Category: Medellin

Traveling Slow

2/14/2019

One of the advantages to traveling slow is that we can enjoy days living in the community and not having to be a tourist. We spend a slow day on Tuesday, editing photos, blogging and working on our next venue: Lisbon. After a swim in the pool I work on verifying our stays in Portugal and on booking tours in Lisbon. William has extensive time working on photos and checking up on things on the internet. A late lunch nearby is a picada - tons of sausage, chicken, bacon with a few small potatoes and avocado slices.

Thursday also starts with a swim for me. Mid-afternoon we walk to an area near Parque El Poblado for an incredible Italian meal. Very fresh ingredients. I have to learn out how to make ravioli al dente! Following our meal we walk to Parque Lleras. All of the travel guides talk of Parque Lleras, and many of the AirBnB properties in Poblano make reference to their distance to Parque Lleras. Admittedly most of the references are related to the night scene, but we find Parque Lleras to be a disappointment. It is a small green space with a polluted stream running through it. There are restaurants and bars around the parameter, but in late afternoon it is not exactly an exciting scene.

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Tour: Comuna 13: From Violence to Innovation

2/12/2019

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We have signed up for the AirBnB experience "Communa 13: From Violence to Innovation", so on this sunny Tuesday we eat a late breakfast and make our way to Centro to meet our group.

Sebastián, the tour organizer, has told us to meet in front of Candelaria’s Church. Since we arrive a little early we sit a few minutes inside, then outside we meet Steve from Idaho and Suhail from Toronto. Sebatián soon arrives and leads the four of us through Centro, explaining the cultural center, Botero Plaza and the museum in the context of what it was like 25+ years ago when the county was at war between the drug lords, the paramilitary and the government.

Sebastián walks us to a Salon Malaga, a coffee shop started in 1957 (a very good year). The owner is crazy for music and has many juke boxes throughout the establishment and often acts as DJ. The five of us all opt for "tinto's" - black coffee's. On our way to the San Antonio metro station we walk by a corner shop selling deep fried balls of dough and cheese. This is not to be passed by! Delicious!

We take the Metro B line, where we travel west four or five stops then transfer to a tram line, riding the tram over the middle-class then poor housing. The tram also carries us over a polluted river. Sebatián explains a longer-term city plan is to build better waste treatment plants and to relocate the industry which today is alongside the river. The riverside would then have parks. We take the tram to the end of the line for a view of the city, where Sebastián escorts us on a city bus to Comuna 13.

Comuna 13 was once considered the most dangerous community in the world based upon murder rates. Residents were poor and the area had no real transportation or education. Drug trade, guerrilla, paramilitary, and gangs were the business of the area. Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel played a heavy hand. In 2002 the government conducted an operation with 1,000 soldiers to try to overthrow the Cartel, with many residents caught between the two. Many people were injured or killed. The residents put up white flags to indicate a stop to the fighting.

Today Comuna 13 is still poor, but has evolved with public support and community action. The crime rate is a fraction of what it was. Public transportation and schooling have come to the Comuna. Escalators allow the residents easier means of getting up and down the hillside and to schools and to other areas of the city. Street art and hip-hop have evolved and are drawing tourists. We walk through the streets (mostly uphill) hearing the stories and looking at the murals. We stop for a homemade popsicle at a local business - one that appears to be popular with all the tourists. Then we ride the escalators up the hillside to see more murals and to interact a bit with the residents.

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A Relaxing Weekend

2/11/2019

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After our trip to Guatape we've earned a relaxing weekend. The weather is good. We work on photos and blogs and in-between sit on our balcony watching the people in the park and the clouds floating overhead.

Sunday morning we once again go to the Farmer's Market. The people seem to smile more broadly when two gringo stop and look at their stalls. In the afternoon we go to Poblado's Barrio Manila, an area 30 minutes walk from our apartment with many restaurants. We try out a burger place. We notice an abundance of pale young people, then realize the large number of hostels nearby. After our late lunch we walk to Parque El Poblado to look at the craft vendors who have setup their wares. None of the jewelry or handicrafts call to us, but we do find a booth with chocolates made of 70% cocoa and 30% panela, the brown sugar made from boiling sugar cane juice. We're happy to buy a small bag for 15,000 pesos.

