We booked roundtrip business class tickets from Santiago, Chile to Medellín, Colombia on Avianca airlines (with lay-flat business class seats on a 787 Dreamliner on the Santiago to Bogotá and Bogotá to Santiago legs of the flight) for 40,000 Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Miles roundtrip. The price for 6 travelers was 240,000 Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Miles. We met Cody's parents, Scott and Toni, in Medellín to do some river rafting on some of the rivers in the Antioquia region of Colombia as well as to explore the city of Medellín and the surrounding areas.
We had originally planned on a two and a half day journey down the Rio Verde staying the first night at a "finca" at the top of the river, and then getting up early to begin our rafting journey for most of the day and then camping at a sort of base camp in the middle of the river a good ways down the river. We were going to sleep in hammocks and be fairly immersed in the jungle and then get up the next day and raft down to the bottom of the valley. Our plans were turned upside down when it began to rain the night before and we found out that the Rio Verde rose over 50 feet and became unsafe for us to travel. So, our guides took us to a tributary river called the Rio Santo Domingo (normally water levels are too low, but due to the rain, it was suitable for us) and we were able to do a full day of rafting there.
We had a good time and there was a lot of adrenaline. The rapids were fairly strong (class 3-4) and in some cases too strong as the guides had to get the kids out of the rafts to walk for 4 different stretches of the river. In hindsight, this was probably not a good way to introduce the kids to river rafting as it was far from a beginner experience. On one of the more difficult sections of rapids, Cody, Eliza, and Scott attempted to navigate the rapids with the guides, but were quickly tossed out of the boat and tumbled down the next 3 sets of rapids with nothing more than lifejackets. Both Cody and Scott were a bit beat up by the pounding they took from the rocks beneath the surface and Eliza got caught underneath the raft for a good stretch and was extremely shaken up as her life flashed before her eyes.
The river was relatively warm, which was a welcome benefit and the water was a really cool looking emerald green color. We saw some wildlife and ran into some artisanal gold miners running a dredge in the river where we stopped to talk with them and check out their operation. The guides we had were fun and had a good knowledge of the region and activities, which was great.
Ultimately, due to the weather and change in plans, we had to abandon the rafting after the first day (no objection from any of us due to the injuries, scares, and full day of adrenaline we had just experienced). Luckily, there is a lot to see and do in the Antioquia region of Colombia and we took full advantage of the activities available.
Zander, Ryder, and Nash, looking over the valley in Antioquia, Colombia where we would be rafting and exploring the next few days.
We stayed at a "finca" at the top of one of the hills...this was our view.
Everyone getting ready to get in the raft as we began our journey down one of the emerald colored rivers in the Antioquia region of Colombia.
On our journey down the river, we ran into some artisanal gold miners that were dredging the river for gold and we stopped to check out their operation.
Nash, practicing kayaking on one of the calm stretches of the river.
Zander kayaking on one of the calm stretches of the river.
We stopped for a break on one of the calm stretches of the river.
Cody's shin after getting thrown from the raft and toppling down a few sets of rapids.
Cody with a ream of plantains at one of the small shops near the river.
We had originally scheduled two and a half days on the river, but after our adventures after the first whole day, we decided to cut the rafting adventure short and head off to explore some different areas in Antioquia, Colombia. First on our list was Laguna Guatapé, which was about an hour and a half drive from where we were rafting. We arrived to the lake and decided to rent a big cruiser boat so we could go out and explore the lake for the day...we had the boat for 6 hours and were able to cruise all over the lake, stopping to swim and see some interesting areas.
At the end of the afternoon, we had the boat drop us off at el Peñón de Guatapé (the Rock of Guatapé) where we climbed the 740 steep steps up to the top and had a spectacular overlook of the lake...well worth the climb. It was so relaxing to cruise around the lake on our own private boat. We bought some Colombian snacks and enjoyed the sunshine (and the rain) while we were out on the lake. The boat driver showed us some of the different houses and ranches on the lake's shoreline and we were even able to get a close up look of Pablo Escobar's ranch which had been burned down by his enemies after his death.
Map of Laguna Guatape...as you can see from the map, there are hundreds of inlets and islands...a very interesting lake.
Eliza and Nash, chilling on the bow of our 26 foot boat on Laguna Guatapé.
Grandma Toni and Grandpa Scott at the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Sawyer, Nash and Ryder on the bow of our boat cruising around Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Video of Ryder, Nash, and Zander jumping off the boat and swimming in Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Video of Eliza doing a backflip off the boat at Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Video of Sawyer doing a front flip off the boat at Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
More of Sawyer's tricks off the boat in Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Pablo Escobar's ranch on the shores of Laguna Guatapé...as you can see, his enemies burned it down after his death.
Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Video of Laguna Guatapé, Antioquia, Colombia.
740 steps up to the top of "La Piedra" that overlooks Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Ryder, Nash, and Zander, getting ready to hike up the 740 steps to "La Piedra".
Grandpa Scott, hiking up "La Piedra" with the boys.
View from the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Our group after hiking the 740 steps to the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
The kids at the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
The kids with grandma Toni and grandpa Scott at the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Cody and Eliza at the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
Cody and Ryder
at the top of "La Piedra" overlooking Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
360 degree view from the top of "La Piedra" at Laguna Guatapé in Antioquia, Colombia.
After our adventures rafting and at Laguna Guatapé, we decided to head back to the city of Medellín, where we had a few activities planned and some things that we wanted to see. In Medellín, we went to the Plaza Botero as well as the Botero art museum. We were also able to visit Parque Explora, which is an aquarium and highly interactive science center as well as to ride up the Medellín Metrocable to Parque Arvi and were able to wander around the park for about an hour.
Introducing the family to Colombian empanadas...they loved them!
Botero is a Colombian artist and sculptor that was born in Medellín. He is probably the most renown artist from Latin America. His artwork depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume (i.e. fat). We had a good time checking out the pieces inside and outside the museum.
Ryder, shocked by the graphic images in the Botero art museum.
Pablo Escobar as depicted by Botero.
Eliza and the kids, contemplating the meaning of life through Botero's artwork.
Ryder, checking out Pablo Escobar.
Eliza, getting lost in the waves.
Eliza and Zander riding up the Medellín Metrocable towards Parque Arvi.
Sawyer and Ryder riding up the Medellín Metrocable towards Parque Arvi.
Ryder with grandpa Scott riding up the Medellín Metrocable towards Parque Arvi.
Grandma Toni with Sawyer and Nash riding up the Medellín Metrocable towards Parque Arvi.
Family picture part of the way up the Medellín Metrocable.
Family picture in Medellín, Colombia.
Picture of the family through a small keyhole...the only place where the background lines up to form a perfect clock (pieces of the clock are painted on different walls and it is not distinguishable as one object unless you look directly through the keyhole).
Zander, meditating inside the Parque Explora science center.
Outside the Parque Explora...overlooking a central park in Medellín...we went to this park late at night and they had thousands of people walking through and an extensive exhibit of Christmas lights and decorations for everyone to enjoy.
Sawyer, doing a handstand pose at the Parque Explora.
Sawyer left her handstand imprint on Medellín.
Grandma Toni and Eliza enjoying some sweet mango and some salty mango in Medellín.
The kids, checking out the aquarium at Parque Explora in Medellín, Colombia.
The kids, checking out the mangrove tree roots below the water at Parque Explora in Medellín, Colombia.
An interesting (and graphic) exhibit at Parque Explora that sizes the human body by how many nerve endings exist...notice the tongue, teeth, face, and hands (along with other parts of the female anatomy).
We had a bit of a hiccup on the way back from Bogota to Santiago...I'm probably minimizing it when I say a bit of a hiccup. We boarded (2.5 hours late) our flight back to Santiago, Chile (at about 2am) and pretty much fell asleep in our seats on the plane...we were abruptly woken up an hour later (still at the gate) and told that we needed to de-plane and we would be rescheduled for a flight the next afternoon. To make matters worse, we had to go back through the immigration line (and get our Colombian exit stamps annulled)...the line was ridiculously long. Then we were marched to a bus to get taken to a hotel that the airline had for the passengers on that flight...we finally got our hotel rooms around 4:15am. Since Eliza's sister, Christina, and niece, Savannah, were arriving to Santiago the next day, Cody switched the flight to an 8:00am flight...but we had to split up since there were only 5 tickets (not 6) on the early flight. So, Eliza and the kids had to wake up at 5:30am (an hour and 15 minutes after laying down in the hotel) to turn around and go back to the airport. Cody went with them and got them through security, and the 5 of them boarded their flight (an hour later than originally scheduled) only to sit on the runway for 90 minutes and then be told that they had to de-plane and head back into the airport. They boarded again 2 hours later and finally made it to Santiago around 8pm after a very long ordeal. Cody arrived in Santiago at 11:00pm (3 hours after Eliza and the kids arrived).
We were given $600/person flight vouchers for a future Avianca flight as compensation ($3,600 in total flight credits), which made things better, but not enough to feel great about it.
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