Ok, continuing on my Medellin addiction, I wanted to tell you all about El Penol! I highly recommend going there if you are in Medellin. it is about an hour and a half drive from the city, and it was a great way to see the country side. We even drove through a town that had a livestock auction and got to see all the cabelleros in their traditional wear. The countryside is beautiful, farms growing all different vegetables, so many colors. The road was an adventure. Many landslides blocking half the road and areas that half the road had been undermined. El Penol is a giant rock sticking up out of no where. They say there is more below the ground than above. My sis and I decided we were up for the adventure with a 4 yr old and a 5 yr old and 649 stairs to the top! Lets not forget the 4 yr old is in therapy for her legs! Yes, the zig zag pattern in the photo is actually the staircase. When we first saw it, our hearts dropped, part out of fear of the height of it and part because i think we were both thinking how the He double toothpick are we going to get up that thing with 2 little kids. We laughed pretty hard when our guide told us that it takes most people about 20 mins! funny lady. We started up and it wasn't too bad. N was really excited the first few flights, but then it wore off quickly and she kept reaching up for me, and i kept suggesting we stop and rest as much as they needed. Sis stayed behind with K who was making good progress but a bit slower than us. After probably about 40 mins, we were at the top. The view is amazing! The whole valley and town was flooded to construct a dam that provides power for all of Colombia and parts of Venezuela and Argentina. It created these islands and wicked cool lake front properties. We rested at the top for ice cream and some photo ops, and then I made the mistake of suggesting N and K climb on some rocks for one last picture. Well long story short, N slipped on some loose gravel. It didn't seem too bad, but then, the blood, oh, the blood, there was a piece of glass that had sliced her knee wide open. Oh CRAP! Sis went for water as there was dirt everwhere and N was beside herself with all the blood coming down her knee. I used the toilet paper we had for emergency to slow the bleeding, then had to use all the Dora bandaides to cover it. Then reality sunk in, how in the HE double toothpick are we going to get down! No she couldnt walk and yes, I carried her down all 649 steps with the exception of about a dozen that we slide down on our back sides. My legs were shaking and as we got closer to the bottom, I started laughing and couldn't stop, I am not sure why, I was in so much wicked pain, but it struck me really freaking funny at the time the ridiculous situation we had gotten ourselves in. Sis carried K about half way down as she was exhausted. The next two days after, I had to throw my legs up and down stairs because they hurt so bad. What an adventure! A short boat ride and we were on our way back to Medellin. Unforgetable day!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
EL Penol!
Ok, continuing on my Medellin addiction, I wanted to tell you all about El Penol! I highly recommend going there if you are in Medellin. it is about an hour and a half drive from the city, and it was a great way to see the country side. We even drove through a town that had a livestock auction and got to see all the cabelleros in their traditional wear. The countryside is beautiful, farms growing all different vegetables, so many colors. The road was an adventure. Many landslides blocking half the road and areas that half the road had been undermined. El Penol is a giant rock sticking up out of no where. They say there is more below the ground than above. My sis and I decided we were up for the adventure with a 4 yr old and a 5 yr old and 649 stairs to the top! Lets not forget the 4 yr old is in therapy for her legs! Yes, the zig zag pattern in the photo is actually the staircase. When we first saw it, our hearts dropped, part out of fear of the height of it and part because i think we were both thinking how the He double toothpick are we going to get up that thing with 2 little kids. We laughed pretty hard when our guide told us that it takes most people about 20 mins! funny lady. We started up and it wasn't too bad. N was really excited the first few flights, but then it wore off quickly and she kept reaching up for me, and i kept suggesting we stop and rest as much as they needed. Sis stayed behind with K who was making good progress but a bit slower than us. After probably about 40 mins, we were at the top. The view is amazing! The whole valley and town was flooded to construct a dam that provides power for all of Colombia and parts of Venezuela and Argentina. It created these islands and wicked cool lake front properties. We rested at the top for ice cream and some photo ops, and then I made the mistake of suggesting N and K climb on some rocks for one last picture. Well long story short, N slipped on some loose gravel. It didn't seem too bad, but then, the blood, oh, the blood, there was a piece of glass that had sliced her knee wide open. Oh CRAP! Sis went for water as there was dirt everwhere and N was beside herself with all the blood coming down her knee. I used the toilet paper we had for emergency to slow the bleeding, then had to use all the Dora bandaides to cover it. Then reality sunk in, how in the HE double toothpick are we going to get down! No she couldnt walk and yes, I carried her down all 649 steps with the exception of about a dozen that we slide down on our back sides. My legs were shaking and as we got closer to the bottom, I started laughing and couldn't stop, I am not sure why, I was in so much wicked pain, but it struck me really freaking funny at the time the ridiculous situation we had gotten ourselves in. Sis carried K about half way down as she was exhausted. The next two days after, I had to throw my legs up and down stairs because they hurt so bad. What an adventure! A short boat ride and we were on our way back to Medellin. Unforgetable day!
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