Colombia
Barrio Castilla

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    • Day 9

      Desfile de Silleteritos

      July 29, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      A Medellín è ufficialmente cominciato L'EVENTO DELL'ANNO.
      La Feria de las Flores si celebra tutti gli anni ad inizio agosto (per celebrare l'indipendenza della regione di Antioquía), e i migliori coltivatori di fiori della regione si sfidano all'ultimo sangue per aggiudicarsi il titolo di miglior silletero.

      La sfilata principale ci sarà nei prossimi giorni, noi abbiamo trovato la sfilata dei bambini ❣️ sfilavano varie associazioni culturali, di musica, di danza, e le accademie militari. Di bambini. Aiuto.
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    • Day 105

      Von Salento nach Medellin

      March 14, 2019 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Natürlich muss man in Salento eine der Kaffeeplantagen besichtigen. Wir fahren mit einem der alten Jeeps zu einem Kaffeebauern. Unser Jeep ist Jahrgang 1967. Er habe viele Kilometer, aber der Tacho gehe schon lange nicht mehr, erklärt mir sein stolzer Besitzer. Bis zu 14 Personen werden damit befördert. Drei können hinten auf dem Trittbrett stehen. Auf der Rückfahrt auf der sehr schlechten Naturstraße dann ein lauter Schlag. Die Feder hinten rechts ist gebrochen, die Achse liegt am Rahmen auf. Gemerkt hat man die fehlende Federung nicht.
      Der Sohn des Kaffeebauern klärt uns in perfektem Englisch über Anbau und Weiterverarbeitung, auch über die Probleme seiner Branche auf.
      Abends treffen wir Alex und Rosa wieder und gehen gemütlich essen.

      Ich habe mir leider zum dritten Mal den Magen verdorben, nicht wegen des Kaffees und kann mich am nächsten Morgen nur schwer aufraffen aufs Motorrad zu steigen. Mir ist nicht wohl und meine beiden Mitfahrer biegen irgendwo falsch ab. Ich fahre alleine die nächsten 200 km, teils bei 40 Grad durch eine wunderbare bergige, immer sattgrüne Landschaft, für die ich leider kaum einen Blick habe. Die ganze Strecke reiht sich Kurve an Kurve, manche überraschend, manche tückisch, manche machen plötzlich zu und manchmal kommt auch auf meiner Spur einer der großen Sattelzüge entgegen, der gerade einen anderen überholt. Irgendwie geht es immer, Südamerika.
      Eigentlich bin ich platt und würde mich gerne mal irgendwo hinlegen. Aber das ist sogar in Sibirien einfacher als hier. Also nur eine Trinkpause. Danach lässt meine Konzentration merklich nach und ich ertappe mich immer wieder dass ich in nie endenden Kurven korrigieren muss. Ich bin froh Medellin zu erreichen, Stadt des ewigen Frühlings, hier ist es nicht mehr ganz so heiß, geht aber noch unangenehme 20 km durch den Stadtverkehr der 3 Millionen Stadt. Über 300 km enge und engste Kurven, über 6 Stunden Fahrt, normalerweise ganz viel Spaß, heute bin ich fertig. Schlecht ist mir immer noch und unterwegs konnte ich mich zu keinem einzigen Foto aufraffen.

      Am nächsten Tag steht Medellin auf dem Programm. Die Stadt ist hauptsächlich bekannt durch die Drogenkartelle und sein Oberhaupt Pablo Escobar. Dieser wurde in Medellin von amerikanischen Spezialeinheiten 1993 erschossen. Er hat bis heute viele Sympathisanten in seinem Wohnviertel, wo er u.a. Häuser für die Bewohner bauen ließ.
      Heute gibt es eine Rolltreppe durch die am Berg liegende comuna 13, die Drogen- Kriegsgebiet war. Ein Sozialprojekt der Stadt. Es ist die längste Rolltreppe der Welt und soll den meist armen Bewohnern der comuna 13 den Gang in die Stadt erleichtern. Im Hotel wird uns empfohlen nur mit einem Guide die Rolltreppen zu benutzen. Das stellt sich als völlig übertrieben heraus. Von dort allerdings weiter in die Gassen der eng an eng gebauten Häuser zu gehen erscheint mir nicht so sicher.
      Immerhin ist ja die Mordrate von 7000 im Jahr 1991 zwischenzeitlich unter den Durchschnitt lateinamerikanischer Großstädte gesunken. Von Morden an Touristen habe ich gar nichts gelesen.
      Abgesehen von dieser blutigen Geschichte gilt Medellin heute als Stadt mit den freundlichsten Bewohnern, als moderne innovative Stadt mit vielen Parks. Alles würde ich bestätigen, die Freundlichkeit der Medelliner ist vielleicht tatsächlich noch etwas ausgeprägter als im Rest des Landes. Einen Besuch ist Medellin auf jeden Fall wert.
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    • Day 37

      Medellín; more than Pablo.

      June 22, 2019 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      So far this has been the town with the most intense history. We arrived by plane into Medellín, Colombia and checked into a funky little hostel and hit the hay.
      We awoke early the next day for our walking tour of the city where we learnt in-depth history of the iconic Colombian town. Wowee what a story.
      The tour guide was an amazing story teller and hats off to him for telling the truth, even the hard, dirty parts.
      Essentially Medellín holds the immense stigma of being the cocaine capital of Colombia. It’s forefather Pablo Escobar made sure of that in the 1960s and 70s. However, somehow through highs and lows and hurdles, Medellín has managed to rise from the ashes and clean up its streets to become one of the biggest tourist towns in Colombia now days.
      During the late 80s and early 90s Medellín was dubbed the ‘most dangerous city in the world.’ With the highest murder and violence rates due to cartel and drug wars, along with guerilla and terror groups opposing the corrupt government.
      After many years, the death of Pablo and many governments that did good (but painfully some bad as well) Medellín cleaned up the scariest parts of the streets and replaced it with good. Education centres, art galleries and monuments were erected to liven areas that were once feared and avoided. The city soon began to flourish and transform.
      Tourism brought cashflow, various cultures, safer streets and new ways of making money. The metro was installed during a hard time and made travel around the city much easier. It is the most respected tool in all of Medellín. No graffiti or trash to be seen anywhere on the trains.
      Although still oftentimes a scary place and still very much healing from the pain and hurt, Medellín is on the mend. Hoolio our guide explained how Colombians find happiness and pride in the small things (like when they scored an unthinkable goal against Germany in the World Cup some years ago). They try to forget the pain of the past and look to a much brighter future. He explained how foreigners should find inspiration from this. How we too should hold our heads high when things are tough because we are still alive!!!
      After the tour we traipsed around town with Will from Spain. His helpful Spanish got us around town with ease. Tabby tried her best but with minimal luck to snag the newcomer. She was very fond, and maybe a bit too keen (scared the poor fella off). Many laughs were had indeed!

      The next morning we ducked out of Medellín and jumped aboard a bus bound for Guatape. The most colourful town. After a long detour because of traffic blocks we arrived and got some lunch.
      We spent the afternoon roaming the beautiful, old, colourful streets here and tasted a lot of the local foods. The people were warm and friendly and it wasn’t as touristy as I thought it would be. All in all a great day!

      Our last day in Medellin had a lazy start. Then we ventured into Comuna 13. This area of Medellín makes you fully understand how far a lot of Colombia has come from its dark past. Still shady in areas, with drug trafficking, extortion and violence but nothing like it’s former years. The government installed elevators to get up the steep hill. That along with street art makes it another tourist hotspot. This in turn has increased police presence and has made it a much safer area to visit!
      We also tramped down the street to watch the football game against Paraguay with the locals at the stadium! Luckily they won and everyone went home happy.
      A place with a very very dark history but nonetheless beautiful now (never do drugs because it’s the people like this that suffer). Well worth the visit indeed!
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    • Day 44

      Medellín - Die Stadt des ewigen Frühling

      August 19, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      Nach ein paar Tagen Bogota ging es dann endlich nach Medellin. Alle, die ich bisher getroffen hatte, haben von der Stadt geschwärmt und auch ich fand es dort super!
      Die Stadt scheint sich in den letzten Jahren unglaublich gewandelt zu haben. Sie ist moderner und sauberer als Bogota und das Wetter ist super. Ich hatte zwei spannende Stadtführungen die einem die schönen und immernoch schlechten Seiten vorgestellt haben. Nur weil es dort jetzt besser ist, ist es noch nicht gut.
      Nunja, jetzt bin ich weiter gefahren an die unglaublich heiße Küste und vermisse die Stadt ein bisschen.
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    • Day 5–7

      Medellín

      October 29, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌩️ 15 °C

      C'est donc après 9h de bus de nuit que nous sommes arrivés à Medellín, ville tristement connue pour sa sanglante histoire autour de milices (FARC, ELN), groupes paramilitaires et l'armée. C'est depuis 2002 une ville de plus en plus paisible et orientée vers le tourisme et ses nouvelles générations.
      Nous avons donc posé nos sacs puis sommes directement partis pour une visite de la Comuna 13 (ancien arrondissement avec le plus haut taux de criminalité de Medellín, fief de Pablo Escobar) avec un guide local. On a décidé de prendre la visite en espagnol, c'était pas de tout repos. Une fois la visite terminée au sommet de la Comuna 13, retour à l'hostel après avoir fait quelques courses et notamment nos premiers avocats et mangues ! U.

