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Published: March 24th 2010
Today I'll be moving on from Medellín and heading south to what will (probably) be my final destination here in Colombia - a small town called Popayán.
But I owe you a few days worth of update, so here goes.
Sunday I awoke as sore as I expected. The sunburn was as painful as I've ever experienced - every move was accompanied by searing pain. Wasn't pleasant. I applied a cold towel and, later, some cream which soothed it a bit. Not for the first time, I cursed my own stupidity.
Having showered (a cold shower - by choice) and applied a liberal dose of sunblock on my face and shoulders I got dressed (gingerly), opting for my full length white linen shirt and headed (equally gingerly) towards Universidad. The plan was to go to Parque Norte (a sort of Alton Towers type place - but nowhere near as big), followed by Parque Explorer (which houses an aquarium amongst other things). They face each other and are both situated about 2 minutes walk from Universidad station.
I waited for Martha at Parque de los Deseos - I noted that the stage had finally been completed (presumably some
Me on the Water Chute thing
I'm definitely there somewheredays earlier) as I settled under the shade of a tree. Why did it have to be so sunny today??
Martha showed up (10 minutes late, of course 😊 and I explained my predicament - I didn't care where we went but I had to stay in the shade because every time the sun hit my shirt it was like somebody was shoving a fistful of nettles into my back - which at least had the benefit of blocking the (less severe but still very rea) pain from my chest and stomach and legs...what a fool!
The queue for Parque Norte wasn't long but it was also shadeless - I angled myself as best I could to escape the worst of the solar assault. Inside Parque Norte it was pretty empty. Monday was a holiday and Martha speculated that most people would be going on Monday rather than Sunday.
The great thing is that we didn't have to queue for any rides.
First stop was for a coffee and water (and a cheese croissant), and then it was off to the water slide type thing - how do you call that? It's like a roller coaster on water?
Anyway, I could see that the riders of this particular ride were getting soaked in cold water as they hit the bottom of the last water drop. That's what I wanted! Martha wasn't so keen so I went on my own. This is something that ordinarily I would never have done....it was for medicinal purposes that I was taking part in this folly.
Actually the ride was kinda fun - it's been a long time since I've been to a park like this and it made me feel a bit like a kid again. And it sort of worked - it soaked me...everywhere except my back and shoulders! Grrrrrr. In the end I went for a manual approach and poured a bottle of cold water over my back. It was icy! It took my breath away. It was oh soooo good!
Thoroughly soaked, we approached the next ride - a sort of Tarzan themed water ride (much more leisurely this one) through the "jungle". Badly camouflaged speakers blasted out jungle sounds as we rode around the circuit in a "raft" made for 6. Occasionally a hippo would emerge and squirt us with water, eliciting yelps of shock from my
fellow passengers (I was much more concerned with keeping my camera dry).
From there we went on to what is probably the funniest ride that I've ever been on. A life-size airplane (presumably one that had been decommissioned some time ago) stood on the tarmac. We entered the plane which was kitted out with the most dated and worn interior that I've ever seen. The windows were blacked out and in their place were small TV monitors. There food trays were bolted closed. It felt like somebody had come on board and vandalised the place in a really careful way.
At some point the front door closed and the "stewardess" came out and did the full safety brief! Ordinarily I find the safety brief sort of amusing but to do it in this situation was hilarious! It was as though somebody at some point had said "listen, we need a way to make this ride longer...any ideas?"
Anyway, the brief finished (I noted that there was no lifejacket under my seat) and the lights dimmed. And we "took off" - no attempt had been made to hide the speakers that were playing us the engine noises and the soundtrack
to our "flight". As we accelerated down our virtual runway, the seats moved back about an inch in unison. That was a nice touch, I thought. But it was all I could do to stop myself laughing as every 30 seconds or so, the seats would either shift forward an inch or back an inch in a seemingly random fashion. As we flew we were treated to a bird's eye spectacle of Medellín. I immediately recognised virtually every point of interest that we flew over.
