Boston

Our night bus from Salento arrived over 2 hours early. Same driver, same bus as our trip from Medellin so we definitely didn't expect to arrive early. We grumpily made our way from the station and walked the half hour back to Noah Boutique Hostel. Unfortunately there were no beds available, but we were able to share a 'couch' upstairs on the terrace and the night manager gave us a blanket to share. Bit of a rough sleeping night, and our bodies are feeling the repercussions. However, we were able to do some more laundry and they also gave us breakfast and coffee free of charge which was very kind.
After getting ourselves organized we headed out to the Museo Memorial to learn about the other side of Pablo Escobar's story and impact on Medellin and Colombia. On our way there, a guy pulled a rope across the pedestrian crossing poles and stood on it like a tightrope while he juggled knives and spun a hula hoop with his foot. So weird. Anyway... we arrived at the casa museo that pays tribute to the people of Colombia and got all registered and downloaded the audio guide app. Despite most of the displays and exhibits being in Spanish, they were still very impactful. Compared to the Pablo Escobar Museum, this was very different and focuses a lot on the people, groups, families, and personal stories. The memorial hall that was dark and had black and white pictures but left the disappeared and/or killed person on color really stuck in my brain.
Following our visit, we made our way back towards the metro station we would need to get to Comuna 13. On our way, we diverted towards the Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe. The building was even more beautiful in daylight when you could see all the small details. It was free to go in and we walked around seeing some small exhibitions, but again they were mostly in Spanish and we were feeling a bit tired. Instead of translating everything we checked out each floor and admired the building. The dome and cornices were really detailed and I loved the open space in the middle of the building.
We took the metro towards Comuna 13 and got a quick Uber to the start of the hill leading to the escalators. It was absolutely wild! There were tons of people and stalls everywhere, people break dancing, lots of tour groups. It was very overwhelming and you'd never know that it was once an area to avoid. We took all 6 escalators to the top admiring the organized chaos and colorful street art. We didn't have too much time to linger before we headed back down the hill to get back to the hostel and head to the airport.
On our way back to the hostel, we stopped for water in Allan's favorite grocery store, the big Exito. Unfortunately, the bbq grill was off today and nobody was sat at the bar in the alcohol section...what a strange place!
We finished packing our bags, said goodbye to Noah Hostel and made our way to the airport (through one of the longest tunnels ever!). Just like that, the first leg of our trip is complete and we move on to Ecuador.Read more