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Published: March 16th 2010
Saturday morning I woke as fresh as a daisy that's feeling particularly fresh. And particularly early. I was pleased to see that I could catch the tail end of F1 qualifying on the cable TV here (Fox Sports if you're interested).
I think that I already mentioned that Diana from the hostel in Cartagena had given me a guidebook for Medellín? It's a couple of years out of date but I figured that not many mountains will have moved in that time and the city center is unlikely to have been razed and rebuilt. And it's actually a great guidebook - nice and small and breaks the city into the various different zones of interest. And, most importantly, each section is in both Spanish AND English. This serves two purposes - it ensures that I understand what it's trying to tell me, and it allows me to learn some new Spanish words. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that my spanish is worse now than when I arrived... 😞
Aaany way, back to Saturday. By the time that I was all sorted out, it was midday. As usual, I'd chosen a stupid time to be wandering around a
city. Still, Medellín is nowhere near as hot as Cartagena et al. Even so, it was a sticky 30 degrees in the shade.
I decided to try to find the metro station. I was kinda pointed in the right direction by the woman at the hostel. I checked with random passers-by on route. It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the hostel, down the hill that is Calle 10 to the tube station (a bit longer to walk back up, obviously!). I saw a couple of young jugglers entertaining the traffic as they were stopped at red lights. You see this quite a bit here - and it's pretty impressive typically...as soon as the lights turn red, they're out there doing their thing. Then they rest during the rest of the traffic lights cycle. I don't think that I've ever seen any of them get paid.
So, as I said, after about 20 minutes I got to the metro station. A steep set of steps led from the road (well, actually from the university) to a pedestrian footbridge over an 8 lane road, and then finally to the ticket office. The queue for tickets stretched some way
Carrera 35
A haven of tranquility where sits Global Hosteldown the bridge but it didn't take long before I could, yet again, prove my inability to grasp some of the most basic concepts in Spanish at the ticket office.
So, the way the system works is this - I think. There are basically four lines but the main one runs north to south along the river. This was the one that I needed to take.
You pay a fixed 1.500 COP (50p!) to travel anywhere on the network. Your ticket is swallowed as you enter the gates at the station, but you can travel as long or as far as you want on that ticket - so long as you don't leave any station. I asked if they did a travel card for a week - but apparently not.
Any way, the station itself was lovely! Spacious, clean. I don't think that I mentioned before but you don't really see much by way of graffiti here. You see some, of course. But nowhere near as much as you see in London. Within a couple of minutes the downtown train arrived. Again, wide, spacious. I didn't get a seat, but neither did I have to ride with my
From Calle 10
Young street entertainers earn their crust face in somebody else's armpit. Which was nice.
One really nice thing for the tourist is that the metro maps have places of interest marked at each station.
I'm not sure if the Metro system ever goes underground. I don't think so, to be honest. The city is built around the river and the Metro is built along it. One big long straight piece of track (at least, the bit that I've seen). As a result it runs over bridges that run over roads which gives the whole thing a bit of a DLR feel to it (except I think it has drivers). Do you know what I mean? Every time you get out at a station, there's a bunch of steps to negotiate.
Eventually I arrived at Parque de Berrío hoping to be able to easily get to the Museo de Antioquia and the main parts of the old town. So I got off the train and followed my nose. What I
should have done is to follow the map. That would have been smarter. I exited North from the station. I should have exited South. Anyway, I came to the Parque de Berrío (as opposed to
Poblado Metro Station
Clean, safe, comfortable, cheap the Metro station of the same name) and all around me was serious hustle and bustle. Of course it was hot. There were buses clogging up the narrow streets, performers mingled with the homeless and the generally dishevelled looking in the square. I was hot. And I was disoriented. I really needed to find somewhere where I would feel safe pulling out a map and looking totally lost. I needed a bar or a restaurant or a cafe...I kept walking. Eventually I got to a main street and felt lost enough to pull out the map. The problem was that it didn't make any real sense to me. I don't know if it was the heat or the 3d nature of the map or that it was just innaccurate, but I couldn't relate what I was seeing to what was on the map in front of me. At least I knew which road I was on - just not which part of that road.
I asked a middle aged woman if she could help me and she looked at me like I had the plague. Charming. In fairness, given my state, it probably looked a bit like I might have
had the plague.
Finally I asked a couple of girls who were selling telephone minutes (you see them EVERYWHERE, I really should get a photo! Not those particular girls, you understand...just people selling Minutos) where I was and they helped me out. It was now that I realised that I was on the wrong side of the tracks, as it were. No matter, there is actually quite an important square and cathedral (the two always seem to go together) not far away so I headed up that way.
The Parque Bolíva is a bit more relaxed than Parque de Berrío. Still there are a few unsavoury characters hanging around and I didn't like to have the camera out for too long. Still, I got a couple of shots in which I've posted up.