Just before we came in to "land" we hit some turbulence - the seats rocked back and forth and a siren wailed. Soooooo funny, I couldn't stop laughing.
Well, the flight was done and it was time for (a very late) lunch - a burrito with sweet sauce on it. Wasn't the greatest meal that I've had in Colombia but wasn't the worst and certainly did the job.
Between all of these things, I was of course applying bottled water to my back. It went like this - apply water, feel relieved for about 10 minutes, within 15 minutes notice that things were drying out, within 20 minutes I was dry. Rinse and repeat.
After lunch we took a ride on a pirate ship and on a ferris wheel. But I was honestly just in so much pain that I really couldn't take any more. I just needed to go lie down somewhere (on my front!). So we left Parque Norte and I headed back to my hotel. I got back at about 4pm. And I just slept until about 8pm - when I went out for dinner (at my favorite Medellin Beer House) and headed back to the hotel for some more sleep. I really needed it!
Ah, almost forgot to mention - the oddest attraction in the park (for me) was a chapel - where they were actually saying mass. I struggle to imagine such a thing happening at Alton Towers! I guess it goes to show the depth of feeling that there is for religion in this part of the world - it really does seem to permeate throughout daily life.
Monday was a holiday in Colombia (although I've still not found out what the occasion was). I was originally planning to leave on Monday but had been convinced that it would be easier to leave on Tuesday
because of the holiday. What I hadn't taken into account, of course, was that all of the travel agents etc would be closed on the Monday - so actually booking any means of transport meant using the web.
As I said previously, my plan was to head to Popayán (ideally by direct flight) from Medellín. But the prices of the flights that I saw were crazy (well, crazy for Colombia). I couldn't find any information on buses on the web, I struggled to find accommodation. In the end I spoke to the hostel staff who pointed me in the direction of some websites. I could see that I could get to Cali by flight for a reasonable price and then by bus to Popayán. The problem was booking the flight - as far as I could tell I couldn't pay by credit card (at least not by a UK issued credit card). It would have to wait - I'd arranged to meet Martha for our final excursion - a trip to the zoo and then Parque Explorer (the park that we didn't quite make it too on Sunday).
I hopped in a taxi to Poblado station (the sun was
An Elephant
...at the zoo, obviously already too hot for my recovering but still painful shoulders). I arrived 15 minutes early so grabbed a coffee and some sort of cheese pastry affair. One thing that strikes you about Colombia in general is that everybody works - or at least it seems that way. This is largely a result of the fact that there is no social support so there is little choice but to work. And it means that, whereas in the UK you get the impression that the poorest in society spend their time watching Jeremy Kyle, here the very poorest in society are always doing something - cleaning car windows at traffic lights, selling chewing gum and cigarettes or lottery tickets or water or fresh fruit juice or cleaning shoes or juggling or a million other things just to earn a crust. There are relatively few actual beggars - most people are looking to offer a service or goods in exchange for your cash. Of course, this approach to social welfare has its drawbacks. But the positive spin off is that you really get a sense of dynamism when you're here - a sense that everybody is contributing something to society, that everybody is
A fish
...again at the zoo (less obviously) adding value in some way. And, if I'm honest, it's refreshing to see.
Anyway, sorry for that little digression, it's just something that I was thinking about over my coffee and cheese pastry affair.
I met Martha at the station and we back-tracked to Industriales where we got a cab up to the zoo. Of course, it was another super hot day. It's a pretty well-stocked zoo (although I don't have much to compare it to), but I saw camels and elephants and tigers and lions and all manner of monkeys (my faves). I always feel an odd sense of guilt when I'm in a zoo. In one way I feel that it's cruel to lock up wild animals in cages, in another I can see that it gives people the opportunity to see and learn (and hopefully learn to respect) the natural world around them. Anyway, we spent the rest of the morning there and I tried to get some photos. Not for the first time on this trip, I cursed my lack of zoom lens for this camera. Basically I got a lot of great shots of wire fencing with something blurry that could be an
animal in the background.
