Holiday Traffic Begets Circle of Cheese

The fumes of diesel really started to infuse into my lungs when we came to a complete stop on the highway. Apparently it's a three day weekend and this means the drive to Guatape rolled along at the thrilling pace of a meter per minute. Eventually, though, the smog gave way to something a bit greener and we drove a bit faster, into the flooded valley marked by La Piedra, the monolithic rock that marks the Guatape Valley.

In the village of Guatape, painting your house is the rule. You paint it bright and you paint it well, and if you're really fancy, the designs on your outer wall will be three-dimensional. I can't really see a downside to this, unless it's prohibitably expensive, since it brings hoards of tourists to its cobblestone streets. It looks freaking joyful everywhere you turn.

Guatape runs on tuk-tuks and orange juice with honey and "vitamin sprinkles." The town plaza is full of old weathered men in cowboy hats and kids kicking water bottles as soccer balls. Horses are pulled behind motorcycles down the main streets. It also runs on cheese - like the giant yucca-cheese circle drizzled with caramel I accidentally bought. The first 75% was really good - crispy on the outside, kind of funky on the inside - but boy did that last 25% look so extra that I had to let it go. There is cheese in everything in Antioquia.

I tried to stay awake to see what night-time looks like in a pueblo during a holiday weekend but alas, my sore throat keeps getting the better of me. Instead, I lay in my bed and listen to three different clubs and bars play loud music on top of each other. In another world, this would be incredibly annoying. But in this one, I let the asynchronous beats rock me to sleep.