Monday I am feeling much better with just some occasional coughing now, so it's time to check out the pool. Juan had warned me that a swim cap is required. I go to the Dollar Store with hope of finding one, but no luck. It's time to be creative. I figure that as long as I keep my head above water that a shower cap might be sufficient. It's unlikely that the guards will challenge some foreign woman as long as she has something on her head, so I buy a premium one for 4,000 pesos ($1.33). My scheme works!

In the afternoon we return to Barrio Manila for our lunch, this time choosing the Argentine restaurant Malevo. My flank steak is outstanding and William's ribeye is very good. After lunch William says it's time for a haircut. He checks out Vinke's Barbershop and it's barbers. He then sits down in the open chair. What could go wrong in a barber shop that also sells bottled beer? Between William's basic Spanish, the barber's rudimentary English and a lot of gestures the style and amount to trim off is communicated. 25 minutes later William feels like a new man.

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Trip to Guatape and Piedra del Peñol

2/8/2019

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We get up early on Friday to meet our tour bus at Parque El Poblado at 7:30am. We are going to Piedra del Peñol and the town of Guatape. The tour is so popular there are two buses today. We are in the English-speaking bus.

About an hour after the busses first roll we stop at a roadside restaurant. A typical Columbian breakfast is included in the tour, which consists of coffee or hot chocolate and a torta with slabs of relatively tasteless cheese. I drink the hot chocolate, which is very good, but can only finish half of the torta with cheese. We talk with a couple from the U.K. in their 30's who are finishing up a year of travel. They sold their home and most of their possessions and took off to see the world. The only exception is the two months they spent in the U.K. after he fell out of the top bunk at a hostel in Vietnam. Following surgery in Vietnam they flew home where the surgery was re-done and he completed his recovery.

Our next stop is the town of Marinilla. We stop first at Capilla Jesus Nazareno then walk to the town square and Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion. Along the way we see a few zocalos, the decorations on houses which tell a story or make a statement about the family and/or community.

After our short walk around town center we are back on the bus, destined for Piedra del Peñol. The area nearby was flooded when a large dam was built and as part of the project an entire town of 10,000 people was relocated. The hydro-electric dam provides 35% of Colombia's electricity.

We are told that one family owns the huge rock and the nearby land - wow, talk about a cash cow!  There are 742 stairs to reach the top of Piedra del Peñol and an admission fee of $6 for the experience.  William decides to forego the climb, but I happily pay the fee and set a goal of the observation ledge, about half way up.  As I start up the curvy stairs I realize an additional challenge - while I am going up others are coming down the irregular stairs.  During the trek I stop a few times when there is a small landing to take photos and catch my breath.  360 stairs later I reach my goal.  Yeah!  More photos and then the careful journey down.

When I reach the base I find William sitting in a cafe enjoying a cerveza.  The waiter happily brings me a bottle of agua con gas. For entertainment we sit back and watch the locals and the tourists until it is time for the bus to leave.

A short drive takes us to the town of Guatape, where we start with lunch at a small restaurant.  I have a typical Columbian lunch consisting of pork belly, sausage, ground beef, beans, rice, something like a hard biscuit, and a large slice of avocado.  It is very filling, and I leave all of the beans and most of the rice uneaten!  During lunch a trio performs local songs for tips.  They are not very good, but they try hard.

After lunch we go on a group walk of the town learning more about the zocalos and then have 45 minutes to explore more on our own. William and I check out the town square with it's Catholic church (Nuesta Señora Del Carmen De Guatape) and it's park, amazingly not named for Simon Bolivar, but instead named Parque Principal.

The bus is pretty quiet on our two hour return journey. Everyone is tired from the busy day. William and I are very happy we took the tour.

