Rio Claro

I had been wanting to go to Rio Claro ever since the first puente, but it was a more complicated trip than the others. We had tried to find a hostel, but to no avail. The Rio Claro that I wanted to go to was a specific reserve, and not just anywhere along the river. Because of this, we ended up camping, which was quite an adventure!
Rio Claro is in Antioquia, about 6 hours from Bogota and 3 from Medellin. The closest town is Doradal, which was kind of a shady town. We stayed in the reserve for the whole trip because there was enough to do there, which was really nice. We used my host uncle's tent, which was HUGE to carry because it is super old. We had a few troubles putting it up, since there were no directions and no labels on any of the poles, but we finally did it and were surprised that it didn't fall down at all for the two days it was up. It unfortunately rained the second night, and it started raining inside the tent... We fixed that with water bottles cut in half and placed under the drips! It worked pretty well, but I can't say I slept well at all that night.
In Rio Claro we spent a lot of time at the river (obviously) and on the 'beach', which was relaly just a huge slab of rock. The current was surprisingly stong, and we heard that many people die there each year, usually because they mixed river with alcohol. On Saturday we just hung out and explored a bit, and on Sunday we rented innertubes and floated down the river, which was really fun! It was hot enough out that we didn't get cold, even though we were sitting in the water for hours. The tree coverage was gorgeous and there were lots of pretty butterflies :). The river wasn't actually very 'claro' because it had been raining, but on Sunday it was still very pretty and had a turquoise-ish color to it. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because we spent most of the time in the river, but I will post the ones I did take on my Picasa.

Besides the Rio Claro trip I have been enjoying work more because I am getting along really well with my colleagues and am spending more time in the bakery. One thing I really wish is that I was able to go to Gustavo's for lunch more often, because the good Colombian food at my house isn't really existent anymore. I am still getting along amazingly with my host parents, and I recently went to a cousin's birthday celebration and felt great because I could totally join in on the conversation, which I don't always feel like I can do. Right now I am so excited to be home in four days, but I recognize how much I will really really really miss Colombia. I love the relaxed, slower way of life here. I don't hate Bogota as much now, and I love that I get an amazing view of the mountains from any part of the city. Colombia has so much to offer and I am so lucky that I have been taking advantage of that, and I know I will miss that once I am back home for good.