Medellín - Day 1 & 2 Cable Car and Graffiti Tour

Our Adventures in and around Medellín Colombia. February 22-25, 2019
Our good friends John and Brenda Geen joined us in Cartagena on February 15th. This trip to Medellín was just 3 short days but we packed in as much sightseeing as we possibly could.

First of all, I have to mention that the people in Colombia are some of the nicest people we have ever met. For example, we were missing a key piece of information in the address of our Air B&B and our taxi driver was not going to just drop us off somewhere close. He was determined to make sure we got exactly where we needed to go. This involved taking us to a mall where we could hook up to WiFi, obtaining the Air B&B host's phone number and then the driver calling our host to get the exact details. All this while using google translate to try to talk to us. 

There were a lot of things about Medellín that we were looking forward to seeing. We’ve been researching this city for a few years now. One of the key elements for us was to actually experience the “eternal spring” weather. Was it going to be too cold or rainy like the weather forecast always says?NOPE! When we arrived, our first views were lush green mountains with puffy blue clouds and blue blue sky. A warm 27 degrees with much less humidity. Over our three days there, we experienced the warmth, the chill, the sun, the rain and the heavier clouds. The good news - it felt great! (Side note, my hair deflated! Mike thinks this is a ridiculous little fact that doesn’t need to be shared but ladies, you know what humidity does to your hair - I woke up on our first full day here and my hair was completely normal! I’m still shocked about it.) Just one more thing about the weather, for our next visit to Medellín, jackets are not required. Summer clothes, an umbrella and perhaps a pair of pants, one long sleeve shirt and a sweater for the evening would be all that we need. Okay, enough rambling, let’s get to some photos from our first night.

Our Air B&B was in the El Poblado neighborhood. We were walking distance to a nightlife area surrounding Parque Lleras. After getting settled in our apartment and a trip to the grocery store for some essential liquids we headed to this area for a celebratory drink and a snack. Our first night was a Friday night. This area was pretty busy by 9pm and I can only imagine how packed it would be a couple of hours from then. The music was loud, and a lot of bars had space for dancing. We chose a bar called Beer Store. It was a little quieter. 

This is the view of the park from our table at Beer Store.

A popular food stall. Look at the size of that shawarma!

This guy walked past with a mannequin on a garbage can ... or something weird like that ...  

DAY 2

We booked a graffiti tour for the afternoon of day two but that didn't start until 2pm so we decided that this was our opportunity to hop on the metro and ride a gondola. Medellin is surrounded by mountains and they have 5 lines of cable cars that are part of their metro system - no extra fee. They also have a series of escalators connecting areas higher in the mountains to the main city below. Mike had been reading about this metro system for a while and today was the day we were finally going to do it! The map was very clear and easy to follow. We choose to go to the Arvi stop because that looked like the longest cable extension.

The metro was full but we found some room. A nice young man gave me his seat and then he and Mike had a very basic Spanish/English conversation. It was super sweet. 

The cable cars! They slow down in the station, but they don't stop. There are enough cars that they weren't crowded although for super busy days there are bars to hold on to for maybe 3 or 4 people to stand in the center. 

After about 45 minutes from Poblado station we arrived at the top of the cable car run, Parque Arvi. It's a natural park filled with trees and flowers and hiking trails. There is a market filled with local crafts, snacks and fruits. It's also at least 10 degrees cooler at the top. We were unprepared for this type of park and time was getting away from us. Our walking tour was starting soon and we had to hurry back to meet our guide in El Pablado at Toucan Cafe & Tours. Metro Cable Car - checked off our list!



We made it to Toucan Cafe at exactly 2:00. No time to pass go (or stop for water or running shoes)
Our tour started in El Pablado Park and then moved to a little area where the city is allowing graffiti to help clean up the area. Colombians are passionate about their graffiti.

The park is a beautiful quiet green space with benches and free wifi.

This monument uses all four sides to tell the story of Medellin from it's first settlers till present day.

Once again, we rode the metro. This time we transferred at San Antonio station to San Javier. From there we met a second guide (who only speaks Spanish) who was going to take us through Comuna 13.
We weren't there yet though. We took a 15 minute bus ride up and up through tiny streets. We went as far as the bus goes and then walked up hill from there. But if you want to see some really amazing graffiti, that steep up hill walk is worth it - and it's a great workout.
Comuna 13 was once considered THE most dangerous neighborhood in the WORLD, based on murder rates. With the ease of access to the San Juan highway, this was the perfect route for the cartel to transport drugs, guns and money from rural Antiqua to the city.
Since the 1980s, Comuna 13 was ruled by the Medellin Cartel. In 2002, the government decided to carry out "Operation Orion" which was an attempt to overthrow the cartel militias. The government thought this to be one of the most successful operations but this is controversial with the people of Comuna 13. They believe the rule went from one corrupt leader to another, and murder rates dropped due to disappearances vs deaths. With all of that being said, things today are in much better shape. Hip hop and art have become a great form of expression for the residents. It is still a poor community, but there is a great amount of hope, with tourism aiding immensely.

