Arriving late afternoon, our taxi driver from the airport to our hostel talked non-stop about how proud he is of his city, how progressive it is now, the art, culture, parks and especially the metro.
We stayed at the edge of the touristy El Poblado district, in the highly acclaimed Black Sheep Hostel. Friendly, organised and clean, with lots of communal spaces, including a kitchen, it was great for a few days.
Very friendly cats, too - one, Rufus, managed to sneak into our room at every opportunity
First night we headed into town for a burger in the vegan Lentejas Express (Lentil Express!) where we had good, big burgers for about 1 pound 50 each, and a nice craft beer for me and a homemade lemonade for Alan. There are loads of veggie places to choose from in Medellin and loads more bars. We warmed to Medellin immediately.
A highlight was the free walking tour. The guide, Medellin born and bred, and a proud Paisa (a person born in the Antioquia region of Colombia) promised a no holds barred tour and to answer any of our questions and we all knew that she was referring to the legacy of Senor Escobar, though she avoided uttering his name, mostly out of respect to the local people, who were very interested in what she was talking about and sometimes nudged their way into the group, complaining: 'no entiendo, porque no habla espanol?' (I don't understand. Why doesn't she speak Spanish?). The guide painted a vivid picture of a city emerging unshackled from years of fear at the hands of the narcos. I'd watched the 'Narcos' series during the rainy afternoons at Cloudbridge and was fascinated and horrified by the megalomaniacal sociopath's activities and atrocities. There is a restaurant in El Poblado called Mondongo, which was Escobar's headquarters. Apparently it took years to find someone willing to rent it and the offices above are still unoccupied. Buildings formerly associated with Escobar are painted white. The walking tour took in 'dodgy' parts of the city and we were often joined by local characters, one guy, obviously under the influence of something, insisted on showing us his torso, which he was so proud of, announcing that he was 60, but just look at his pecs. Members of the group asked questions about Escobar's legendary 'generosity' - builiding schools, houses, hospitals, sports pitches etc, which the guide discounted, saying that his contribution to the country was minimal and yes, he bought people houses, but at a huge cost as they owed were in his power. The Robin Hood image persists, however, and t-shirts bearing his image with the slogan 'El Padron' are for sale on many street corners. We visited areas where prostitutes stood hopefully outside the church and a previously notorious square, which has now been reappropriated as the Plaza del Luz - the square of light, to celebrate Medellin's emergence from the darkness.
Lights in the Plaza del Luz
Our walking tour group, with friendly local just left of centre!
Aside from the free walking tour, there are two Escobar tours of Medellin, one guided by his brother, who offers a free handshake as part of the deal. (Whoop, who wants to shake hands with the brother of a psychopath and line his pockets?). He was nearly blinded by a letter bomb in the narco days. We highly recommend the walking tour as a historical and current overview of the city, taking in some of the more colourful areas.
Inside a beautiful old shopping centre in the city centre
Botero statue, oft-rubbed for luck and fertility
Fernando Botero, renowned sculptor and artist from Medellin, trained at matador school before leaving the bullring and becoming a figurative artist. His signature style is rounded disproportionate people and animals.
Incredibly poignant - this Botero statue, The Bird, was blown up by a bomb which killed 30 people attending a music festival in this square in June 1995. Their names are listed on the plinth
The replacement, installed alongside the bomb-damaged original as a symbol of hope
The story goes that, on hearing that it was due to be removed, Botero telephoned the mayor, insisting that the destroyed statue be kept in situ, alongside a newly made replacement, as a show of resilience, defiance and strength and as a memorial to those who died in the blast.
This one reminds us of our much-missed shared cat, Huxley, back in Brighton
Loving the whiskers
More charming Boteros, and Alan (not visible, but on this statue, there's a strategically located bird's nest)
Sombrero, amigo?
This guy is selling paper birds which fly elegantly, powered by a rubber band 'Leonardo da Vinci bird' he proudly announced
Street musicians near El Poblado metro station, not looking thrilled about the garb
We took a trip on the cable car to Parque Arvi, high above the city, passing over the shanty towns below. Prior to the cable car, the inhabitants of these towns were cut off from the city, now they have the opportunity to work in Medellin, as they have cheap, accessible transport. Previously, working in the city would have entailed a couple of hours' walk down the hill to reach the city, then a punishing hike back up at the end of the day.
