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After the thrilling cliff-hanger at the end of my last post (will I or will I not get into Colombia), I breezed in with nary a problem, got taken to my hotel by an incredibly friendly taxi driver (called Jesus... he even had a beard), and spend a few days in Laureles before finding somewhere more permanent to live (more on that in the next episode).
While my days were going to be filled studying (Spanish) and working (in English), I still found time to see and do a few things around Medellín.
Commún 13
First up was a cable car trip (not quite as good as Bolivia's), and a trip to Commun 13. The meeting point was at a metro station a few miles away, so I patiently queued up to buy a ticket, went all the way to the meeting point, at which point, the tour guide herded us all back onto the metro, and basically back to near where I started from.
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The main focus of the tour was La Comuna 13, which used to be infamous for being the main route to transport drugs/arms/general shadiness to and from Medellín. Back in 2002, the government had had enough, and went in all guns blazing (quite literally).
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Quite a few innocent people were caught in the cross-fire, and quite a few more were "disappeared". However, since then, the place has been regenerated and is now a major tourist attraction. As well as murals to commemorate the past, the streets are lined with bars, people trying to sell you stuff, and a party atmosphere. Here's me attempting a spot of break-dancing.
Colombians love football, so much so that one of their footballers got shot after scoring an own-goal at the 1994 World Cup. There's also quite a good documentary about their most famous player, René Higuita, on Netflix that's well worth a watch (and it's good for learning Spanish as unlike most paisas, he doesn't talk at 180 words per minute!). Anyway, it was play-off season in Colombia, and with two of Medellin's clubs, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín both in the last eight, there were several matches taking place including a local derby where things got a bit tasty.
The fans go nuts outside the ground. This video doesn't really do it justice. Everyone's letting off fireworks, and one even hit me in the head (thankfully not requiring yet another trip to a foreign hospital).
The atmosphere in the ground was just as crazy. As luck would have it, we found ourselves in the end of the "home" team (Nacional) who managed to bang home 3 goals in the first half, so everyone was in good spirits, including some big guy who was bouncing around with his arm round me, constantly yelling things in my ear. I had no clue what he was on about, but that didn't seem to put him off one jot.
Guatapé
Rather more sedately, I took a bus trip to Guatapé, which boasts it is home to 3rd heaviest rock in the world (bit hard to verify). It's certainly had an interesting history, including the towns of Guatapé and nearby El Peñol having a graffiti battle over ownership.
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| There's even a wee chapel 2/3rds of the way up |
It wasn't climb until 1954, although that task is a lot easier now they've installed stairs all the way to the top and charge tourists to climb them. My tour guide told me his record for running up was 7 minutes so like a red rag to a bull, I had to try and beat it. Sadly, it took me 7m 45s and I nearly threw up with exhaustion at the top, much to the consternation of my fellow tourists who climbed the things at a more sensible pace.
Unsurprisingly, there are lovely views to be had from the top.
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| And the views are even lovelier when I stand in their way |
We also ventured into the town of Guatapé, which was probably the most colourful wee town I've ever seen (and 2nd most touristy after Aguas Calientes at Machu Picchu). Not much else to say but it was very pleasant place to wonder around.
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Then we were back on our bus for lunch, then onwards for a boat trip (since the whole trip was only £27, we were getting our peso's worth). The boat trip took us round some islands near Guatapé. There wasn't much to note except...
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.. one of Pablo Escobar's old houses. As someone who loves snooping round that sort of thing, I would have loved to stop off and have a look around, but it sadly was not to be. Thankfully, none of his "cocaine hippos" were present to rock the boat.
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Coming soon (when I get round to writing it in between a full time job AND full time Spanish school), a post about my full-time job and my full-time Spanish school.
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