The most beautiful lake I’ve been to this year: Guavio! Reservoir or not: it is truly beautiful there. During a road tripfar off the beaten path in Cundinamarca, we arrived at this little marvel after hours of driving. All that time in the car was more than worth it, because how beautiful this is….. In this article, I finally show you the photos so you too can enjoy this impressive piece of Colombia.
Embalse del Guavio: Colombia off the beaten track
Way off the beaten path, we found the very impressive Lake Guavio. Peace, nature, silence and pure beauty. Getting there is not easy, on bad roads and through dark tunnels. But when I caught the first glimpse, I knew it was all worth it. Embalse del Guavio, like many lakes in Colombia, is a reservoir, where a dam was built in 1989 with a height of 243 meters. A height that elevated the dam to the No. 10 highest dam in the world. Embalse del Guavio is located in the department of Cundinamarca and generates some 5890 Gigawatt hours annually. This makes Guavio an important source of energy for life in Bogotá.
The dark side of Guavio
There are several mishaps and scandals associated with Guavio. On July 28, 1983, the dam collapsed, killing about 128 people, especially workers engaged in construction. More accidents followed. In addition, one of the biggest corruption scandals in Colombian history is also linked to Lake Guavio. Fabio Puyo Fasco, former manager of a Bogotáan electricity company, embezzled millions of pesos from the state during the construction of the reservoir and became a billionaire this way. The case had major implications for Guavio’s development and even public debt. Fabio Puyo Fasco fled to Spain where he has lived since the 1990s, where he was prosecuted in 2014 for selling fake Picassos. He was never punished for his actions in connection with Embalse del Guavio.
A road trip: the first views of Guavio
Despite the lake’s not too sunny history, today it is a fantastic place to visit. The first views come by after we pass the village of Gachalá. Thunder is already approaching, but we have just time to admire all sides of the lake. The light is against us, but even then the view is beautiful!
From the mountain: what a breathtaking view….
I think it’s raining where we just came from (top left)
Our group!
And finally, meet the little group we drove 15 hours through this region with. Two good friends and newest Bogotá resident Felice. I can’t say other than that it was a fantastic day where we saw and laughed immensely. Hopefully again soon!
A crazy photo shoot …
Now all that is missing are some really fun photos of Jimmy and me together in a crazy mood, which Felice captured beautifully. But since this article is pretty full right now, I’ll save those for a separate blog. Don’t miss anything? Follow us on Facebookor Google+. Or would you rather have every latest article in your mailbox mailbox? Then sign up here!
What a wonderfully impressive day… Colombia off the beaten track: I love it!
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