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Jardín Botánico & Cementario San Pedro

2/4/2019

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Now that we have "mastered" the Metro we are ready to explore more of Medellín. Our target destination today is Jardín Botánico. We take the A line to the University stop, which is right outside of the entrance to the botanical gardens.

The gardens, which at 15 hectares about three-fourths the size of the Buchardt Gardens on Victoria Island, British Columbia. Unfortunately the butterfly house is closed. As we walk through the gardens we enjoy seeing a variety of flowers as well as the lagoon, but it is not exceptional. There are two highlights: the Orchideorama, a structure for their orchid collection, and In Situ, a highly rated restaurant located in the middle of the garden. They should visit Victoria Island for inspiration. But, it is a nice family-oriented venue within Medellín.

We would like to have a late lunch at In Situ, but there is not enough within the gardens to keep us occupied until our lunch time. I remember that Cementario San Pedro is a relatively short walk away. Off we go, following the elevated metro tracks for half the distance to the cemetery.

The cemetery was constructed in the 1840's and includes a small chapel.  In 1998-1999 it was named a museum and national monument.  After enjoying the chapel and walking through the headstones and monuments we are getting hungry.

We stroll back to In Situ and have a fantastic meal - the best we've had in Colombia.  We share an appetizer of fried cheese cubes coated with a few sesame seeds.   I choose salmon and side salad as my entree and William has a local stew.  Both are very flavorful and expertly prepared. The service staff is very professional and our waiter enjoys practicing his English with us.  The desserts look phenomenal, but we are too full to indulge.

We gather ourselves together and walk through the gardens to the Metro station.  By the time we arrive back at the apartment my walking app tells me that we have over 13,000 steps for the day.   We deserve that fantastic meal!

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Medellín Artists

2/4/2019

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We have not yet figured out the Medellín mass transit system, so we hail a taxi on the street. When we tell the driver that we want to go to Parque Barrio he keeps saying something about the Metro. With our limited Spanish we do not understand. Originally I think he is going to take us to the nearest Metro station providing service to the Parque, but eventually we realize he is advising us that the Metro is a better option. Regardless, he delivers us to the pedestrian walkway in Centro which leads us to the Parque. Along the way we see block upon block of small businesses in Centro, passing through the textile and auto repair blocks is just a start. When he drops us off we tip him 3,000 pesos on a 7,000 trip and he is very happy.

We start by exploring Palacio de la Cultura, a gothic revival building from the 1920's originally used for government offices. Today it does art exhibits and contains a library. We wander through the rooms enjoying the art of Yolanda Perez and others.

The outdoor space of Botero Plaza contains 20+ bronze statues of the artist Fernando Botero, who was born in Medellín. We are told that Botero donated the statues in an effort to draw the people of Medellín into public spaces and to interact with art. His art is a unique style, people and animals with exaggerated volume (I.e. "fat").

After enjoying the sculptures and doing some people watching we enter Museo de Antioquia, located across the plaza from Palacio de la Cultura. Most of the art on the top floors was donated by Botero and we delight and giggle at some of the paintings and statues. As with all good artists he is providing commentary and perspective on people and events. Given the impact of the drug lord Pablo Escobar on the city of Medellín as well as the county and the rest of the world he did a painting about Escobar after his death which I stare at for 10-15 minutes.

The metro station is right across the plaza, and it it mid-afternoon so it shouldn't be too crowded. We walk into the station, examine the map and plot our course back to the apartment. It is very simple, we just need to take the A line 4 stops to Industriales and then walk about 1km. The fare is only 2,250 pesos (72 cents US) per person. We find the metro stations and trains to be very clean and relatively easy to navigate.

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First Weekend

2/3/2019

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The apartment is lovely, but last night we learn it has one downside - no air conditioning. This means we leave the windows open to allow some of the 65F (18C) breeze into the bedrooms. Unfortunately that also allows the noise and some of the light of the city in as well. The good news is that there doesn't seem to be any bugs (mosquitoes, for example).

