Medellín, formerly home of Señor Escobar

I didn't mention that the bus to Medellìn arrived at 1am instead of 7pm, so we didn't do much but watch cartoons all day, after a light lunch of burgers, a salchipapa (fries with cheese, bacon and other things on top), and gelato. We were staying in a pretty swanky neighbourhood, nice restaurants and bars everywhere. This was the view to the right from the couch when we returned (cbf getting up for better angle, let alone changing for a lens that zooms):

The next day we walked past this bad boy on the way to the rather crowded Metro, which took us to the much more crowded city centre.

We came out near this guy:

Construction was halted for a few years, and when they resumed they cut corners a little:

Next to the Palace there's a plaza with 20 or so sculptures by Fernando Botero, who donated them to his hometown (I believe this was a Saturday, the paisas were out in droves, and ain't nobody got time to wait for the thing to be clear):

Then we wandered round the city a bit. Loads of streets turned into markets, and rows of shops all selling the exact same shit. Cellphones/cheap electronics, clothes, nicer clothes, etc. Also seen were a bunch of malls that seemed to be dedicated almost solely to shoes. Gotta start taking photos of the throngs...

"Because they see the beard and the hair and the long pipe, they say I'm a poet" - Leòn de Greiff, Poet-looking guy.

After lunch, we went back to the Metro to go up the MetroCable, a gondola that runs up a big hill in the burbs:

At the top of the first gondola, we got on the second, not realising that it was gonna take us way into the bush:

There was also a little market, with a bunch of different foods to try (we'd just eaten...), and the ubiquitous fresh juice. After a little walk to nowhere we went home.

The next day we went to the Botanical Gardens, where they have this sweet thing for their orchids:

Posin'

Then they had a neat area with a bunch of ideas for gardening at home with minimal space:

Then we wandered a bunch again, around a turtle-infested lake (you can kinda see one):

Through the cactus garden:

"Would you like this done to your body?"

And around the University next door:

In the evening we visited the Christmas lights on the Medellín River, which is more like a canal. But the lights were really good, and there was an abundance and variety of streetfood I hadn't really seen in Colombia. Also had a mad chat with a family from Medellín, whereas all the other tens of thousands just stared, as ya do:

The following day we caught the train and a bus for a couple of hours to go to La piedra del Peñol, a huge rock next to the town of El Peñol:

No holds here:

Some of the 700-odd steps:

Worth it though, the lake is for a hydro dam, and now it's a holiday destination for Colombians:

After walking down again, we walked to Guatapé, the nearest town worth mentioning. Guatapé was really nice, colourful as hell, and all the buildings had a little row of paintings. It appears I didn't find any of them individually interesting enough to take a photo of even one. But they were cool, and the place was colourful:

The next few days were reasonably uneventful, until Christmas. I was surprised to learn that Latin America and Europe basically celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Weird. In any case it meant a feast on both Christmas Eve and Day, who's gonna turn down a chance to eat and drink all day when there's nothing open?

On Boxing Day I went with 4 others to another hill overlooking the city:

Keen to learn this shit:

 

Asbjørn was a little emotional:

The next day i left Medellín for Bogotá, to meet Callum for the last time in who knows how long. Medellín's pretty good, if you're ever in the area you should definitely visit ^^