I wandered into the Catedral Basilica Metropolitana - a huge red building, separated from the Parque Bolívar by a large oval shaped pool, with fountains forming an impressive and soothing gateway to what lay beyond. I just read that this building "holds the record as one of the buildings in the world with the most bricks - over 1.1 million". I'm not sure how
Parque Bolívar
In the background, Catedral Basilica Metropolitana you can hold a record as "
one of the buildings in the world with the most bricks". Surely, either your building has the most bricks or it doesn't? Anyway, I think that we can safely say that a
lot of bricks went into making this cathedral.
I'm quite proud that I always remember to take off my hat when I enter a church - apparently not to do so would earmark me as a inconsiderate gringo immediately...anyway, thanks mum and dad for drilling that into me as a kid 😊.
There was a service in progress so I didn't take any photos of the inside of the Cathedral. But I loitered at the back and savored the coolness of the air, trying (unsuccessfully) to work out which point in the service they were at.
As I left the cathedral, I was stopped by an old lady who was super interested in who I was and where I'd been. We stood on the steps and chatted for a good twenty minutes about how things had changed in the city and how, yes, things were more secure now, but she still didn't feel totally safe etc. Was really nice to chat
to her. And then she pointed me in the exact direction of the museum. Bless her.
I didn't actually follow that route, though. I followed most of it, but I figured out a quicker way to get to where I wanted to go (I was beginning to find my bearings). En route I stopped at a café for some much-needed rehydration and an empanada. One of the (many) things that I love about this country is that, when you order a fruit juice, they don't just go and open up a Tropicana. They fire up the blender and make you a genuinely pure juice of whichever fruit you asked for, then throw in a couple of ice cubes and bring it to you....and charge you next to nothing for it. I guess that fresh fruit is much easier to come by in this part of the world...but I know that I'm going to be disappointed the next time that I'm in the UK and order fruit juice.
I rounded the corner of the Gothic-like Palacio de la Cultura "Rafael Uribe Uribe" (so good they named it twice) and into the Plaza Botero (which, confusingly, is also known as
Parque Bolívar
From the steps of Catedral Basilica Metropolitana Plaza de las Esculturas).
Botero, as you may remember from my fondle in Cartagena, is the Colombian artist who's just a smidgen obsessed with...errrm...plumpness. He's actually from Medellín and the Plaza Botero contains numerous (23 according to my guidebook) huge bronze sculptures by the artist. It's amazing how Botero manages to make everything look chubby. It's not just people - if he paints a guitar it looks fat. If he paints an orange, or a bunch of grapes, they too look fat. Everything is disproportionately shorter and wider than it is in real life. (There's actually a painting of a hand in the museum which looks very much like my own - short sausage-like fingers!).
I intended to get shots of all of the sculptures in the square but it started to rain...and then it started to rain more heavily. So I gave up on that and dashed into the the Museo de Antioquia which faces the square.
You actually have to go into the shop to buy your ticket (a very reasonable 8.000 COP). The doorman tried to sell me an audio tour but it was only available in Spanish and I heard enough of it
to realise it wouldn't really be worthwhile for me. Honestly, I'd rather concentrate on looking at the art than to hear somebody talking about it. Guess that I'm not really that cultured.
The Museum itself is spread across three floors and contains, predominantly, works by Botero - there is, in fact, an entire floor dedicated to his work. There are works by other artists though and I spent a very pleasant couple of hours wandering around.
By which time I was feeling pretty exhausted. I toyed with the idea of going back to the hostel but figured that I'd get something to drink first. Walking out of the museum I turned right and headed down a narrow road, the hustle and bustle returning after the calm oasis that was the museum.
I stopped for a coke and had a quick look at my guidebook. I wasn't far away from Parque de la Luz (which, confusingly, is also known as Plaza de Cisneros) so I headed off in that direction.
Passing one of the many police gazebos that you see dotted around Colombia, I saw a homeless guy sleeping off what appeared to a heavy night's (morning's?) drinking. I
wondered where he'd got his alcohol from!
That was the first time that I've seen somebody seriously drunk in Colombia - I mentioned in the previous post that it's quite rare to see. One thing that you
do see a lot of throughout the country is amputee beggars. It's quite disconcerting. I'm not sure why there are so many amputees. Most appear to have lost one or both legs and I can only assume that it's a result of the country's troubled past - but that's pure conjecture.
Any way, I wandered down (what I later learned was) the Carabobo pedestrian walkway which links Parque Botero with Parque de la Luz. Everywhere, street vendors, noise...an average saturday in Medellín, I guess.
Finally, I rounded the corner of a the "twin" red brick buildings of Edificio Carré and Edificio Vásquez to be confronted with the jaw-dropping sight of Parque de la Luz - a HUGE square with
hundreds of narrow white columns of concrete shooting into the air - as though a master sculptor had built an artificial forest but forgot to add the branches and the leaves. Between the columns, small rows of trees provided shade from the
sun. And in the distance, the slanted fascia of the EPM Library. Walking forward into the square, on the left I saw the
huge (this time I really mean it) Centro Administrivo.
I spent I don't know how long just wandering around the square, resting near the fountains of the EPM library (I have no idea what EPM stands for, btw), taking photos, people watching.
I tried to get into the square of the Centro Administrivo but it was sealed off - I assumed that this was a security measure given the upcoming elections. To actually get to the building you need to cross Calle 44 - no mean feat. This is a super busy 8 lane road. There are five (count 'em) separate pedestrian crossings to negotiate. And they have that cute thing that I saw in Taiwan where they give you a countdown timer to say how long you have to get across the road (30 seconds). The little green man flashes and then, as it gets to 10 seconds remaining, the little green man starts
running 😊
By this time, I was truly truly exhausted. I'd been out and wandering around for about 5
hours. But I'd made the effort to cross Calle 44 now and I could see from my guidebook that, not far away (and on this side of the road), was Plaza Mayor, and Parque de las Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Park). So off I headed, stopping to ask directions a couple of times (building works have changed the street layout ever so slightly).
Plaza Mayor was fairly empty. It's dominated by a convention center on one side and an exhibition center on the other side. It looked like they were gearing up for the games that were starting next week. Did I mention that? Medellín is host to the
IX South American Games starting Wednesday (Some athletes from Chile were actually on my flight to Medellín). Our closest equivalent would be the Commonwealth Games, I suppose.
It's actually quite a big deal for them - and that this city (which only a couple of decades ago was so riddled with such enormous problems of drugs and kidnappings and murder) can turn itself around to stage such an international event speaks volumes of its people and their desire to move forward.
Well, Plaza Mayor was nice but didn't really do much for me,
so I kept moving in the direction of Barefoot Park. It was lovely! It basically consists of a green area (grass and a tiny wooded area), the main square (bordered by cafes and restaurants on one side and the EPM (there's that acronym again) building on the other. And in the center, a mini-beach of sand and pools in which you are invited to dangle your feet and rest. It's a really relaxing space and the perfect place to finish up my day's tour.
I hung around their for a while and people-watched.
Finally, the route back to the hostel. I walked the length of Calle 44 to Estación Alpujarra and boarded the Metro three short stops back to Poblado. I wasn't really looking forward to the long walk up Calle 10 but I stopped a couple of times on the way up - once at a music shop (which held nothing of particular interest but was air conditioned), and once at the Medellin Beer House for a cool, refreshing, non-alcoholic (grrrr) beer and a small plate of Nachos. It was about 7pm, I think.
The Medellin beer house is actually kind of cool. It's become a bit of
Fat Cat
One of many Botero Sculptures a fave in terms of places to hang out whilst I've been here. They have a selection of beers from all over the world - like a Bierodrome but more expensive!
I went back to the hostel and collapsed...and slept. Until about 11pm. Was feeling a bit peckish but not particularly energetic so I staggered over the road to a
great sushi place and had a great selection of salmon and tuna. I'll try to get a couple of photos of the place - it's really nice.
And then, back to bed. Saturday was done.
While I'm at it, I may as well bring you totally up to speed, because both Sunday and Monday were fairly uneventful.
Sunday started with the Formula 1 - first race of the season...fairly rubbish, wasn't it? The first race of the F1 season marks the beginning of spring for me - and I actually missed being at home and noticing that the nights are getting lighter and the days getting a bit warmer...any way, I can't complain! 😊
After F1, breakfast in the hostel and then sorted out a bunch of fairly boring things that needed sorting back home -
View of the Plaza Botero
From the 2nd floor of the Museo de Antioquia I won't go into detail. Aside from that it was largely wandering around the Zona Rosa, lunching, dining, not drinking...hmmm...not much more to say.
And similarly yesterday. By the time that I actually managed to get away from the hostel it was midday. I went up to Tesoro shopping center which is perched high in the hills of Poblado (I'd mentioned to Monica that I wanted to get some clothes and she pointed me in the right direction).
Tesoro is a fairly big place (we're not talking Westfield or Bluewater, but pretty big nonetheless). The stores are pretty high-end and the prices are pretty high-end too - although cheaper than you would pay in London, for sure.
I'd been itching for some time to get some clothes that didn't look like I was about to set off on a trek through the jungle. A few short sleeve shirts (cooler - in the temperature sense - than t-shirts) and a man bag.
Well, I spent about four hours and errrm, quite a lot of money. But I got some good stuff and I'm happy with that.
The most amazing thing about the shopping center is that, if you
get bored with spending all your money, you can perch up at one of the resting areas and take in the birds-eye view of Medellín and it's surrounding mountains. There are no windows - you just look straight out. I took some photos, but as usual justice isn't done. And again, dining, lunching, chilling....still recovering from Saturday, I think!
Yesterday marked my first month in Colombia! I can't believe it's gone so quickly - although looking back at when I landed it seems like a long time ago...wow, only two and a half months left - and I still haven't left my first country! Ah well, I'm sure that it'll all work out....in the end.
Hasta luego
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Anita
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Congratulations on a month!
Wow! Can't believe it's been a month. Equally can't believe i've been reading your posts for one bloody month! Goddamit. Hurry up and come home so I can get a life ;-) Hasta luego!!!