14 de Junio - Medellin, Colombia
We flew into Medellin from Cartagena as we have been told that it is not a good idea to take night bus rides in Colombia. We arrived as the sun was setting, and saw all the mountains that surround the city light up as the sun dove deeper into the Andes. Our first impression of Medellin as we took a cab into the city was how modern it is. It is unlike any other city we have seen so far in South America, very modern and quite large, it has almost 2 million residents. The airport is about 30 minutes away from the city, and the last 15 minutes of the ride are spent going down a pretty steep hill that drops you right into the center of the city. The city is a bit like San Francisco with all the hills, but has much nicer weather.We arrived the night before our 1 year anniversary, so we decided to stay in a nice hotel. On the plane we found a coupon for a weekend special at the Dann Carlton in the El Poblado section of Medellin, and decided to take it with us to the hotel to see if it would work. It was the first time we have stayed in a really nice place for 6 months, and it was quite a treat. We felt a little out of place when we cruised into the hotel lobby of this fancy place, but we quickly became accustomed to the good life. The room was huge with a bath tub, mini bar, huge TV with cable, room service, and plenty of space, all things that we never get in hostals. The hotel also had a pool, sauna, hot tub and gym, which we took full advantage of the whole time we were there. We felt so spoiled at the fancy hotel that we did not leave the grounds for both days we were there. They had to practically drag us out when it was time to check out and move down town into a hostal. We did get to rub elbows with the wealthy Colombians, and noticed two things. One, plastic surgery is quite common, and two, older men dating much younger women is also quite common. We observed a lot sitting around the pool for two days.
Our little piece of heaven ended abruptly as we got in the cab to go to a hostal we had chosen, and the cab driver couldn´t find it, so he just let us off downtown in the middle of a rainstorm. We were soaked walking around downtown Medellin with our backpacks, and once we found the hostal we were looking for, it was fully booked so we had to keep going. In typical Colombian fashion, a guy came right up to us and asked in English if we were lost. We told him we thought we knew where we were going, showed him our destination in the book, and he laughed and then he pointed us in the opposite direction and told us how to get there. He even offered to show us the way if we wanted. One thing that is impossible to escape in Colombia, the people are incredibly friendly and helpful, and always look out for tourists. We eventually found a nice hostal and were able to dry off and get some food before it got too late.
The next day we took the metro (Medellin has a very modern metro system) a few stops down the line to a couple of museums and the botanical gardens. The Medellin Botanical Gardens could use a little help, it was just a park with an old bog in the middle with garbage floating in it. The entrance to the park was half off if we were students, and we have often tried to claim student status to get discounts, but it has never worked. At the Botanical Gardens here, the guy basically told us that we were students without us even bringing it up, and gladly let us in for half price with a little wink. However, even half price was too much for the shoddy gardens.
The next day we went to all the different art museums and public parks where sculpture is displayed. A very famous artist named Botero is from Medellin, and the entire city is like a shrine to his work. There are huge bronze sculptures of his all over town in public places. One of the most interesting is in San Antonio Plaza, where he erected a huge piece called "Bird of Peace." It was partially blown up in 1995 by a bomb during the heart of the cartel wars in Medellin and Cali. 15 people died in the explosion, mostly children. He then donated another piece, that is exactly the same, to sit directly next to the broken and shattered remnants of his original piece in the park. He wanted everyone to see what the violence of the drug wars really looked like. It is a sad reminder. We also went to the museum of Antioquia (the name of Medellin´s province), where they have dedicated an entire floor to Botero. In a lot of his work you see traces of the violent history of Medellin. One piece is the called "The Death of Pablo Escobar," the now deceased head of the Medellin Cartel, and depicts him being ravaged by bullets. Although Botero is certainly the most important son of Medellin, Pablo Escobar continues to be the most well-known. So much so that in Cartagena we were shown what they now call Pablito Island, which is one of the places Escobar had a house in the ´90s during his reign.
In the evenings we walk around the streets and take in the sights, and eat at one of the many outdoor cafe´s that line the streets on the second floor of buildings. Our favorite past time is to watch the public city buses go by. They are amazingly painted, all different colors in racing stripe patterns, with huge dual chrome exhaust pipes in back, three or four different colored spoilers on the top, and either flashing police lights or neon lights flashing all over the bus. They are hilarious. Each bus looks like a roving party, and some of them have salsa or rumba blaring out of the windows. Our guess is that the drivers take a lot of pride in their buses, and trick them out to their own styles.
Medellin is really a very livable place, and nothing like what we though it would be. It has almost perfect weather year round, and the peole are great hosts. It is also where most of the textiles in Colombia are made, so tomorrow we are going shopping for cheap clothes as well as chocolates and coffee, two of Colombia´s best exports.
posted by The Blaus @ 5:53 PM
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