City of Eternal Spring - Medellin, Colombia

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After a fantastic time in Salento it was time for me to move on to my next destination Medellin. Getting here was a another simple combination of bus rides and terminals. I first took a mini bus from Salento to Pereira ($3) which was about 50 minutes to the North. From there I would transfer onto a larger bus for the six hour journey to Medellin ($17). The bus ride was OK accept for the fact that I had a case of the AP due to a last night out on the town with a few local friends I had made in Salento, namely Fernando who was an older guy I had met the first night who likes to have a good time and put back the Aguardiente. Couple that with the winding mountain roads and I almost lost it a few times. A peculiar event transpired on the journey as well. La Policia stopped the bus and searched everyone on board including yours truly. Full pat down and bag check. At least there is a presence of security on the roads here.

My first night here I arranged for free accommodation via Couchsurfing.org. Alejandra was a wonderful host and she had a really nice apartment in a good area of the city. She even took a day off to show me around the city. Sweet! We took the Metro to the heart of the city and transferred onto the gondola portion which goes up the mountainside to the poorer barrios of Medellin. It's really eye opening to see the "other" side of this modern and wealthy city. After taking in the views we then went to the larger and original Botero Museum since I enjoyed the one in Bogota so much.

My Host Alejandra

Alejandra had an early class the next day so I had to book into a hostel. I am at Casa Blanca Hostel and I really think it is a dump so I've arranged to move over to Black Sheep Hostel which is a little better. I did meet some cool people at Casa Blanca including Siam, an older Indian guy from Vancouver who has rode a bicycle down from B.C. to Medellin and will continue on his bike to the bottom of South America. Hardcore! I also met a Frenchman who is riding a Kawasaki KLR down from Montreal to the end of South America as well. We all went out last night and had a good time. Now that Frenchman likes to party, but I know he's not to blame. We bloshed our brains in the public park which was an experience in itself. 1g=$10. Crazy.

Tomorrow I think I will go on a Pablo Escobar tour to see his properties, place in which he was shot down, etc. After that I think I've had enough of Medellin. Both the city and the women are really beautiful and it seems all the girls are, how shall we say...enhanced? But I'm ready to move onto the beaches. My first plan was to take a bus to Turbo then a speed boat over to the beach town of Capurgana, but some of Alejandra's friends said this could have the potential for some problems via the FARC. So I am now thinking of flying direct but the flight does not leave until Friday. This decision still has not been made. The cost difference is about $120. I can afford it, but I always worry about money which I knew would be a struggle. I need to get over it and know it's OK to spend. I have however been relegated to washing my clothes in a sink to save money so there's that.

So for now I'll chill in Medellin and try and decide how and when to get to the pristine and little known beaches of Capurgana and Sapzurro.

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