Paisa

"Paisa" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Nephilim

"Nephilim" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Caballeros

"Caballeros" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Wanted: Dead or Alive

I resisted doing the touristy horseback riding thing until almost the end when I gave in. Why I thought I was too cool for that I can't say. This was a fairly radical ride through very narrow passages and over terrain that gave me mad respect for those who traverse these parts.

Still a bit sore from all the trotting, but it definitely hurts so good. :)

Tuscadero

"Tuscadero" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Vaca

"Vaca" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Perch

"Perch" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Salento Nirvana

Salento wasn't on my radar but after severval people had mentioned going there it seemed like a good bet. Besides, its only about an hour away from Armenia where I was headed anyway and I figured I'd just make a decision after I got there from how it looked from the bus window.

The ride was fairly uneventful and the scenery didn't make as big an impression as the bus rides so far, but honestly I was just glad to be leaving the city for the mountains I didn't care.

The look of Armenia didn't impress at all and seemed mostly unkempt and dodgy, so I went directly toward the line of little collectivo buses bound for Salento.

There was a very quirky Canadian couple who were scooping up some self-prepared gourmet dishes out of Tupperware containers. Everything they did was hyper-animated in a cartoonish way as they also struggled to wrangle all their over-packed luggage onto the minibus.

Turns out they were trying to fit about 4 weeks worth of traveling into about 10 days. When I asked the fellow if that was even possible he quipped that it works out on paper and whipped out his spreadsheet to illustrate. A spreadsheet?! I tried to contain the urge to laugh out loud but failed.

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Orange Sunshine

"Orange Sunshine" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

My expectations were not high for Medellin, but it's on the way North and since I do happen to like much of the Medellin-born Botero art I've seen, I figured I'd give it a fair chance.

Once again, my preconception of this city proved wrong. This is definitely going to be worth exploring a bit deeper.

Bird's Eye

"Bird's Eye" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Magdalene

"Magdalene" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Girl Talk

"Girl Talk" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Cable Metro Floating

No one seems to have any recommendations for Medellin other than the very long cable car ride over the city and over the mountain to a small park at the top. That, and the Botero statues in a park by an impressive church. After I've knocked those out, I think I'll see about just wandering and getting myself a little lost again. The city doesn't intimidate yet, so we'll just roll the dice and see what we can find attempting a walk cross town in the general direction of the Laurles barrio where the Urban Buddha hostel is starting from the Botero plaza.

Extraterrestrial

"Extraterrestrial" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Eve

"Eve" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Spare a Spill

"Spare a Spill" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Block Party

"Block Party" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

La Musica de Medellin

One of the many things I love about Latin America is that the people don't need any more reason to fiesta thn the simple fact it's Sunday.

Candy Man

"Candy Man" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Casino

"Casino" ~ Medellin, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt