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Hi all,
Medellin is the second largest city of Colombia with about 4 million inhabitants, and it is a very modern and well organized city, as we learned later, much more than the Capital - Bogota. It is also known as “The city of eternal spring” - and indeed, we had a fine weather during our staying, dry climate, no sweating and refreshing rains in the afternoons - a big comfort after the last couple of months with tropical climate, that is, heat and unbearable humidity.
Upon arrival we have learned there is a good metro system - this is not a subway, it is more 'upway' (as Nitzan called it) a metro that is all above ground level, actually above many of the buildings in the city (like in Chicago??) - and so directly from the bus terminal we took the metro all the way to Poblado neighborhood, where most of the hostels are located. I admit it was hard and frustrating (and especially heavy as we were carrying our big backpacks and all other bags) to find the hostel walking from the metro station uphill, and people were directing us to contradicting directions. Eventually, a nice couple
in a car, which were trying to help Tal with the directions, just took him with the kids and the big backpacks straight to the hostel, while Nitzan and I walked according to their instructions up the hill, where we met 5 minutes later in the hostel.
All in all, we stayed in Medellin 6 nights (yes, we somehow stopped moving every day or every other night like we used to do in the beginning of our trip). Even so, we were busy most of the days and nights, and did not spend the time doing nothing, as Medellin and its surrounding were surprisingly interesting and welcoming.
On the day of our arrival, we took it easy as we were tired from the long 15-hour night bus ride (from Santa Marta in the North). Thus we 'only' had a BBQ feast with the hostel owner and another guest, and made inquiries about all the activities and sights to see and visit in the city and around it.
The next day, was dedicated to visiting the city center - we started with the
'Botero Garden' - this is a pedestrian area in the city center where many of
Botero's most famous statues are standing. Botero is a famous Colombian artists, who was born in Medellin. He is known for his unique works of art presenting people (and animals) in a grotesque fat-chubby form. From there, we walked through the main pedestrian street, but it was deserted, as none of the shops was open on Sunday. From there we went to the “barefoot park” -
Parque de Los Pies Descalzos. There we were surprised to find a lot of activities, there was a whole happening to celebrate 'Childrens' Day'. So, we joined the party. It started with a guided activity through the park (looking for clues on the trees, walking barefoot on the grass, then on sand, walking with eyes closed through a maze etc. - ALL IN SPANISH! From there, we went into an interactive museum that is located in the center of this park. There were several stations with activities and explanations in the museum, the main ones being an electricity workshop & spaceship adventure on the beginning of life. In the electricity workshop the kids created an electrical circuit to light a bulb and to activate a small engine. On the spaceship adventure, I cannot really
tell you, as Shachar was too small to participate, and so I had to go out with him and could not participate. What I know is that Tal, Nitzan and especially Omer, came back smiling and happy, and said it was really like being on a roller-coaster.
To end the day, we took a trip in the metro. You must be asking,
“what is so special about a metro?, after all you had the Metro of Barcelona for the last 2 years” but Medellin has a special Metro. Part of the Metro is a cable car going up the mountain surrounding the city -
the Metro Cable. So we took the ride all the way up that mountain, above the poorest neighborhoods of Medellin and got to see a magical view of the city - spread out on the mountains and in the valley, all looks almost like a giant bowl full of houses and buildings. I am not sure, but I believe it is the only city where a cable car is part of the metro system (though even in Barcelona there is part of the metro which is a train going up the mountain, there it is
chain train, rather than cable car).
The next day we went out of Medellin to a small town called
Santa Fe. It is a nice colonial town with many of the buildings around the town's square being restored and nicely painted. We strolled around the main square, bought some of the specialties they sell there (coconut candies, and Arequipe in a dried fruit shell. Arequipe is a big thing in Colombia and is sold anywhere, it reminds of caramel or 'dulce de leche' (Ribat Chalav), but is a bit different). Then, we took a moto-taxi (like the Rikshaw in India or the Tuk-Tuk in Thailand), to go to a famous suspension bridge that is located 5km out of town. This bridge is constructed in a similar way to the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge and is alike, very impressive. Our Moto-Taxi driver, did not only take us there and drove us through the bridge to the other side, he turned out to be almost a tourist guide - he gave us a full tour of the bridge, how it is constructed, dates and names. Happy with all this additional knowledge we went back to Medellin.
The next day
was a day off - home schooling, internet, relaxation etc.
The day after, we went to the botanical garden - except for the small butterflies garden, it was merely nice but fairly disappointing. From there we continued to
Park Explora - this is a kind of an interactive science museum with aquarium and vivarium.
