Medellin and the Silicone Valley
I slept for a long while on the bus but I did manage to appreciate some of the beautiful countryside en route to Medellin. The coffee areas (Zona Cafeteria) and jungle valleys stretched on for ages and never really got boring to look at. The terrain in Colombia is so mountainous and steep that it takes a long time to travel short distances. 409km took us 9 hours.
Medellin is Colombia´s second largest city with around 2.4 million inhabitants. The place has received relatively less tourist attention due to Colombia´s infamous past and the fact that the city was the headquarters of Colombia´s drug trade. Pablo Escobar was from Medellin and owned just about all the city. Those days are now past and Medellin is actually a very modern and clean looking city. The weather is slightly warmer than Bogota making for a very pleasant climate.
I was booked in at the Tiger Paw hostel. An American-owned place that is open, clean and friendly. Riverdance, Helena and Alan were all there so we all went out for some reunion drinks and a catch up on our last 3 weeks of travel. Helena and Riverdance were off to Cartagena the next day but Alan was still hanging with me for a few more. Our hostel was in the Zona Rosa area near Poblado which is considered to be one of the trendy bar and club areas. We had drinks at the Thai-co bar in Parque Lleras where they serve 3 for 1 cocktails all day everyday.
After knocking back some Mojitos and getting the low-down on all that had been going on, we settled in for an early night. Riverdance and Helena left the next morning and I got to hang out with Alan. We walked down to the "subway" which is more above ground than a classical subway but very modern and has regular service. We took a cable car up one of the side valleys and had good views of the city. Next we moved onto Parque Berrio which is the commercial city centre. The town is busy and we carried onto Plaza Bolivar where we chilled out. We were constantly approached by strange locals who either just welcomed us to their city or asked us to come eat and drink with them (we are buying of course). Afterward I visited the Museo Antioquia which houses a large collection of Fernando Botero´s artwork and sculptures. Botero is considered one of the most well-known of Colombian artists. In addition it also has collections from other famous Colombian artists and some interesting cultural exhibits.
Plaza Bolivar
After having spent a full day and a few nights already in Medellin I have a few observations. Firstly, looks and appearance amongst women are paramount. The ladies here definitely look after themselves very well and the amount of "enhancements" evident was simply astounding. Men, on the other hand, have no obligations whatsoever. They can be fat and ugly and there are no worries. Despite all the stares I receive (tourists are not common here and I stood out as I was significantly taller than anybody else) the people I talk to are friendly, helpful and interested in where I am from. Colombia has a reputation for having the purest form of Spanish in South America... however I cannot understand anything they say! This is surprising as I had a much better grasp of Spanish in Argentina and Chile. I was improving quickly though.
On Tuesday night went out to a club called Palmitas which plays a lot of Salsa and Merengue music. The place is a mini resort with separate theatre, restaurant, nightclub and a large open air bar with great views over the city. We hung out with some friends from Miami and danced the night away.
Miami girls - they can drink a lot
Me hanging with the Miami girls... sweeeet
Family chickens were some of the wildlife we got to view
Sharing the road with crazy bus drivers can be dangerous
That night, Vince (US) and I went to B-Lounge which was 2 minutes walk from our hostel. It was ladies night there and free drinks for all girls - very unfair! It started off pretty cheesy with girls singing Latino karaoke ballads. I even met some strange dude dressed as a Mexican/pirate who was carrying around a rifle, fake guns and a large packet of a suspicious white substance. Needless to say a picture was necessary. After being tormented to bad karaoke for a while, the DJ got his act together and put on something more palatable.
Bad karaoke
Vince and Jacqueline
Not a happy Imp at Babylon
The last few days were spent exploring the city a bit more and relaxing in front of the TV catching up on some movies. I ended my stay there with a party at Oz, one of the trendier clubs in the city. It was pretty crazy as you only needed to pay 20000 Colombian pesos (5 quid) and you could get free drinks all night. A recipe for destruction. I took it easy though as my bus for Cartagena left at 6:30am the next morning.
Oz - a bit of a rainforest theme
Drinks service was done by holding out your cup and getting a free pour of whatever you wanted
Hans (Ger), Vanessa (Panama), Gianna (Panama) and Veronica (Colombia), Isaac (Peru)
Medellin is Colombia´s second largest city with around 2.4 million inhabitants. The place has received relatively less tourist attention due to Colombia´s infamous past and the fact that the city was the headquarters of Colombia´s drug trade. Pablo Escobar was from Medellin and owned just about all the city. Those days are now past and Medellin is actually a very modern and clean looking city. The weather is slightly warmer than Bogota making for a very pleasant climate.