      Quand on s’écarte des zones touristiques , Medellín c’est un immense bazar organisé. On peut y croiser une rue dédiée à la vente ou réparation de moto , une autre pour les vélos, une rue pour les frigidaires, une pour les chaussures de contrefaçons,… Des vendeurs ambulants partout qui répètent en boucle leur pub dans leur micro (qui ne nous laissent pas toujours indifférents, faut bien goûter les spécialités !). Et il faut le dire beaucoup de pauvreté (et de drogués qu’on voit clairement faire). On se sent pas toujours à notre place. Le soir on a la chance de pouvoir rentrer dans un petit hostel bien agréable dans un quartier résidentiel tranquille !
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    • Day 180

      Medellín, Colombia

      April 15, 2017 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Pablo's Paisa.

      In case you were wondering, I finished the two seasons of Narcos in Panama. If you've been living under a rock, Narcos is the Netflix series on Pablo Escobar's cocaine empire - a thrilling watch and a prerequisite for any trip to Colombia. Thanks be to Cat for her early encouragement which later turned to frustration as I favoured the gory series to her conversation. Sorry, not sorry Cat. Hence, we arrived in Medellín with all the background we needed to pursue our interest in the notorious late Pablo Escobar. Unfortunately, what we had forgotten was that it was still Santa Semaña...very much so. This caused a very quiet introduction to an otherwise extremely lively city which nearly nine million Colombians call home. Almost every shop was closed and the streets were void of traffic and pedestrians. To be honest it was eerie and a little scary having nobody around.

      But hang on a sec, that doesn't include the bus station in which we arrived - that was a different story. It was hectic, unfamiliar, and to make matters worse - nobody spoke english. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem but whilst trying to buy tickets for our onward leg to Bogotá in three days time, we were turned away with little more than 'no hay' - twice. For those who don't speak spanish, 'no hay' means something along the lines of 'there isn't' or less literally 'we don't have any'. A request for an explanation or even just an elaboration was met with an agressive blurt of incomprehensible spanish. Information assured us that there were tickets at the companies who had explicitly told us there weren't just moments earlier. Bloody Santa Semaña! It dawned on us that this could be our first major cock up with bookings so far. Well by our, I mean Cat - the booking guru, who's the brains that keep this ball rolling. Finally we found tickets for a night bus that got into Bogotá at 3am - not ideal and you'll surely be hearing about it. I don't miss a whinge. Ever.

      But enough of that - Medellín is breathtaking. Exclusively red brick houses sprawl up every side of the valley like tomato soup sloshing up the sides of a shallow green bowl. At the periphery, the densely populated urban scene cuts to farm or forest so sharply it's as if the visual contrast was intentional. Remarkable in every direction. We have a thousand photos in our effort to capture this and I'm still not convinced we have. To add to the scene, quick moving clouds ranging from fluffy white to stormy black race over the valley adding a naturally fluctuating light to the scene. It is a view that would never bore and one that almost every resident can appreciate - the further from the city centre, the better it gets.

      Medellín has recently become home to the Metrorail and Metrocar which - believe it or not - are my first rail and cable car of this trip! The public transport system is first world - swipe cards, crowd management and prompt, clean services. Both the rail and cable car are suspended over the city, minimising displacement of residents and providing cheap travel for all (US70c flat rate). The metro has transformed the city. On top of all the usual benefits of decent public transport, the Metro lines have had an interesting effect on low socioeconomic areas with high crime. Each of the areas to have recieved a nearby line or station have shown unprecedented reductions in crime and unemployment, and have ultimately been transformed into thriving, safe, residential environments. Remember we're not talking about chopping five or ten minutes off your daily commute. Many of the lines provide CBD access to those who would otherwise be unable to complete the round trip in a day.

