Once infamous for its drug gangs and violence, Medellin has been transformed. It is now a culturally rich destination with a vibrant atmosphere and proudly paisa people! The city rises from the belly of the Aburra valley, with a very impressive metro and cable car transport system that can easily get you to any corner of the city or the valley for that matter.
After arriving around mid afternoon from Salento we were first relieved that the city was not as hot as we expected - locals call it the city of eternal spring as the weather stays relatively moderate and constant throughout the year (this and very mountainous surroundings are also what makes the area good for growing and smuggling stuff like marijuana and cocaine).
We got a taxi to drop us off at our hostel, Ivy which was situated in the Aguacatala area, right next to the popular gringo hotspot of Poblado and close to the north-south metro line. We were pleasantly surprised to find an Australian mate of ours, Shannon, who we met way back in San Pedro de Atacama, now working as a host in hostel Ivy...It was good to see a familiar face after a long day of scurrying around!
The next day we decided to try out the metro system and go to the cable car that takes you up over the north eastern flank of the valley and into the forest covered escarpment on top, a place called Arvi Park...It's almost like the Kirstenbosch gardens (but not as quite as nice) if it was situated on top of table mountain. We spent the morning up their, walked one of the trails and had one of the better cups of coffee we've had in a while.
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| Cable car running over Arvi Park |
The following morning we did the Medellin free-walking tour, which, compared to other big city tours, delved much more into the culture and people of Medellin, focusing particularly on how the city and its people managed to transform itself from the murder capital of the world to one of the most tourist friendly cities in South America...
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| Typical Botero statue |
One of the reasons is that the city's isolation has instilled an incredible sense of social responsibility among its people - they look out for each other and their city because nobody else is able to. Also having endured through some really tough times, the people seem to have grown stronger for it but the scars of the past nevertheless still linger close to surface, which was very evident when our walking tour guide asked us not to mention Pablo Escobar's name in public as it is still, more than 20 years after his demise, a touchy subject among the Paisa locals...
We then walked around the wonderfully colourful downtown area, with masses of locals scurrying about staring at our group with inquisitive yet welcoming eyes.
We ended our tour in a big square with one of the many Fernando Botero sculptures (the disproportionate ones) that can be seen around the city, standing in the middle. Only in this case you'll see a broken statue standing next to an identical but intact one. The story goes that a couple of years ago when there was a big concert held in the square, someone planted a bomb on the statue which went off during show, killing and injuring hundreds of people...
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| Two bird statues, one broken, the other complete, built by the famous Medellin artist Botero |
Some time later Botero built an exact replica of the original but asked specifically for the old one not too be taken down, he argued that in Medellin, the scars of the past make them who they are today and to bury it is not the answer, instead it should remain in the open, as a reminder of their ability to overcome adversity and grow stronger as a community. I thought this is such a good way to describe the city's transformation, which is really evident among its people, it's public systems and the general attitude of the place.
It was great to get to feel a part of something like that, especially coming from a country that too struggles to shake the shadow of its past...
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| Downtown Medellin |
Later that afternoon we took a bus to the nearby lake region where there's a town, called Guatape, that has a massive monolithic rock overlooking the entire area, much like the one in Rio (minus the statue!). We arrived there right before dark so jumped straight in a moto-taxi to take us to our hostel which was about 1,5 km out of town...
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| Bridge into Guatape |
Now traveling through South America, we've become relatively accustomed to the "hippy vibes" that can prevail in your hostel type environments, but this place in Guatape, was just next level...for example we were even shown the weed smoking area on our tour of the premises!
I heard from some guy in Medellin that a great way to see the Guatape lake area is by motorbike, which can easily be rented in town - by easy I also mean no questions about driver's licenses or nada...3rd world hospitality!
So we got our bike, a metallic blue Honda CB 125, popped on our helmets and hit the open road - we looked just like your typical Benoni couple on a Sunday morning cruise!
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| Hoe lyk'it pop, soek jy n ride? |
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| Piedra del Penol |
The views along the way were spectacular, the lush rolling hills and far stretching plains below melted into a blur of bright green under a clear blue sky as we snaked our way down into valley.
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| The beautiful San Rafael valley |
We reached San Rafael around lunch time, parked the bike on the corner of main square, right next to the old church and strolled over to one of the street side restaurants facing the center...
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| Main square in San Rafael |
It was a Sunday, so the town was full of locals who just walked out of church and met up with family or friends at the street side cafes for some refreshments and respite from the warm Colombian sun! We were literally the only outsiders there and got to experience a very rare, unfiltered glimpse into rural Colombian life...
This was great and what we always hope to find on our journey...We enjoyed a very nice, tranquil lunch and some refreshments, and simply watched the local life gracefully move by, which did strike a special spot in the hearts of the two young south Africans on their way to small town rural life back home!
Afterwards we again donned our helmets, hit road and sadly watched the buildings of San Rafael fade away in the rear view mirrors as we cruised back up the valley...
Looking back, those four hours feel like the remnants of a dream, such was the mystic charm of the place.
That same afternoon we had to catch a bus back to Medellin where we had to find an overnight bus up north to Santa Marta (ja nee ons het nou al genoeg bus gery vir n paar leeftye!). Fortunately after the relaxing day we had in Guatape we were ready for the typical discomfort associated with a 17 hour plus bus ride! And plus we were heading up to balmy Caribbean coast so any discomfort would be quickly dispelled upon arrival!
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