Relaxing in Santa Fe de Antioquia

Our work days in Colombia are long. We are up at 5am to take the school transit to work, which leaves at 6am. We leave to return home between 330-4pm. This may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but bad traffic can make the journey (home in particular) - though it is only 9km from our house, a 1-2 hour ordeal. This puts us at home between 530-6pm. That is just a 12 hour day, you say? Bear in mind that we have three children, and our mini 4 year old, after 8 hours of school, and no food since 1145am, is often a "delight" under these circumstances. When we return home, it is homework, supper and more or less bed for these niñas. Just to get up and do it all again. I know, it sounds glamourous right? Needless to say, when a long weekend rolls around, we are more than ready for a few days off, and ready to get out and see what has proven to be a much larger country than I originally imagined. Afterall, if we wanted to do the 9-5 grind, we could have stayed home in Canada with the comfort of family, friends, and a familiar language (and decidedly worse weather).

So, on this occasion we are off to a location that will satisfy mine and Stephanie's student's outrage at us having not yet graced said locale with our presence. It is afterall, the "Paisa" holiday destination of choice for many, and at 51km (about an hour and half drive) one of the closest vacation spots to Medellin. Here we come (with two other equally beleagured teachers, and two Colombian national friends) Santa Fe de Antioquia!

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

As a tourist destination, Santa Fe is like many other pueblitos around Antioquia, and though I myself have not been, Jardine is - I think, a better option. Guatape too, is more dressed up, what with the colourful houses and all. But, that is not to say that Santa Fe is without charm, and on this visit, we were just looking for a nice warmish place to escape the city for a couple days. 

Santa Fe was actually the original capital of Antioquia and is revered for its preserved colonial architecture, which incudes the town's cathedral, which dates back to the early 1800s. You should be able to see in the photo hundreds of pigeons perched on the ledges of the cathedral. These creatures periodically swoop down into the square, where I had a lot of fun running through them and trying to capture the cacophony of wings in an appropriate chaotic photograph. I did not fully succeed, I think in large part to the fact that there was already a five year old in the square who had been playing the same game, and the birds were, by this point more or less over it.

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Annoyed pigeons

The other main tourist draw is the Puente de Occidente - Bridge of the West (since it is in the western part of Antioquia), which was at the time of its construction in the late 1800s the longest suspension bridge in South America. You can crawl up behind the Santa Fe side, where (like so many places in Colombia) you can stand beside an oversized Jesus ststue that overlooks the bridge and the Cauca river to get some fantastic shots of the river valley below.

Me and JC, Santa Fe de Antioquia

Puente de la Occidente - Santa Fe de Antioquia

We were told that Santa Fe was warmer than Medellin, but I remember thinking: "how much warmer can it possibly be, it is only 50km away?" But, the journey takes through a massive tunnel through the Central Cordilleran mountain range. On the other side, and at a significantly lower elevation on the widward side of the mountains, the teperature is hot and humid. A great escape from the comparatively dry, but not exactly cold temperatures of Medellin.

The Santa Fe travel posse: Oscar, Kavita, Andres, Brittney and the Homeless Hartlens (minus me)

F​or us, Santa Fe de Antioquia was a nice getaway, not a must see destination by any stretch, but with good company and no set agenda it can be just what the doctor ordered. It had the small town charm we were after. It had charm, wecould wander the old cobblestone streets and take in the history. It had comfort, where my daughter Brynn could walk up to a street vendor and confortably order a freshly squeezed orange juice, and for the rest of us it offered peace quiet and relaxation.

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