After almost 3 weeks in Medellín I confirmed a Workaway in a small pueblo called Guatapé. Little be known that I would fall completely in love with this place and it’s people and stay just over 2 months.

Bernice, my host, came to meet me at the bus station and we walked to Hecho con Amor. The deli/cafe she owns serves delicious, mainly vegetarian food, an option hard to come by in most of Colombia. It translates to ‘Made with Love’ and this place certainly lives up to it’s name with Bernice so passionate about the food she offers.

After a little bit of time to unpack I started my first shift. In exchange for 4 hours serving customers and walking the dogs each morning, I receive food and accommodation, the best exchange ever.

It’s a pretty full, worldly house, there is myself and another volunteer – Sanya, who is from Germany. Bernice who is originally from England and Aneta and her daughter Mariana, who are originally from Bosnia. Then there is Robinson who cooks in the kitchen and his girlfriend Lesbia who are from Venezuela. Plus the 3 dogs Pulga, Amber and Chimuelo who are Colombian.

Bernice’s 3 dogs are pretty awesome and need a good walk each morning before the cafe opens at 12pm. They can be challenging on the walks where we often come back without them as they have run off to bark at cows, swim in the river or explore up the peninsula further. But they always know their way home and come back eventually guiltily wagging their tails.

I am soon into a good routine and my days are filled with walking the dogs, working in the cafe, drinking coffee at the many good cafes in the pueblo, drinking beer on the balcony, exploring the surrounding hills and eating cheese empanadas. The weather is sunny and hot during the day and nicely cools down at night, perfect combination.

Of course we made good friends with the locals and meet them in the nice bars in town, my favourite being Buddha Bar and La Ola. The next day after one particular heavy night at Buddha Bar and little sleep due to connecting with new friends we decided to rent some bikes and haul ourselves 25km to the next pueblo San Rafael. It was a beautiful yet challenging bike ride with awesome views through the valley and the swim at the end to cool off was much needed.

We decided it would be easier to put our bikes in the back of the bus and return by bus rather than bike the 25km back and finish off with a cold beer in the parque central.

Every Friday the cafe is closed but we still work in the morning to prepare all the food for the coming week, such as soups, quiches, empanadas and salads, plus cakes, cheesecakes, and other sweet delicious treats. I’m certainly not claiming to have improved my baking skills but still managed to learn and thing or 2. One particular Friday we finished extra early as it was Bernice’s birthday.

We had secretly organised to take her to the river and cook up a mega big pot of Sancocho – a traditional hearty soup with potatoes, yuca, corn, plantains and meat, however we left the meat out this time around. With the sun setting and the mosquitoes coming, it was time to venture back to the town, a much trickier walk in the dark than on the way there.

It seemed I had arrived in Guatapé when there was almost a parade through the streets everyday. Mostly for religious purposes and often starting very early in the morning to collect people from their houses in time for first religious service.

I was also there during the Festival of Flowers. Where each business or group would create a colourful arrangement and a carry it on their backs using a leather strap to support across their foreheads.

More days passed and I was really enjoying my time in this magical town. I was even lucky enough to have people visit while I was there. Firstly my friend Lisa that I met in Mexico in July of last year was on a vacation through Colombia, so the timing was perfect for her day trip to Guatapé. And then Antoinette came with her family from Medellin and treated me to a beautiful lunch and bottle of wine. What a day!

Guatapé is known for it’s colourful houses decorated with detailed reliefs called zócalos. It is more commonly referred to as the Pueblo de Zócalos and it is the most colourful town I have ever been to.

These beautiful 3D pieces of art adorn the lower halves of almost every house and building, even the main church and depict everyday life. They are also a representation of occupations and hobbies of the families that live in the town.

On another free day from work we went to a friend’s finca (farm) to celebrate the Mayan New Year. Aneta had been brewing chicha in time for the occasion which is fermented maize originating from the Andes. I would describe it to be something like Kombucha. She was experimenting with some other flavours and our favourite was the yuca.

As it began to get dark we ate some vegetables that had been slow cooking on the fire, and then a small fire ritual where offerings were made into the fire such rice, herbs, lentils, chocolate. All have different meanings which I kind of missed as my spanish level was not up to the task and I had had a bit of chicha, but it was all very interesting and enjoyable.

After a comfortable sleep we woke to someone re stoking the fire to cook breakfast. We made arepas from scratch, this meant even grinding the maize, kneading and forming the right thickness and shape which was harder that it looked. Then we cooked them on the fire. The smokiness of the fire gave them an extra delicious flavour. What a cool experience this was and nothing touristy about it.

Sanya soon moved on to continue her travels and we vowed to meet up at some point along the way. Melanie from Switzerland was the new volunteer and she fitted right in with the crew. She luckily arrived just in time to celebrate her birthday and Bernice had organised some lovely cheese and wine that turned into a truly unforgettable night.

Along with the popularity of the colourful town, a big attraction is the great big rock that is pretty much visible from anywhere in town. More commonly known as La Piedra, a 10 minute tuktuk ride from the centre of town takes you the bottom of this grand stone. It has an elevation of 2135m and was formed millions of years ago. I finally got around to it and managed the 700 steps in the hot midday sun to be granted with this incredible view.

With so much beautiful nature surrounding us I was always finding picture perfect opportunities for photos.

Aneta is one special human with an intuitive heart and oddles of spiritual wisdom. I absolutely loved and miss our long chats on the balcony with a couple of beers or rums. For her birthday, a small group of us celebrated by hiring a small boat and jetting around the lakes. Nice to get a view from the water.

We also went fishing but I was the most experienced and that really isn’t saying much so I am not surprised we didn’t catch anything.

The locals of Guatapé are some of the friendliest, generous and talented people I’ve met and that is saying a lot as I almost feel this in every town I’ve visited. A good friend, Mona who I ended up spending some time with is an amazing women that does so much for her community, especially looking after the street dogs. Working alongside an incredible vet they take dogs off the streets that need medication and help. The street dogs in Guatapé are some of the most healthiest and happiest around. On a few corners there are even ‘vending machines’ for the dogs and they don’t have to pay anything thanks to kind donations from locals and visitors.

The talent in Guatapé is incredible, I went to a concert where the young musical talent was pretty special. Then there are all the designers and artists in town. Mona makes these cool bags, and jewellery from recycling the beer can tabs – Instagram @monartt111.

And this is some art I brought from a friend, Luna – Instagram @lunacia_art. I also went to her studio and was totally surprised to find a painting of an indigenous Maori man, I asked her about it and she said her and her boyfriend really enjoy painting indigenous cultures. So cool that NZ features!

My birthday rolled around and I thought I may as well stay a few more days in Guatapé rather than being back on the road brokenhearted from leaving my little bubble. Mona took me out for lunch and later surprised me with beers and cake at La Ola. And another friend, Andrés, who owns Buddha Bar invited me for a couple of beers and a pizza earlier in the night.

The next day after the celebrations, sadly, my time in Guatapé came to an end. It was super hard to leave but I’ll be forever grateful for everything and everyone and look forward to coming back one day soon.

I got on the bus back to Medellin where I stayed with my lovely friend Marcela for a few days to come back to reality before really getting back on the road again with my backpack.