I'm still fighting through my cold so we take it pretty easy for our first weekend in Medellín. Saturday we explore the area, including walking 40 minutes to Parque El Poblado. It's basically a square city block with a number of trees and statues. There are a few wooden and concrete benches. Of course it is opposite the requisite Catholic church (Parroquia San José del Poblado). We sit down to do some people watching and we notice an older gentleman near us who is sound asleep. Well, I suppose it is siesta time. :-)

Our apartment is next to a small park which is very well used by families and friends on Saturday afternoon and evening. There are also 15-20 small vendors selling food and drink lining the street in front of the park. They arrive around 10 am and leave around 11 pm. A number of birthday parties, complete with decorations and balloons, go late into the evening.

Sunday morning is very quiet. Even the dogs do not seem to be barking. Last night we noticed some tents and tables being setup in the small park in front of the museum. We are hoping for a farmer's market and that's exactly what we find. We buy eggs, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, avocados, pineapple and apples all for 19,000 pesos ($6 USD).

We decide to check out the Modern Art Museum since it is right next door. The architecture of the building is interesting with the four levels somewhat ajar from each other. There are a few pieces that catch our eye, but generally neither of us has an appreciation for modern art.

We meander over to Mercado del Rio a few blocks away for a late lunch. This is a food venue with maybe 30 different small restaurants on the bottom floor where you order, take your food and sit anywhere in the common space, three larger sit-down bar/restaurants on the second floor and a night club on the third floor. We walk through looking at all the options and decide on Parmeseano, one of the restaurants on the second floor. The pasta is al dente and my salmon is done perfectly. The portions are also perfect - not huge as in the US but definitely enough. Two dinners (they do not have a separate menu for lunch) with two cervezas, two glasses of wine, and one bottle of sparkling water including propina (tip) is 103,900 pesos ($33 USD). At these prices it's going to be hard to be motivated to cook our main meals in the apartment.

We waddle home and sit on our balcony enjoying the late afternoon and evening. The quietness of the day continues. The picnics and parties are occurring in the park, but the people are not loud. We comment to each other about how much joyous laughter we hear. How wonderful!

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Hola Medellín

2/1/2019

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Our Avianca flight connects through Bogotá to reach Medellín - this is our third time in Bogotá airport in less than two weeks. Hernando stands outside of baggage claim at José María Córdova International Aiirport with a sign containing our name.  He smiles, grabs our bags and almost sprints through the airport to his car... we have trouble keeping up with him.

The airport is in Rionegro, a town 34 km from Poblado, the area of Medellín where we have rented an AirBnB for the next two weeks.  As Hernando drives it is clear we are going down in elevation.  My ears need constant popping.  Later I look it up: the airport is at 7,000 feet while the flat area of Medellín where we are staying is at 5,000 feet.  During our descent we see the city below us with a layer of smog hanging about mountain-top height, a problem we have seen in other cities located in mountain valleys.  We'll have to see how bad it is here.

An hour after meeting Hernando near baggage claim he delivers us to Juan, who owns/manages the apartment with his mother. He speaks perfect English so I don't need to pull out Google Translate.  Yeah! The apartment is in a nice, modern complex with two swimming pools and an exercise room located next to the Museo de Arte Moderno and a park.  It has a nice view of the city edging it's way up the mountainsides.

Juan show us the apartment and tells us of the nearby grocery stores and restaurants. He also mentions that the museum has a free jazz concert this evening. We make a run to the Exito grocery store one-half block away for water and breakfast supplies. Then we walk a block in the other direction to La Bottega Verde for a welcomed Italian meal.

After dinner we are too tired and I feel too sick to go to the jazz concert, even though we both would love to attend. Happily we are able to hear the music simply by opening the windows in the master bedroom.

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Traveling Slow

Tour: Comuna 13: From Violence to Innovation

A Relaxing Weekend

Trip to Guatape and Piedra del Peñol

Jardín Botánico & Cementario San Pedro

Medellín Artists

First Weekend

Hola Medellín

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