      A city of nine million people obviously has it's diversity, but if you're still thinking of it as third world, think again. Cat and I are in agreement that this is a city that we could well call home. It has good public and private transport options, a respectable CBD, multiple universities, a world class sporting venue (that would put Sydney's Olympic Park to shame), as well as plenty of sports clubs, modern bars and restaurants. It's also located just a stones throw from nature and an abundance of adventure; hiking through forest, swimming and kayaking on lakes and rivers, top notch mountain biking and if you're up for it - parasailing the ridges surrounding the city. Last but not least (and most importantly for me) it has a temperate climate! Don't get me wrong, there's still crime, slums and dirty areas in Medellín but it is leagues ahead of what we experienced in Central America.

      What does one do in Medellín after a night on a bus? Sleep would be the obvious answer, but we're on a schedule and haven't the time to nap. At least that's what Cat repeated whilst I flooded system routinely with coffee. After a day exploring town and riding cable cars, we decided that it would be rude not to attend the local footy game, given that every second person we saw that day had been wearing their colours. It was of course sold out, which forced us into the unenjoyable task of obtaining tickets from scalpers in what was a hectic entry to the game. Luckily we were in the company of some Danes who had slightly better spanish than us. After much faffing and bartering we got the tickets for only a few dollars more than we should have and began the process of finding a seat. The stadium was packed! Not even standing room was available and every access route was blocked by fans - stood or seated. It was a nightmare! After climbing over nearly 100 occupied seats we finally found a spot to watch the game, fortunately distant from the carnage ensueing behind the home goal. The home team, Athletico National were dominant for the entire 90 minutes but were unfairly punished by two break away goals resulting in an undeserved 2-0 loss, amusingly reminding me of a typical Cows victory. The meagre 100 odd away fans vocal in their joy and ultimately escorted from the match by equally as many police. The party continued on Carrera 78 as the locals flooded the street to commiserate the loss with shot after shot of aguardiente.

      But all of this and no word of Escobar? Well, it took some time to find a man who would show us around as most of the tours were closed for Santa Semaña. Since the launch of the Netflix series, tourism Medellín has capitalised on some key locations in Pablo's life; his grave, his place of death, one of his (80 odd) houses - the Monaco building - which in fact was bombed by a rival cartel, and of course Pablo Escobar the suburb. Yes, he has a suburb named after him because he built it - all 800 houses. We were able to visit all of the above, but missed out on meeting his brother and on visiting Hacienda Napoles (his farm/zoo still filled with exotic animals from around the world). It was an interesting but underwhelming tour in all honesty. If only it wasn't Santa Semaña and we could've got the tour we wanted! We did however get a local's view on Escobar. Apparently in Medellín about 80% of residents hate him and 20% love him. Free housing likely to be a leading contributor to the fans. Either way, aside from in Paisa Pablo Escobar, Medellín has done it's best to destroy his legacy and erase the painful past he had created.

      A brief and busy visit to Parque Arvi via cable car brought around the end of our time in Medellín as we raced back to pick up our bags and head to the bus station for another partially overnight bus. Instantly demotivated by more of the Santa Semaña crowds we had been battling all afternoon, neither Cat nor I were particularly happy about this bus. To make matters worse, the bus company had double booked our bus. A disorderly 'line' turned to pushing and yelling as everybody tried to board the bus. This reinforced my already firm belief that Colombians don't queue. If you can push into a line, you do. If you are of the belief that your question is more important than others, interupt and ask it. Obviously it's not rude here, but it's taken a lot of getting used to to forget all of your manners and delete any awareness of personal space. Anyway, I've digressed. Back to my bus whinge. We had absolutely no idea what was going on until we found someone who spoke english, conveniently pushing past us in the crowd. After nearly an hour of moshing and worrying that we wouldn't be able to leave, a lady called our name and we squeezed through many aggressive and fuming Colombians onto the bus that was now over an hour late. We then discovered that there was another bus, the ticket agent had just put the wrong bus number on a whole bus load of passenger's tickets. We were actually grateful for the delay, we weren't looking forward to arriving in Bogotá at 3am with no accommodation. Well that was until the bus driver decided that he'd try and make it up. He drove that bus so brutally I nearly fell off my seat. In a coach. With arm rests! The dinner stop was all of 15 minutes at 11pm and we arrived in Bogotá on time. This will probably be the only time in my life I will be upset with a prompt service. Finishing our night's rest on the floor of a freezing Bogotá bus station was salt in the wound, part one. Salt in the wound part two was that our hostel didn't have an indoor living room, a place to doze or even hot coffee when we arrived at 6am, nor could they provide directions to a place that did. That there made for a tired and grumpy start to Bogotá for the both of us. Ah well, you can't win 'em all!
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    • Day 9

      Medellín: Comuna 13

      March 2, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Das einst gefährlichste Stadtviertel der Welt.

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    Barrio Castilla

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