After our first night bus of the trip (Central America is so small that no journey is long enough to warrant a night bus) we arrived in Medellin. We had decided to skip straight through the city and head to Santa Fe de Antiquio, a small, highly recommended colonial town a few hours west. We purchased a ticket very quickly – buses in Colombia so far had been very efficient and time keeping seemed a strong point which surprised us greatly – and boarded. Not before witnessing what we can only describe as a gym/Zumba class going on in the middle of the station. A very weird sight indeed.

After climbing up into the valley surrounding Medellin and being treated to some stunning views over the city we travelled for an hour or so before crossing Colombia’s equivalent of San Fransisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Admittedly a much smaller, yellower version of the afore mentioned site. Passing 4 and 5 star hotels on the other side we hoped we could afford one, being as Colombia was so cheap. We couldn’t. We were dropped off by the side of the main road and pointed in the direction of the town square. Cobbled streets are everywhere here, except for the main road the bus was using, so pulling Hayley’s backpack with wheels was a struggle for Jonny when normally it is a godsend. We arrived in a relatively small square with a large church on one side, colourful buildings on the rest and in the middle, a fountain surrounded by street stalls all peddling the same jewellery or food.

Stomachs growling at us to eat after 15 hours of travel with only the trusted Oreos and questionable croissants eaten we opted to eat before locating a room. We wolfed down some chicken and fish from a square side restaurant and instantly felt better. Consulting the lonely planet guide Jonny headed off to locate a hotel. After visiting a few unimpressive and expensive ones he decided on the main one, right in the middle of the town square. It was not only cheaper than most others but came with all the amenities and even had a pool with a view hidden out back, what a find!

Checked in, showered and refreshed after what felt like a lifetime we took the opportunity to explore the rest of the town. It was quaint and beautiful, as mentioned before, cobbled streets, lined with colourful and whitewashed houses made it a joy to wander around. Upon returning to the main square however something had changed.. It was absolutely packed full of people, locals all in matching colours of green and white, flags being waved and songs chanted. Asking what was occurring we were informed that Medellin’s local football team – Aletico Nacional – was participating in Colombia’s cup final. It was the second leg and they were behind 2-1 on aggregate. Obviously ecstatic Jonny convinced Hayley to let him join in the fun and watch. We pulled up seats in front of one of the many bars and waited for the game. Within two minutes Nacional took the lead and the place went wild. The whole square erupted in cheering, horns, chanting and screams. Hayley had never seen anything like it and was somewhat impressed. Feeling at home Jonny joined in the clapping and celebrations before settling down back into the game. The rest was nerve racking even for us tourists as the game finished 1-0 and went to penalties.

After what seemed like forever Nacional came out on top as their goalkeeper saved from a member of the opposition. This sparked the greatest football celebration we had ever witnessed, unsurprisingly really being a Bolton Wanderers fan and a football hater.

Louder than before and with somehow even more people the square filled with green and white. It seemed every inhabitant of the town and more had come out to celebrate. The teams song was played over and over again on loud speakers from bars and people took to cars, jeeps, moped and anything else they could to parade around the whole town. This lasted for hours and well into the morning, a constant stream of fans waving and singing with joy. We felt extremely lucky to be part of it.

The next day after realising we had seen all the town had to offer in its small number of churches and buildings we spent the day lounging around the pool and marvelling at the view from the decking..

It is nice as travellers to unwind every once in a while. Often people mistake travelling as one long holiday and imagine you lay in the sun every day but this is far from the real story as many of you will know. Feeling revitalised we had a nice meal and recuperated for one more night before heading back to Medellin for Christmas.

Before visiting we had originally had the option of two towns to spend a few days in before venturing into Medellin, we decided upon Santa Fe, we had planned three days here and it is definitely worth a visit but we would recommend a day trip from Medellin as there is not much to do there except stroll around. We enjoyed doing this after a busy few days prior but if we had our time again would of thought twice about spending as much time there as we did, reflected in our decision to leave a day early. Our second option was Guatape – check out the next post about that little gem.

Jonny & Hayley 🙂