Tea, E, Double R, Why?......I Don't Know Why?: Venecia

Venecia is a small town about 60 km southwest of Medellin, or about two hours via the bus. The ride from Medellin in the bus or flota takes about two hours (not recommended if you don't like concussions from constant acceleration, decceleration or potholes). The area was originally inhabited by the Zenu people. They were first discovered in 1561 when the Spanish conquistador, Jorge Robledo, roamed and pilaged the area. The town of Venecia was not settled until 1860 by colonists and still retains a rich archeological and anthropological history.

Like most towns in Antioquia, Venecia is characterized by red brick and a large church in the city center. Population about 6000, but locals claim around 3000.

There still remains a huge gap between the poor and rich. This is a photo of an estate owned by a former Narco. Due to Colombia's extradition laws with the U.S., the Narco that owned this estate makes sure not to drop the soap in an American prison. His estate was repossessed by the Colombia government but I am doubtful if it has been repatriated back to the people.

These are the stairs carved into a rock that lead to the place where...........

.... virgins were sacraficed in tribute to...........

......the goddess "La Piedra de la Diosa". This rock was sacred to the ancient peoples probably due to its resemblance of a human face. Indigenous tombs exist in the immediate area and many gold artifacts have been recovered here. There are still many tombs that remain undisturbed due to both the supernatural and natural difficulty in excavating these sacred places.

La Piedra de la Diosa is carved into a rock facade on Cerro Tusa. Of the the many mountains that surround Venecia, Cerro Tusa is the most revered. Despite being told that the conditions did not permit climbing Cerro Tusa at the time, I still tried. I got about 20m up the mountain and called it quits. It is a near vertical climb and climbing equipment is required. Maybe next time...