I was booked in at the Tiger Paw hostel. An American-owned place that is open, clean and friendly. Riverdance, Helena and Alan were all there so we all went out for some reunion drinks and a catch up on our last 3 weeks of travel. Helena and Riverdance were off to Cartagena the next day but Alan was still hanging with me for a few more. Our hostel was in the Zona Rosa area near Poblado which is considered to be one of the trendy bar and club areas. We had drinks at the Thai-co bar in Parque Lleras where they serve 3 for 1 cocktails all day everyday.
Tiger Paw Hostel
Diana at reception
Parque Lleras - Bar central
Reunion drinks
After knocking back some Mojitos and getting the low-down on all that had been going on, we settled in for an early night. Riverdance and Helena left the next morning and I got to hang out with Alan. We walked down to the "subway" which is more above ground than a classical subway but very modern and has regular service. We took a cable car up one of the side valleys and had good views of the city. Next we moved onto Parque Berrio which is the commercial city centre. The town is busy and we carried onto Plaza Bolivar where we chilled out. We were constantly approached by strange locals who either just welcomed us to their city or asked us to come eat and drink with them (we are buying of course). Afterward I visited the Museo Antioquia which houses a large collection of Fernando Botero´s artwork and sculptures. Botero is considered one of the most well-known of Colombian artists. In addition it also has collections from other famous Colombian artists and some interesting cultural exhibits.
Going up the cable car. The big block like building on the left is a library... pretty odd looking I thought
Plaza Botero with some sculptures done in the artist´s style. In the back is the Museo de Antiquia
Plaza BolivarAfter having spent a full day and a few nights already in Medellin I have a few observations. Firstly, looks and appearance amongst women are paramount. The ladies here definitely look after themselves very well and the amount of "enhancements" evident was simply astounding. Men, on the other hand, have no obligations whatsoever. They can be fat and ugly and there are no worries. Despite all the stares I receive (tourists are not common here and I stood out as I was significantly taller than anybody else) the people I talk to are friendly, helpful and interested in where I am from. Colombia has a reputation for having the purest form of Spanish in South America... however I cannot understand anything they say! This is surprising as I had a much better grasp of Spanish in Argentina and Chile. I was improving quickly though.
On Tuesday night went out to a club called Palmitas which plays a lot of Salsa and Merengue music. The place is a mini resort with separate theatre, restaurant, nightclub and a large open air bar with great views over the city. We hung out with some friends from Miami and danced the night away.
A nice view from Palmitas
Alan and Jacqueline
Miami girls - they can drink a lot
The next day we are off horseback riding just outside the city. The trip is very informally arranged and we hung out at a traditional house (owned by Omar) complete with family dogs, chickens and donkeys. I foolishly wore totally the wrong kit for horseriding, so don´t enjoy it quite as much as I had hoped (no long pants or closed shoes meant I got pretty bad cuts on my feet). Nevertheless I still had fun and the place was in a very beautiful area.
Me hanging with the Miami girls... sweeeet
Family chickens were some of the wildlife we got to view
Sharing the road with crazy bus drivers can be dangerousThat night, Vince (US) and I went to B-Lounge which was 2 minutes walk from our hostel. It was ladies night there and free drinks for all girls - very unfair! It started off pretty cheesy with girls singing Latino karaoke ballads. I even met some strange dude dressed as a Mexican/pirate who was carrying around a rifle, fake guns and a large packet of a suspicious white substance. Needless to say a picture was necessary. After being tormented to bad karaoke for a while, the DJ got his act together and put on something more palatable.
Bad karaoke
Me with the cocaine pirate at B-Lounge
Vince and Jacqueline
Not a happy Imp at BabylonThe last few days were spent exploring the city a bit more and relaxing in front of the TV catching up on some movies. I ended my stay there with a party at Oz, one of the trendier clubs in the city. It was pretty crazy as you only needed to pay 20000 Colombian pesos (5 quid) and you could get free drinks all night. A recipe for destruction. I took it easy though as my bus for Cartagena left at 6:30am the next morning.
Oz - a bit of a rainforest theme
Drinks service was done by holding out your cup and getting a free pour of whatever you wanted
Hans (Ger), Vanessa (Panama), Gianna (Panama) and Veronica (Colombia), Isaac (Peru)I almost missed my bus as the first taxi I got took me to the South Bus Terminal rather than the North one! A frantic scramble ensued to get in a cab to the North Terminal and I just made it on in time. Time to sleeeeeeep!
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