Shanty towns on the hillside above Medellin
Sign inside the cable car
From the cable car, Medellin all around and below us
We loved the botanical gardens, a green lung in the middle of the city. Birds, huge iguanas and amazing ice cream!
Big iguana in a tree - we saw (and heard!) one plunge from high in the tree into the lake below
They walk and climb surprisingly quickly when they need to.
Magnificent beast
Very territorial little bird
Butterflies feasting on fruit in the mariposario
Birds (ibis?) gathering in the trees by the lake at dusk
On to Guatape
After a great few days in Medellin, we travelled by bus for a couple of hours to Guatape, a little town renowned for its zocalos, frescoes on the front walls of most of the houses and buildings there. We stayed a couple of nights in an Airbnb, our first private room in a house, we usually rent an whole apartment. As often happens, in our experience, it was much further outside town than advertised, but in a very rural and scenic area. We were met by the owner's young brother, in Maranilla, a buzzing little town, and driven in his 4WD to the pretty and stylishly furnished Finca on an avocado farm up in the hills before the town of El Penol (named after the big rock of the same name, situated just before Guatape). The original village lies at the bottom of the lake, which is actually a reservoir, having been submerged in the name of progress and the need for a reliable water source. You can sometimes see the old church spire above the water level. The new town is very obviously a result of the need to build fast and cheap, it's ugly and character-free, but the people are very friendly and welcoming.
In Maranilla, our first taste of Colombiana, a fizzy drink NOT made by Pepsi or Coca Cola and containing nothing natural whatsoever, quite delicious
The lovely little local cafe also sold pandequeso, literally cheese bread, which is also delicious and looks like a bagel (just to the left of the bottles, in the cabinet)
Room with a view - to the lake, taken from our balcony at the avocado farm
And the big bed in our room, with colourful local textiles and crisp white cotton bedding
Stunning butterfly on the porch
The Finca's very friendly dog, Bob, in a rare quiet moment
Next day, by bus to Guatape for a major photo-op
The 7 ages of man
Making sugar cane juice
The medical centre
Zocalo depicting the rock, El Penol.....
....And the real thing (note the 'GI' on the rock - apparently some adventurous, but foolhardy types attempted to write 'Guatape', but were caught after just one and a half letters)
Probably the most photographed house in Guatape - the owner is so proud
Alan loved this little trabajador
How pretty is this pharmacy?
And this bank?
No, he's not trying to get off to sleep - this zocalo celebrates the moment that the whole idea was conceived
Down by the lake at Guatape - see the hapless people stuck on the zip wires, waiting to be rescued
We had a good fun day in Guatape; it was Sunday, and the town was thronging with locals and tourists. The lake was mobbed with jet skiers, zip liners, people taking boat trips, stalls selling handicrafts, snacks, gaseosas and beer. The atmosphere was great. We joined in the local sport of watching the zip liners hurtle hard and unceremoniously into the mattress at the other end. Ouch.
Next day the family who owns the Finca came to harvest the avocados, by hand. Each avocado was checked for quality, weighed individually and packed. The mother of the family, Patricia, explained that they were destined for Europe, mostly England, and Sainsbury's!
Harvesting the avocados
Each one is individually checked and weighed (with a little kitchen scale)
The procedure took three people all day. They started at 7.30am and finished at midnight. It was heartening to learn that there are still small-scale family businesses selling to the supermarket giants. Hopefully they are given a fair price for their produce.
We realised that we hadn't seen Bob for a while and his food had not been touched. Turns out he had been hit by a motorbike he was chasing and dislocated his shoulder, so was at the vet's. Poor Bob returned next day, with a limp, and without his testicles, but still bounding around!
Coffee beans drying in the sun in streets of the little town of El Penol
La Cabana, nearest bus stop to our Finca, the transport 'hub' which no-one, including taxi and moto raton drivers, had ever heard of
Huge fish in tiny tanks for sale along the road near the bus stop
The bus station in El Penol, with a beautifully decorated bus
Street seller near the bus station
View from our room, in the sunshine, on our last morning
On the bus from El Penol, on the way back to Medellin to catch a bus to our next stop, Jardin
The Virgin Mary giving hope to those buying lottery tickets in Medellin bus station
Next post: Horsing around in Jardin (yep, sorry - another alliterative title - Jardin is pronounced 'Hardeen')
No comments:
Post a Comment
We enjoy reading your comments!