We had great time here! It started with scientific games in the garden showing the kids the impact of gravitation, the centrifuge power and others. Then, we participated in a short chocolate-making workshop (and delighted ourselves with the results...). The aquarium was magnificent, showing fish from all over Colombia, from sweet waters in the rivers, through the mangroves, the Amazonas region (presenting the largest sweet water fish, and it is so HUGE - up to 5m long!, the electric eel and the deadly Piranya fish), all the way to sea fish, some that are found in shallow reefs and some in the deep waters. We continued our visit in the reptiles Aquarium to meet the most venomous frog on earh (the Golden frog from Colombia), snakes, turtles and a hairy Tarantula Spider. To conclude our visit in this complex, we visited the digital booth -
were we created animation movies, we played some virtual games and saw image of the heat reflected by our body. To close the day we participated in a robotics workshop, were one robot walked or danced for us but another spider robot “attacked and pinched” us if we blocked his way - the kids (+ Tal..) - were truly thrilled.
On our last day in Medellin, we again left the city and went to the area of
Guatape. It was an amazing day. We first stopped in
El Penyol - this is a massive basalt rock situated in the midst of green fields, forests, waterways and lakes. To get to the top of the rock, we had to climb 635 stairs! - yes, yes, we have checked it, the kids have actually counted all stairs. But before we even got to the base of the rock to actually start this climb, we first had to walk uphill for 20 minutes or so, from where the bus dropped us off. Since we knew the stairs are going to be a challenge by itself, we took for the kids two horses for the walk to the rock's base - this is
the favorite way of traveling as far as Shachar is concerned. After the ride on the horses, he was soooo happy, he did not even mind climbing the stairs, and we heard no complaints from him. The view from the top, was
absolutely stunning! The weather was good, the sun was shining, the water around were shimmering in green and turquoise, and we were practically surrounded by green as far as the eye can see - definitely one of the prettiest viewpoints we have ever seen. Back at the bottom of the rock, we took a “taxi” to Guatape town, this time it was a Renault Master - a strange looking small car with a convertible roof, that was open. It is probably from the 60's and it is the only place we ever seen this kind of car, but over there, there were a few of them. the roof was open, the sun was shining on us and the wind was blowing in our face, and to complete the magical feeling the young driver, played reggaeton music in a loud volume (this is a local type of music combining reggae music with Colombian hip-hop and electric rhythms), it was
a wonderful feeling and we noted to ourselves that we should get some of this music.
Guatape, so we have discovered is one of the most beautiful villages we visited. All the houses are nicely decorated and colorfully painted. Its promenade along the river is full with restaurants serving typical food - especially Trout fish, and we could not resist having lunch at one of them. By the time we were back in Medellin, it was already getting late. It gave us just enough time to pack, have quick dinner and go back to the bus terminal, this time with our backpacks, to catch a night bus to Bogota, our next stop.
With all this said, I forgot to mention the most important thing that has happened in Medellin and that kept Tal for so long in this city - the
CASINO.In the last 8 months, he wanted to make it to go out to a Casino, but since we normally cannot leave the kids alone, nor can we take them to a Casino, it was left as a dream. Originally, we thought that while my parents will be travelling with us he would manage to fulfill this wish,
but somehow it did not happen (not your fault - mom or dad!). But here in Medellin we managed to do the unbelievable, the kids felt comfortable and safe in this little welcoming hostel (with Israeli owners) and have agreed to stay alone. Not only did they agree, we have repeated this for 3 consecutive nights! Each of the nights we left them in bed, watching a movie on our laptop (movies we got thanks to the hostel....) and when we were back they were already deep sleeping, and no "events" were reported by the hostel staff - apperantly they saw te movie until its end, and just went to sleep, how nice of them. They are all really maturing up in this trip. Well, back to the Casino - we had 2 succeful nights and one not so.
All in all we have gained about 45$ (which have covered for a bit more than for a night in the hostel). Not bad, if we consider the fact that we went their primarily for the fun. Ah, in case you wonder we have gambled in the rolete (mainly on the 50-50 types of bet: color, even or odd etc.) and
in Black-Jack. Hopefully, we might be able to repeat this "leave alone the kids for a night" again in the near future.
Hasta Pronto,
Lilach
To view our full gallery of Medellin, Santa Fe and Guatape, click on the following links:
Medellin Photos Photos from El Penyol & Guatape
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'Samy
non-member comment
M E D E L L L I N ! ! ! !
Para mi es muy emocionante, leer este entry. Lo estaba esperando hace varios dias, desde que vi las primeras fotos. YO VIVI MUCHOS ANIOS EN MEDELLIN (40), asi que para mi enterarme que lo pasaron bien, me gusta, y me da nostalgia, asi como me trae muchos recuerdos gratos de mi vida anterior. Cuando vuelvan a casa, seguro compartiremos muchas vivencias con ustedes. Los recordamos con mucho carinio, y seguimos sus aventuras con mucha emocion, deseandoles siempre lo mejor. KEEP SAFE !!!. Abrazos y besos a todos, Andrea, Candela, y Samy.