Visita a Medellín, Antioquia

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Finally I took some time to write again!

It’s July 2016 and it’s time to take off again, this time to Colombia.
My second visit to this South American country happened thanks to a raffle I won in April during festivities in downtown Willemstad, Curaçao. First prize was a ticket to Medellín, Colombia and second prize was a ticket to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Lucky me, I won the prize by having the most amount of likes on Facebook.
I really needed to get out of the island, I couldn’t wait! This ticket was a perfect opportunity not just to explore Medellín itself, but also to buy an outward ticket to another country I really wanted to visit again.

Medellín is Colombia’s second largest city, beautifully located within a valley of the Colombian Andes mountains. Colombia’s tourism grew a lot during the last decade as the safety issues due to political unrest and drug-trade are nowhere as bad as they used to be. Their old-slogan “Colombia; the risk is wanting to stay” must have made an impact. Hostels and other backpackers seem to be all over the country nowadays. Medellin used to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world but its reputation improved a lot and it attracts a lot of tourism and foreign investment nowadays. Until early/mid 2000’s you wouldn’t easily make a trip to this city. Today it’s a fairly clean, modern and very innovative city and the so-called “tierra paisa” (Medellín and surroundings) has a lot to offer to everyone!

I landed just after 16:00 local time and I left the terminal around 17:00. José Maria Cordova Airport is located in Rionegro, which lies about an hour drive from Medellín. After I checked-in at the hostel, I immediately inquired about possible tours and how to get to sites of interest. Then I went to a supermarket to buy some groceries and also went wandering in the surroundings of the hostel to get a bit familiar with the area. Later I hung out for a little while in the bar of the hostel before heading to bed pretty late, although I was tired of the journey.

The next day I slept in a little, arranged a local sim-card and had a delicious “bandeja paisa” for breakfast. It’s a typical dish of the region consisting of rice, beans, minced meat, avocado, sausage, “arepa”, (pork) meat, salad. There are several variations of it. Then I walked through the Calle 70 (also known as “La 70”) near my hostel towards metro-station Estadio. I took a metro towards Acevedo and immediately hopped on the metrocable (cable car) via the neighbourhood Santo Domingo towards Parque Arví. I enjoyed the ride in the metrocable and the views over the city. On the slopes of the hill it looked somewhat chaotic just like in most Latin-American countries; it was like a slum but in better conditions. Further up the hill it became a complete non-developed nature area and it felt like being in the middle of nowhere for some time, a green oasis of peace and quietness near the city. After a long ride I arrived at the entrance of Parque Arví, a nature reserve. I opted for a short guided walk through an easy trail where the guide mostly told about the fauna and the history of the area. It’s a big park with several hiking trails and it also features preserved constructions from the time before the Spanish invaded Colombia. I also wandered around the “Chorro Clarín area” of the park before heading back to the city. I didn't have enough time for the park and honestly, I didn't know what to expect about it because I did no research prior to my visit. I boarded the metro towards Industriales-station and walked towards Pueblito Paisa, located on the Nutibara Hill. After climbing a good amount of steps I reached this small replica of a traditional town of Antioquia (the province where Medellín is located) with a typical colonial square and its church, surrounded by colourful houses with their balconies. There were several food and souvenir stalls but most of them were already closing by the time I got there. There is also a tiny museum located at the site, the Museo de Ciudad (City Museum) which was dedicated to the urban development of Medellín. The coolest thing there was the maquette of the city. Nearby there is a platform with some of the best views of Medellín. By the time I was back at Industriales metro-station it was rush hour. The station was very crowded and people where pushing onto each other to board the metro. I just stood there for at least 20 minutes, listening to some music until it became less crowded and I boarded easily. I was on vacation so no rush needed! I got off at Estadio-station and the whole area was crowded with football-fans with t-shirts saying Postobón. Then I learned that Postobón is the sponser of local team of Medellin, Atletico Nacional, who had a match that evening so whole Avenida 70 was full of people wearing the green/white t-shirts saying Postobón.

The next day I went to Guatapé, a small town outside of Medellín with no more than 10 000 inhabitants and lies about 70km east of Medellín. The journey to get there took about 1.5 hours and I didn’t get off in town, but at the mayor attraction there: Peñón de Guatapé (or just “La Piedra”). The 200m high granite monolite rock (at 2137m above sea level) has 659 steps to reach the top. From the top you can climb another set of steps (I think about 100) which takes you to the top of a tower with a viewing platform. It was a lot but definitely worth the climb. The views from the top, overlooking the artificial lake “Embalse del Peñol”, are STUNNING to say at least. Back down I boarded a bus to Guatapé town, where I wandered around its narrow streets full of colourful colonial houses and I also had a late lunch. Guatapé is very clean and well-kept which made it even more beautiful. A must as a daytrip (or longer) when visiting Medellín.

The next day I joined a free, tip-based walking-tour through Medellín. In one word: excellent! The meeting point was at metro-station San Antonio from where we walked towards the government buildings “Gobernación de Antioquia”. There you’ll see a big, bended piece of metal artwork called “Monumento de la raza” which potrays Medellín’s history. Here our guide told us mostly about how the political conflict started in the late 1940’s with the assasination of the politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948. He tried to explain the whole story as simple as possible, although the whole story is pretty complicated. As the tour went on, he told more and more about the conflict and how Medellín dealt with all the violence. His story obviously also included the notorious billionaire Pablo Escobar, the largest drug-lord (and terrorist) in history, who was shot to death by police in 1993. It’s too much to tell and I don’t remember all the details, but this tour is highly recommended! Across the street there was a little parade with people promoting the “SI” for the referendum that was coming up, in which people would vote pro or against the ceasefire deal between the Colombian government and the FARC-rebels. We headed further towards Plaza Cisneros (Plaza de las Luces) with its 300 tall light poles which is also used as a market place on certain days during the week. We continued our walk through the older, historic part of the city which is very busy and lively. We had a quick break here where everyone was able to grab something to eat or drink, souvenirs etc. and ended up on Plaza Botero. This square is well-known for featuring many sculptures made by artist Fernando Botero, showing animals and humans in an out-of-proportion, voluptuous shape. In front of metro-station Parque Berrío there were older men and women singing and playing typical Paisa songs with their guitars creating a very nice atmosphere. We also walked across the Plaza Bolivar and probably every single Colombian city (like Venezuela) has its own Plaza Bolivar.
The tour finished at Plaza San Antonio, where everyone was free to tip the guide as they please. He was really good and informative. Plaza San Antonio also features artwork by Fernando Botero: two huge birds. One of them was damaged during a terrorist attack June 1995 and the back part is completely destroyed.
I continued on my own towards the “Museo Nacional de la Memoria” (Memory House Museum), dedicated to the decades of violence in the city. Very interesting and worth visiting, displaying much information, pictures and videos about victims, people who lost loved ones etc. It’s really sad if you just think about how it has been during all those years and all Colombians want is peace because the conflict didn’t benefit anyone.

In the evening I went to a few bars on Calle 70 with people from the hostel, a street which is always full of life with many people moving around. Apparently an area called Parque Lleras is the place to be when it comes to nightlife and that’s where you’ll see some of the most beautiful girls of Medellín. It lies a bit far out from my hostel and the weather was rainy, therefore I decided to stay nearby around Calle 70. All by all, I had a nice couple of days in Colombia and it’s a country I definitely would like to explore and see more parts of it in the future.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Good to see you blogging again
You are not too far from home but good to see you exploring once again. We've missed your blogs. Looks like a lot of activity on the metro. You can never go wrong with a walking tour.