After the zoo, we headed back to Parque de los Deseos - I had seen previously that there were a few eateries around there and I really had a hankering for sushi. And remarkably I found it! Although it was unlike any sushi that I've had before in that the skin of the salmon (that was nestled in the beautifully formed rice roll) had been fried and wrapped around the roll to hold the whole thing together. Not sure how authentic it is but it was really tasty! There appeared to be some performance going on on the stage while we were eating. I didn't actually see it but I could hear it - by the time we were done with lunch it was finished and they were setting up for the next act.
We walked to the next block where Parque Explorer is located. It's basically a science based theme park. I was really most interested to see the aquarium so that's what we did first. It was 4pm but still super warm so the air conditioning of the aquarium was really welcome.
The aquarium itself is pretty impressive, if not as big
or impressive as the one in London (they don't have any sharks! 😊
We'd gone for one of the cheaper ticket options and our tickets allowed us into just one of the themed science rooms. We (well, I) chose the technology room - a suite of interactive activities, largely aimed at kids. It was fun but we never actually found anything that seemed to work! Well, maybe a couple of things. But not much!
As we left, the heavens opened - it rained as hard as I've ever seen rain rain. We were undercover (fortunately) and we waited for the downpour to subside whilst we discussed what to do next.
We remembered that I'd forgotten to give Martha the memory card (which was sitting in my camera case) containing all the photos from Guatapé. So we headed over to her place and downloaded them to her PC. I was acutely aware that I still hadn't got my flight or hotel for the following day so I thought it best that I make a move. I said my final farewells to Martha and her kids (who were at home) and I jumped in a cab to my hotel. It was a
An Albino Peacock
Not seen one of these before. Not sure that it's actually OFFICIALLY an Albino Peacock - it's just what I decided to call it. sad moment - I've really had a great time with the family and I really appreciate the time that they have taken to show me around this great city. My experience here certainly wouldn't have been the same without them.
I got back to the hostel and fired up the PC. It was 7pm. It was fairly easy to find a place to stay (
Hostel World always seems to save the day). Flights were a different matter. After much searching and head scratching, it became apparent that I would have to stay in Medellin another day then fly to Cali (via Bogotá) on Wednesday (i.e. today) and get the bus from Cali. I managed (eventually) to get a seat with Avianca for £30. And I managed to pay online! (although I had to "live chat" to a help desk representative to get me there). If anybody's trying to pay for an Avianca flight using a card issued in the UK, you need to select the "Credit Card issued in Colombia" option (obviously :S)
So, with flight and hotel booked and another day to pack, I could relax. I went to get some dinner. Unfortunately, it was a holiday and
it seems that what that means in real life is that all of the bars / restaurants shut early (assuming that they could be bothered to open).
I managed to get a beer at the Medellin Beer House before they started putting up the shutters. Then I (shamefully) wandered down the road and got myself a Dominos Pizza.
And off to bed. My back was still sore but healing slowly and I slept pretty well.
I'd toyed with the idea of calling Martha yesterday (Tuesday) but thought better of it. I really needed a day to myself - a day of doing nothing and slobbing out.
I woke early and went to get a haircut (which took about 2 hours!), stopped by for coffee and Torta Milo at Like a Fish In Water, played my guitar - I've been learning a song (largely to help my Spanish) which is just on the radio all the time here (
Yo no sé mañana). You'd be hard pressed to sweep the radio waves at any point night or day without hearing this song. I can't work out whether it's actually a good pop song or whether you have to have diced with death in a
bus-ride-from-hell with this ringing in your ears to actually appreciate it. Let me know! 😊
Not much more to tell. Had a great lunch at Salad or Sandwich, a great dinner at the Medellin Beer House (obviously there were some hours between the two), I packed (suddenly my bag is full to overflowing as a result of all the clothes I bought here) and I slept really early (9pm). My back is virtually painless now (handy since I need to hang a heavy bag on it). And I've got 40 minutes before my taxi arrives so I'd better get some photos of the hostel and finish my packing.
Hasta luego!
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Gav.
non-member comment
I think you have to be there to get that song - or at least know some spanish! btw - have you been asked for directions yet?