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 ^^

Books

These ones are roughly in order, most of the series would've been broken up by the adjacent books:

Return of the Crimson Guard - Ian C. Esslemont
Stonewielder - Ian C. Esslemont
Orb, Sceptre, Throne - Ian C. Esslemont
Blood and Bone - Ian C. Esslemont
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Minority Report - Philip K. Dick
A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin
A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin
A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin
A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig
Fever Crumb - Philip Reeve
A Web of Air - Philip Reeve
Scrivener's Moon - Philip Reeve
Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
Predator's Gold - Philip Reeve
Infernal Devices - Philip Reeve
A Darkling Plain - Philip Reeve
Ubik - Philip K. Dick
What is the What - Dave Eggers
Dune - Frank Herbert
Imajica - Clive Barker
Bauchelain and Kerbal Broach - Steven Erikson
Forge of Darkness - Steven Erikson
The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson
The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson
The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson
The Prestige - Christopher Priest
The Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson
Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal - J.K. Rowling
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Empire - Isaac Asimov
Second Foundation - Isaac Asimov

Now they're actually in order:

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
Foundation's Edge - Isaac Asimov
Assassin's Quest - Robin Hobb
The Willful Child - Steven Erikson
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - Philip K. Dick
Assail - Ian C. Esslemont
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Foundation and Earth - Isaac Asimov
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Prince of Thorns - Mark Lawrence
King of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett

Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett

Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior - Dan Millman
Sailing to Sarantium - Guy Gavriel Kay
Lord of Emperors - Guy Gavriel Kay
Prelude to Foundation - Isaac Asimov

The Last Light of the Sun - Guy Gavriel Kay

Forward the Foundation - Isaac Asimov

Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay

River of Stars - Guy Gavriel Kay

Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

Sourcery - Terry Pratchett

Latin America -> Europe

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan

The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan

The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan

The Fires of Heaven - Robert Jordan

Lord of Chaos - Robert Jordan

A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan

The Path of Daggers - Robert Jordan

Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan

Crossroads of Twilight - Robert Jordan

Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan

A Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan

Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan

A Memory of Light - Robert Jordan

Blindsight - Peter Watts

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

The Martian - Andy Weir

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick

The Long Earth - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

The Long War - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

Hell's Angel - Hunter S. Thompson

NZ

The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

The Wandering Fire - Guy Gavriel Kay
Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Darkest Road - Guy Gavriel Kay
Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett
The Long Mars - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter
Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb
Pyramids - Terry Pratchett
Mad Ship - Robin Hobb
Ship of Destiny - Robin Hobb

Dancer's Lament - Ian C. Esslemont
Shadows of Self - Brandon Sanderson

Blindsight - Peter Watts

The Bands of Mourning - Brandon Sanderson

The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker
Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Echopraxia - Peter Watts
The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
Fall of Light - Steven Erikson
Fool's Errand - Robin Hobb

Once Upon A Time In The North - Philip Pullman

The Golden Fool - Robin Hobb

Fool's Fate - Robin Hobb

The Stranger - Albert Camus

Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb 

Dragon Haven - Robin Hobb

City of Dragons - Robin Hobb

Blood of Dragons - Robin Hobb

A Stranger in Olondria - Sofia Samatar

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone - GS Denning

The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay

Warlock Holmes: The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles - GS Denning

A Study in Scarlet - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

The Sign of Four - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

No Country or Old Men - Cormac McCarthy

Sailing to Sarantium - Guy Gavriel Kay

Lord of Emperors - Guy Gavriel Kay

The Traitor Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson

Eric - Terry Pratchett

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay

Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett

Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay

River of Stars - Guy Gavriel Kay

Willful Child - Steven Erikson

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

Fool's Assassin - Robin Hobb

Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb

Assassin's Fate - Robin Hobb

Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson