The Guadalupe Waterfall

In August (2011) I took a trip to Guadalupe (Colombia) with a group of friends and photography students. Our teacher uses to organize monthly trips (or phototrips as we call them) to improve our photographic skills. The rules are simple: have a good time and take amazing pictures. I haven't been able to attend all of them, but it has always been a memorable experience when I do.

Guadalupe (name in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Roman Catholic deity) is a town in the department of Antioquia (Colombia). One of its mayor tourist attractions is the Guadalupe Waterfall (also known as el salto). It is an 1800 ft steep we wanted to capture with our cameras. We left Medellín (capital of Antioquia, and where I actually live, btw) at 7 a.m. and made several stops in the way. This is a cute map of our mini-tour:

We made the first stop in Barbosa and left rapidly because there weren't that many things or people to photograph; after a quick break we were on our way to Gomez Planta, another town in the way.

Something that I do remember from Barbosa was their own Hollywood Walk of Fame, brightened by artists, sportsmen, politicians and poets from the place.

Photo by Tom

We stopped in a place between Barbosa and Gómez Plata. The cold and the mist that covered the mountains, gave the place a gloomy yet interesting feel.

The foggy landscape by © Marcela López

Crush in the middle of nowhere by Tom

It was a long way from there to Gómez Plata, and when we finally arrived, we were fascinated by its marketplace. The most memorable things from this municipality were the piñuelas and the guy who sold them. A piñuela is a pinky nothin'-you've-ever-seen-before-like bittersweet fruit. The elder selling them strove telling us about the battles against dragons and giants he had to fight to get them. No one believed in the piñuelas or their flavor at first; in fact, I thought they were trying to poison me for the sake of fun. In spite of that, any of us would revisit Gómez Plata just to taste this fruit again.

A piñuela by © annykita

The piñuelas merchant by Tom

After buying a couple of piñuela packets, I was once again in the bus heading towards Carolina del Principe, known for being the town where Juanes grew up. We took a mini-tour around the town and visited the local cemetery (not sure why...). Once we were done with it, we had lunch at the market square where we also took a picture with a statue of Juanes.

Carolina del Principe cemetery gravedigger by Tom
«...The houses that he makes last till doomsday.» ~ Hamlet

We were just a few steps away from Guadalupe Waterfall, but we had to make one last stop by the Troneras Dam. It was my favorite place from our mini-tour. The dam and its surroundings were astonishing to say the least. The sole landscape made me forget about where I was and where we were going; I just couldn't stop taking pictures (the bus almost left without me for that...).

Troneras Dam by Tom

Gone fishin' by Tom
«Crosby: You gone fishin' (Armstrong: Well how you know?)
Well there's a sign upon your door (Uh-huh)»

Dani posing at Troneras Dam bridge by Tom

We had some beers and snacks just before getting into the bus. We had to be ready for what was coming and we didn't have to wait for it anymore; we did have to take an exhausting walk over a high slope to finally see the Guadalupe Waterfall. 550 meters of falling water made us feel insignificant; we were all very excited by the time we got there. All the hours in that bus and the long road were a challenge worth taking.

The Waterfall by Tom