El Penon de Guatape of Colombia

 

#RockGuatapeColombia

The rock of Guatape has 650 stairs to climb to the top
 The slowest part of the ascend is the beginning because of the many people who thought they were fit and were not
 So they clog up the narrow staircase trying to catch their breath plus all of a sudden decide to stretch 
But once i was past that, your guy did the roundtrip twice in around one hour

KeyTip;
 Because the Colombian Peso is so devalued it will cost you (at a great bargain) around
$5.00 US for an entrance fee
 Also if taking a bus from Medellin its around $6.00 US for a 3 hour ride
Now in most cases you will need cash for your admission fee, the water/snacks plus transportation

Finally;
 Needless to say do not drink the tap water and bring your own toilet paper

Early History
Before modern day Colombia
 The local indigenous people (Tahami ) viewed the rock as an object of worship, as El Penon has stood for millions of years in this area of Antioquia region

The Meaning
Guatape translated; is stones plus water in Quechua
 This is an Indigenous language that originated in central Peru and spread to others countries
 near the Andes Mountains

Beginnings
The rock has had several exciting theories about its origins;
 From an ancient meteorite, being an extinct volcano, maybe even the Gods had created it

 But Sorry
 Here is the boring explanation,
 the mass of granite was less fractured than the surrounding bedrock and it just survived
thousands of years of erosion. 

National Monument
 El Penon got this designation in the 1940s

30% Done 
Only 400 more steps to go, for one of four trips up and down 
As i am going to attempt the double just because 😀

Amazing Race
In 2024 they had the contestants racing up the stairs here in Colombia
  Previous TV seasons with some of the countries that were visited;
 United States, China, India, France, Italy and Thailand.

Fun Fact
The show has now been to every continent
except Antarctica

First Time
The rock was first officially climbed in 1954 and it took the three men five
days to complete 

Visionary
One of the trio (Luis Eduardo Villegas Lopez) bought the rock from the local farmers as they
 viewed it useless for their needs.
 Then Lopez built stairs into the cracks of the rock and started charging people to
climb the steps.

 Present Day
 His family still continues to earn a percentage of admissions for the ascends
Talk about entrepreneurial thinking

Common Sense
Do i need to say this 😕
 Wear proper shoes as its the equivalent of walking 45 flights of stairs, so please leave your
 high heels and flip flops back at your hotel jajajaja

Photo Op
Always thinking like a photographer i am;
 using the stairs for a frame to highlight the town below

Things To Bring
Be sun smart and bring some sun lotion, hat, plus glasses
 As the UV intensity increases 4% for every 1000 feet, so with Guatape at 6200 feet
 you can do the math

Aerial View
 Here i am around 200+ meters (650 feet) up, so you can get some great panoramic views of Guatape Lake plus its surrounding areas.
This was formed when the government in the 1970s decided to flood this area and to create a reservoir that provides electricity to 35% of Colombia

 Summit Shops
 Now once at the top, there are vendors selling water plus snacks and a bar to perhaps celebrate
your quest of the stairs 😄

Colors & Guatape Town

Notice the lower parts of the buildings, these are called zocalos which depicts local life,
beliefs, flora plus fauna
The unique and vibrant structures was a direct result by the mayor and his forward thinking to make everything more vivid, as he knew the "Rock" would bring
visitors to his area