Every detail has a story. 

Even this slide has a deeper meaning : keeping your inner child alive and not taking everything so seriously. We all rode the slide. Mike was asked by some of the kids to race.
We have a video to post! Spoiler alert: Mike gets stuck on the hump. 

Our guide explaining some of the details in this piece. I wish I could remember them all. 

Sarah, Mike, John & Brenda with both our guides. 

Our guides with a Comuna 13 resident who has lived here for 40 years.
He's very proud of how far they have come.

I do remember a little bit about this one because I took explanation photos! Her face, half brown, half colourful represents two of their neighbourhoods. You can see the differences in the photos below. No two homes the same. 

Another check-list item for us! We made it to the escalators! This is such an important mode of transportation for the people here. With these escalators, they can make it down into the city to work and easily back home again. It opened so many doors for them. It's just amazing. They are also super helpful for tired tourists who are jamming a LOT of sightseeing into one day.

Notice all the escalators with their Orange borders.  

Now that we know their stories,
we are no longer tourists, we're locals!

Our tour ended with a lesson on how to spray our own graffiti with a spray can. It's not as easy as it looks.
After our journey home, we were all pretty tired and decided to walk up the street and grab some burgers to eat back at our apartment.
Our full day 3 tour started at 8am and we needed our beauty sleep.

Next post coming soon.
Here is the link to the graffiti tour we took:
Toucan Cafe & Tours -graffiti tour 

Ciao!

Side Trip to Santa Marta

Santa Marta lies 240 kilometers northeast of Cartagena, another beautiful spot on the Caribbean. We decided to take a trip there for a few days and after much research we decided on a mini-bus from the Berlinas line. I was not looking forward to this 4 hour ride, picturing a hot and crowded van going over rough roads, and my last memory of such a ride was in northern Thailand. To this day I don't know where I found the will to not throw up on that particular trip. However, my fears were unfounded as it was a comfortable and air-conditioned unit and the ride both ways went smoothly. The cost per person round trip was 80,000 Colombian pesos (COP) approximately $34 CAD.

Our accommodations were at a place called Casa Bugambilia and after receiving the news that there was an extra charge for a 2nd person in our room (who charges for a second person?) we settled in and then walked up to the roof to see the pool, bar, and view of the city. The pool was the size of a large bathtub but certainly was refreshing. Pretty sure I swam about 40 lengths in 30 seconds. Our bartenders were about 14 years old and we had some trouble ordering but eventually we received our drinks. Apparently our young helpers were not aware that beer was meant to be served cold.

We had probably the worst short view possible over the nearby rooftops but if you concentrated on just looking into the distance the mountains made for a nice vista.

Some of the sights from Santa Marta

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 (Note from Sarah: Our rooftop was lovely and quiet at night. Wish we could have said the same for the building next door. They were in the middle of construction and started working with a loud crash promptly at 7am each day. It made sure we didn't miss breakfast though. It started at 7:30 am on the roof. I love a country where you can eat breakfast everyday on the roof.)

Parque de Los Novios

The next day we spent a few hours at the beach where you could purchase a canopy and two chairs for COP 20,000 ($8). Well worth it to have some shade as Santa Marta is just as hot as Caragena, although the people there don't think so. 

On our second night we took a 15 minute cab ride over the mountain to a sister-town called Rodadero. The cabs here are incredibly cheap and this particular ride cost COP 12,000 ($5). We tend to think that in some of these countries that everyone is out to rip us off but I actually asked the cab driver before we got in if it would be 14 and he said no, only 12. How's that for honesty?

An old friend from Belleville, Lou Meloche (also first cousin of Anne Bunton) lives in Rodadero and we had arranged to meet up. His beautiful, fully furnished 3 bedroom apartment that looks out on the Caribbean costs $1200 Canadian per month, everything included. Right now it's just Lou and another Canadian named Gill staying there so there's an open room folks!

Lou wanted us to meet friends of his in a neighbouring building, a 91 year old American doctor named Harry and his wife Jolene. They actually purchased both apartments on their floor, one a three bedroom and one a two bedroom. They've been coming to Colombia for 60 years! They were incredible hosts and even took us all out to dinner later. Harry drove. He told some great stories and was interested in our time in Egypt as he had been there twice himself. An amazing couple!

On our third day we went to a small fishing village called Taganga, another wonderful spot. In the last 50 years it has become a bit of a backpacker/hippie haven with numerous bars and restaurants right on the beach. Lots of local fishermen (fisherpeople?) as well as tourists. Taganga is known for it's diving, snorkelling, and sunsets. We ended up at a nice bar on the beach called LOVE. Not really sure how the older locals feel about what their town has become but I wonder if they would think that they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Ho hum, another Caribbean sunset.