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Published: August 14th 2007
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Feria de las Flores
The flower show depicting a 'silletero' I begin with apologies and promises. My mind is very blurry as the ensuing entry will enlighten you about so just ignore any glaring spelling and grammer mistakes (that one was deliberate just for banter). Also there will be photos of cowgirls for all those that don't believe my following account of the horse parade.
So Medellin, 3rd-12th August was the 50th Feria de las Flores the biggest event in the calendar. Those who speak Spanish may be wondering why a "flower festival" is such a big thing and questioning why i stayed an extra week just to be here for the end of it. But this is South America and even a Flower Show can be turned into a serious party which explains the serious pain in my head, not to mention my scratched legs...all will be revealed.
In general the days leading up to this weekend didn't involve much except for a parade of Chivas (party buses) which was 30 minutes of chaos to the sound of folk music as the colourful buses passed by crammed with passengers drinking rum and aguardiente (a fiery, oozo like spirit) while screaming, whistling and waving at the people lining the
The Orchidrome
Teh Orquidromo that housed the best flower arrangements streets who were also drinking rum, aguardiente or beer.
In contrast at night the city was buzzing with Festival related activity. There were always half a dozen music concerts going on across the city with the style of music ranging from Classical to Folk, jazz to Bossa Nova. We were taking full advantage of the cultural explosion in the city and i even went to watch a bit of Colombian comedy which was very funny if a bit of a rip off of Whose Line is it Anyway.
But the main event was this weekend (starting on Friday because this is South America).
Friday. We spent a quiet day strolling round the Botanical Gardens newly constructed Orquiedromo (Orchidrome) which housed dozens of intricate, diligently designed flower arrangements. I have never been to Chelsea Flower Show (or any flower show before this) but if you like getting shoved around by old ladies desperately trying to get a photo of the flowers before their friend does or being asked to take pictures of said old ladies then be castigated when you don't press the On/Off button to take the photo and have the gall to suggest it might be the
The Cabalgata
This was before the horses started and before the rum kicked in button next to it then i guess this kind of thing is for you. Friday was definitely the calm before the storm...
Saturday. We woke up early to watch West Ham vs Man City (9am over here). For those of you who remember Fox Sports commentary the guy is still on top form, he sang for the goals and decided that Carlitos Tevez should be called Charlie because he lives in England. He also decided that Onohou (who he pronounced On-yo-who) was African and referred to him as "El Africano" for the rest of the game. By the end of the match (11am) Mark and Robin wanted to have a beer, i was worried about the state of my stomach (why do i always trust South American Chinese restaurants) so held off until the rum and coke started at midday in the taxi to the Horse Parade. The Horse Parade was possibly the best afternoon on the trip so far. 10,000 people came past on horses often stopping to have a chat to someone they knew, have a chat on their mobile phone, or just stop for a bit of rum or aguardiente. Oh and did i mention some
A horserider
Don't know why i chose to take a photo of her rather than the other 10,000 riders of Medellin's most beautiful girls are the majority of the horse riders? By late afternoon the crowd was pretty rowdy and as white fellas we had made a lot of local friends. Manuel a middle-aged local had taken it upon himself to stop every good-looking girl on horseback, introduce me as the Englishman and then ask if they wanted to marry me. Samuel our legendary hostel owner was getting particularly rowdy and eventually got hauled off by the police! Not because he was screaming "Tombos" (a derogotary term for the Po-Po) at them but because he was picking up horse turds and launching it into the crowd. By nightfall i was on my own, Samuel had gone home before he got in more trouble, Robin had gone to meet a girl and Mark had disappeared. It later turned out instead of getting rum as we asked he fell asleep before he made it to the supermarket and was looked after by a group of English guys who dropped him home. BUT THE MAIN THING WAS THAT I SHOOK FAUSTINO ASPRILLA'S HAND...HERO
By the time i got home after Manuel's neice bought me dinner and dropped me at the hostel
Another horserider
See previous photo caption (although she wasn't ready to marry me to Manuel's displeasure) i thought the night might be over. OH HOW WRONG I WAS! At 1am, reunited with Samuel, Mark and Samuel's mates, i was on a bus to the hills, drinking aguardiente and singing songs. From my descent off the bus to my ascent up the hill where the Silletas (Flower designs that get carried by the locals on their backs) were being made chronology and general details become very blurred. These are a few key moments...
1. I put a flower in one of the Silletas therefore i can claim that i helped make one
2. After going for a wee at the side of the road i stumbled forward instead of backwards, not normally a problem except for the barbed wire fence that has savagely slashed my left leg and pricked my right hand. (CIARAN AND JOHNNY NO JOKES ABOUT FALLING OVER AFTER GOING FOR A WEE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE PLEASE!!)
3. Missed watching the Arsenal vs Fulham match (came on at 6am) as nobody in the hilltop village had cable...gutted
Sunday. Stumbled into hostel to find Mark home and awake on beanbag and
Yet another horserider
See previous photo caption Maria offering me breakfast. For some reason after breakfast i felt a second wind and decided sleep is for the weak so talked absolute rubbish to Maria for a couple of hours and woke up every English person in the hostel to watch the Man Utd match regardless of whether they liked football. At midday it seemed a good idea to go out into the sun and play football against a bunch of local kids in the school playground on the corner. Will, John and I left with our tails between our legs as the whippersnappers earned a surprise victory for South-West Medellin against South-West London. At 3pm it was the biggest event of the whole Feria de Las Flores. The guys came down from the hills with their Silletas to show the city their flower arranging skills. Unfortunately it was a bit of an anti-climax. We arrived late so had to tip toe just to see a portion of a Silleta and i started feeling faint from the heat and lack of sleep. So went back after i convinced myself that i had seen "my" Silleta from last night.
Now it is Tuesday and i am still in
El pibe!
Carlos Valderrama...or maybe his older brother! Medellin after some divine intervention (A nun pushed in front of me in the queue for the bus to Cali and took the last seat on the last bus!) so it is one more day of goodbyes to my wonderful hostel owners and my promises to return and their promises to visit London.
As this is the last thing i will probably write about Medellin I will just say this. Book your flights now.
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jonny quinn
non-member comment
schoolboy error!
well ralph sounds like you had a great time i think u need to stop walking forward when you have a piss as there could be barbed wire or a large ditch in front of you! good luck.