and I climbed aboard one the zodiacs to get a birds eye view of the shark ‘infested’ waters while soaking up some warmth from the sun.
Santa Cruz
We finished our tour back where we started, on the Island of Santa Cruz. Before packing and disembarking, we had one last boat trip on the zodiacs into Black Turtle Cove.
It was a very relaxing way to start the day, so serene between the mangroves, with the serenity of sunrise and the perfectly still water.
Looking through the waters surface amongst the red and black mangroves we managed to see baby Black Tip Sharks, Eagle Ray, baby Puffer Fish and Sea Turtles.
It was with this last picture in our minds that we packed up, hugged the crew and headed back to civilization.
What an amazing adventure, the words simply don’t describe how awesome this experience was!!
The tour on this occasion cost $45 per person for five people, excluding lunch and the pools entry fee of $8.50.
The drive from Quito to Papallacta took around two hours, with the highest point a pass at 4100 metres. The variation in landscape at the changing altitudes was gorgeous! Also we all had our eyes glued to the road and roadside bushes in the hope of seeing a spectacled bear, but we were sadly disappointed.
The thermal hot springs are at an altitude of 3250 metres, they are set in the mountains with a river running by. The pools water is said to be good for: “respiratory, digestive, renal and skin conditions; bones and articulation pain; improves circulation blood and removing toxins; stress, insomnia and anxiety; and relax muscles and relieve tensions.”
The day we visited was ridiculously cold, so we headed straight for the hottest pool and didn’t move for at least an hour, when we were well cooked.
It was so calming to sit in the pools, soak up all the natural minerals into our tired and sore bodies, watch the steam rise from the pools and look into the skies at the mountain pics searching for condors.
After the exhaustion of continuous travel, the time out in the hot pool was just what I needed!
On a hill overlooking the dam is a super cute replica township, with a brightly coloured church and some stores and restaurants. It is a great place to stop for an introductory view over the lakes.
From the replica township, we walked five minutes down the hillside to a boat which took us on a round trip cruise through a section of the lake. It was absolutely beautiful.
Piedra el Peñol is a fascinating natural rock formation that towers 200 metres over the lake. It juts straight up and out of the earth, with only quite a small footprint/diameter. You can climb the rock for 15,000 pesos, and it takes you 750 steps straight up to the top.
Guatape Village was our last stop of the day, it is also referred to as ‘Town of Zocalos’. A Zocola is a colourful concrete bas-relief scene, throughout Guatape Village many buildings have Zocolas on them, together with incredibly loud, colourful painted door and window frames.
