Medellin

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Well again nothing really amazing to report for over the last week, I've just been soaking up the festive atmosphere here in Medellin and enjoying the company of the very friendly locals. I was only going to stay for a couple of days but as always, have gotten a little bit comfotrtable, and just now I've stumbled across a humble little Salsa school out in a suburb called Floresta and so have signed up for a 4clase course so it looks like I'll probably be around here for a little while longer.
What has stuck me the most so far about Medellin, and Colombia in General, is that the people are genuinely interested in what I'm doing and where I've come from and make a real effort to make me feel "like a son of the great mother - Colombia", as put to me by one very cool guy who ended up giving me his shirt. Check out these photo's of some of the people I've met over the last few days...

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Photos

Fruit stall - Medellin
there is fruit like this everywhere you go in Colombia, and is absolutely deliciuos so I'm usually walking around with a mango or a bunch of phat grapes in my hand

Las Gordas(the fatties)
The are a lot of these statues spread around differant parks throughout the city centre

Market workers
I was walking through a big fish and veges market and mat these guys who invited me out the back for after work drinks at 1 in the arvo... and they insisted on paying for everything because they'd never seen aGringo out there way before. it was a long afternoon

The December lights
They've put these amazing lights up all over town, evry tree, every river, every street and a lot of the buildings, all have lights on them ready to be turned on on th 7th of Dec - when their festive season starts. These ones were under test so I snapped a quickie, but I'm actually going to miss the big opening so I might have to come back down these ways before I leave Colombia

Pueblito Paisa - Medellin
This little town(and this is all there is, a couple of shops and a church...) is situated up a hill with a great view of the city and is famous throughout Colombia

Russ fitting right in with a couple of sheep on the Pueblito Paisa hill
These are some of the decorations that are up all around the city with lights all over them

My friend Enrique
This guy was staying in the same hotel as me, and one morning he took me around some little suburb selling Indian incense which was something a bit differant.

A couple of Robo-cops with big guns!
these guys got called down here because there had been a bit of protest about womans rights or something... don't want to let those crazy woman get out of hand aye

the old urinal in the corner trick
And later that night me and Enrique found a cool little old Tango bar with a bunch of wierd pool tables without pockets int he corners, so he taught me how to play colombian style which was interesting.

me and Angela
Just as we were finishing up our game of "3-ball", a live band started playing some cool music that was a bit like salsa and I got dragged up onto the dance floor by this sweet old ladie called Angela who just loved to boogie

View from the metro in the northern end of the line
Medellin has a fantastic metro system that covers the majority of the city.

View from the godola on the way up to Santo Domingo
At the end of the Northern line there's a gondola that goes up the hill to a little Suberb called Santo Domingo.

The Rodriguezes
A couple fo these kids found me looking lost at the top of the gondola and offered to show me around Santo Domingo. then they took me back to their place to meet the family and Mum cooked me up a great feed. very lovely family indeed!

Comments

[julian]

congratulations
hey dudde you really did a great job ,i'm from there ,medellin and i rally like you job ,now some persons can see that colombia is not what they think ,cause some people say just what they hear on the news , i really appreciateyou work ,thanks men i hope that's not the first and the last time you go to mi linda colombia ,take care men see ya

[Lina]

Nice Work
Hi Im from floresta pradera medellin it was really nice to see these pictures because I havent go to colombia since 1995 . Thank you that brough a lot of memories to me. buy....

[Lena]

In agreement with the last message
Russ, I think you've managed to capture the real essence of a wonderful country. I recommend you going back and visiting new places in Colombia. You will find that everywhere you go in this beautiful counrty, the people are very hospitable. Thanks Dude.

[anonymous]

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!
I have been going to Medellin for over five years now. Your pictures are great but there is soooo much more. No where in this world are the people sweeter or more cordial to visitors. One day soon I pray that all travelers can call Medellin their favorite travel destination. Call me Mr. Lucky for knowing the true Colombia and Medellin, where blue skies meet the sun kissed emerald earth. Colombia, the brilliant jewel of South America. David Milum, Georgia USA

[Sebastian Montoya]

That's owesome!!
Being a Paisa myself, I feel very proud of my fellow paisas and the way they treat people and not what most of the papers and so forth tell everybody about Colombia and Medellín in general. These images are showing the world the kind of people we have in Colombia. I appreciate it big guy, for feelin' that way about Medellín and at the same time for letting people know all over, that it is safe to go to Colombia, even if you're an outsider. Man, I'm jelous and extremely happy

[mattias tallberg]

Amazing
Hi there very good jobb with your text i was there also in dec last year very nice contry. and the river was just amazing. im from sweden so i have never seen somthing like that.nice!

[Evelyn]

Medellin THE BEST!
Hello, I was just browsing your pictures they were great, brought back many good memories of our lovely Medellin. I'm so glad that there is still gringo's like you, that venture through our country and see that we are good, honest, and happy people. HOPE YOU GO BACK TO MEDELLIN! MEDALLO LO MEJOR!

[Alex Herrera]

Great Job Parce
This is Medellin and Colombia in General, beutiful people everywhere you go, I'm very proud of been Colombian and even tough I leave in United States, I'll never forget my country.Thank you very much for the job you've done and please go back any time.

[carlos]

you guys are the best
thank you for showing to the people that colombia is not just what they show on the news like the people think. i'm from medellin and with those photos that you guys took and this coments, you are showing that colombia is a place to explore and love. i love my colombia, i'm proud of being from colombia, medellin. thank you very much for showing the true colombia.

[Ana Cristina Velez Bunzl]

is the best
hi, my english is not so good. i am really happy seeing those pictures, i am from medellin and i am so so happy, because you did a really good job and for that some people can see how gorgeous is medellin and that is not just died and pain, because in this year medellin is a new palce, not more pain and die. i aprecciate your job. kisses. and the thing that somebody says in the comments is true there is more and more things for know and show to the world. bye

[paisita orgullosa]

Te Amo Medellin
I'm from Medellin too and I feel really proud of it. I can see that you are a very inteligent and nice person for choosing Medellin as one of your favorite places to visit. enjoy everything you do over there, specially the people, the ambiance and the mountains. God bless you and guide you in your trips!!!. Your new paisa friend.

[Paula]

Thank you!
Hi! There are not enough words to describe how surprised I was when I saw your pictures and the captions. I'm glad you had the courage to go down there and see for yourself the real face of Medellin. I love that city so much, and it makes me really sad that I haven't been able to go back, but hopefully I will soon. Thank you for being so open minded and good luck on your future adventures!! Paula

[adriana matheus]

claro que si ese es mi medallo hermoso

[Evelyn]

Beautiful..
Hi there, Me and my husband will start our trip to South-America in January and after your short stories and great pictures i'm even more excited and can't wait to explore every corner of Medellin. Great job, be safe wherever you go.... Evelyn

[Natalie]

Pretty much much the same comment as the rest...
Like the rest of the people that left comments I was born in Colombia, La Floresta to be exact... I haven't been back there in quite a few years and I went on through a small search to find some photos because I was feeling nostalgic... and I must ay that your photos and comments brought some tears to my eyes. I am so happy that you were able to capture the true essense of my home, and I am so grateful to you for having taken the time and effort to share it with other people so that they can also see the beauty of my home. Thank you so much Sincerely, Natalie