Medellín (Colombia Part 4)

     Approaching the valley of Medellín from the airport drive at dusk was awe inspiring.  With the city lights glowing, the population of nearly 4 million is clearly defined.  Currently nicknamed "City of Eternal Spring" for its pleasant climate, it is shedding its notoriety as the den of Pablo Escobar, dangerous cartels, and paramilitary activity.  However, we were not so sure about that as our taxi turned into the San Antonio neighborhood which our hotel address indicated.  After dark it did have a definite sketchy vibe.  Our trusty Lonely Planet guide made no mention of the best neighborhoods to stay in (which would have been the touristy, clean El Poblado).  We ended up near Parque San Antonio because we blindly picked a place off Booking.com that seemed near to the city center and major museums. It was a bargain and had a jacuzzi tub!  On the first day out, Papa and Genna did a Free Walking Tour and the guide was careful to instruct them on the safe sides of streets to walk when returning to our hotel.  In our 5 days, we never felt unsafe in our neighborhood, did a lot of walking and local shopping, but never stayed out after dark (which is about 6:30pm in the single digit latitudes).

After Maya got over a stomach bug we ventured onto the Metro and took the cablecars up to Villa Sierra.  We took 2 laps, just for fun.  

The next day we took a guided tour of Comuna 13 and its famous graffiti.  Once a hotbed of gang violence, drug warfare, and controversial military interventions, the community has been transformed by metrocables, escalators, artists and activists that that are bringing positivity to the neighborhoods.

This Peace Sign is only recognizable from the corner of this building.

After the tour, we got to try our hand at tagging.

     Medellín rolled over the halfway point of our trip. By this time we were craving some non-Colombian cuisine.  Trying to avoid meat or fried foods is a challenge. One night we had high hopes of indulging in Indian, so figured the neighborhood place with "Pakistani" in the title would suffice.  Nope, it was classic sopa y secco.  The sancocho de pollo (chicken soup) we ordered was a hearty broth with an entire chicken quarter on top, WITH potatoes AND yucca AND rice on the side... no big deal, just tripling-up on the starches.  We also visited the health-branded chain, "Vive Saludable" (Live Healthy), hoping for some greens.  Although they did have a small veg section of the menu, all the salads were topped with chicken strips, ham, bacon, or quail eggs.  One small victory was looking for Thai but finding a Middle Eastern restaurant (in trendy El Poblado, of course) where we delighted in hummus, fatoush salad, tabouleh, and rice with lentils.  These culinary detours, however, come with Western prices.

     The "tip" I wrote in my journal was: "for long stays in one place, get a kitchenette and table."  Duh.  With 4 nights here, those would have been more valuable than the jacuzzi. 

Maya coming in for a landing.

     On our last full day in Medellín, the girls were booked for paragliding   Maya wanted to try it again and Genna was persuaded to join her.  They both had a good time and Jeff had the pleasure of talking metal markets and finances with our driver, Urlich.  We spent the evening second-guessing our onward travel plans and watching ever-running futbol on the soccer channel.

!Oye! The fountian just started!
Guatapé

     Our final day trip from Medellín was a 2 hour drive to the cutesy town of Guatapé.  Famous for its colorful fresco-festooned buildings and proximity to Piedra del Peñol.  The Medellín airport is approximately halfway between, so we rented a car there and took off towards the Rock.  Jeff has absolutely no trepidation about driving in countries where the rules of the road are somewhat left to your interpretation and common sense.  We splurged $16 on the Garmin so we would have GPS in our Renault Duster in the event our cell data was unreliable.  For $10 more, we could have sprung for onboard WiFi, but we are not those type of parents.
     Genna and I had hoped to rock climb on this trip, but the logistics did not work out. Now here we were at Piedra del Peñol, the rock that is famously climbed by all tourists.... via 740 stairs.  It is a unique piece of geology and the surrounding landscape created by a dammed river is lovely.  However, clouds rolled in as we reached the summit and it poured for 20 minutes until we decided to bail and go down.  The rain stopped when we reached the bottom.
     The town of Guatapé is charmingly touristy.  The girls got some bead bracelets for friends at home and we had a nice, expensive, curry lunch. We aren't too into souveniers when we travel, but Jeff and I always have our eye out for stone pendants, since that is the only type of jewelry I appreciate.   Colombia is famous for emeralds, but stone pendants are rather lacking. On the other hand, if you need earrings, you will not be disappointed.  Curiously, we also didn't see ONE postcard for sale the entire month.  They must be so recent to the tourist game that they have not developed with the notion to stock this antiquated gift shop staple.

Next up: Saving the best for last.... Zona Cafetera