Medellin, Colombia
Everything you've heard about Colombia is true. It's safe. It's dangerous. It's beautiful. It's chaos.
Getting There: Today I'm flying to Medellin from Lima. This is the most expensive flight of my trip and I highly recommend booking international in advance. Domestic can wait until a few days out. The flight is turbulent, but I'm getting used to this. 3 hours later, we're a tad bit late as I've been warned to expect from Avianca but we've arrived. I change all the Peruvian soles I have at the airport and I still don't have the 55,000 ($18) needed for a taxi. Oops.
Eager to get on my way, I jump in a 9,000 peso ($3) collectivo with the locals. This is an interesting experience. They let us out at San Diego bus stop and you can get a taxi to El Poblado for another 3,000 pesos ($1). It takes me about an hour and a half to get from the airport.
I check in to a private room at Maloka Hostel in the center of El Poblado. I set out to find an ATM only discover the bank has blocked my card which ends up being common for Americans in Colombia... Good start. I'll have to find places that take card for the night. I walk to 37 Park for dinner and end up running into my friend Gray. We live less than 20 minutes from each other in NYC, but it takes travel to another continent for us to run into each other. Ridiculously small world.
We have a nightcap at La Playa Hostel and discuss our first impressions of El Poblado aka "Gringolandia". There is such a sharp contrast between where you can visit and where you can't. The ethnotourism bothers me. It feels like they've put a glass wall between you and the locals (Paisas). Look, but don't touch. Observe, but don't engage. I want to go deeper. I want to learn more.
The next morning I decide to stay in Medellin another night so I can go to the nights big futbol match. Medellin is famous for their free walking tour, but I didn't sign up 24 hours in advance so I can't join. After a delicious free Hostel breakfast of arepas, I go to see the formerly dubbed most dangerous neighborhood in the world, Comuna 13. It takes at least an hour to take the cable car and metro up to the neighborhood and it's a tricky place to navigate on your own so I sign up for a guided graffiti tour.
There are over 1 million people living in Medellin in the valley of the mountains. The rich live in the flat areas and the poor live up on the hills. The city was largely populated in the 50s and 60s when the guerillas pushed refugees to leave the countryside because of the violence.
Our guide is a bit scripted telling us how innovative and safe Medellin is so I ask a few prying questions trying to get some truth. He opens up and tells me how many in Medellin respect Pablo Escobar and the voice that he gave them. He says there are parts of the city still struggling to get up to speed with the new first world reputation the government is peddling. The street art clearly shows the tension between the government and los paisas. Overall, I enjoy the 4 hour tour especially the Colombian delicacies: fresh squeezed juice, arepas, and mango manhonitos. I've included a picture of our tour group because the guide hilariously kept wanting to take pictures of us despite the fact that we didn't know each other and didn't want pictures together. They turned out pretty great.
After the tour, I head to El Poblado to meet Gray and our new Swiss friend Renzo for the Medellin Futbol vs. Cali match. A van booked through the hostel picks us up at 4pm. We buy $6 jerseys and drink $1.50 beers outside the stadium with the locals for a few hours before we head in to the game at 7. It's a rowdy crowd. We have almost front row seats. After a night of slander in the rain, we tie, but it's an amazing experience that you can't leave South America without. We top off the night with some Brits at Medellin Beer Co.
Day Trip: Guatape
Guatape is a beautiful lake town about 2 hours from Medellin I've been told I can't miss. I wake up early (per usual on the road) and head to the Northern bus terminal. I find out the buses leave every 15-30 minutes for 13,000 pesos ($4). I find this out by asking a police officer who jokingly asks me how much I'm willing to pay for information. Too soon for the corruption jokes, but I laugh anyways. Pro tip: The buses leave out of the first 20 stalls on the lowest level. Tell your driver where you want to get off so you don't look like a dingus like me.
El Peñol or La Piedra is just 20 minutes before you get to Guatape. After long disputed ownership (check out the painted letters on the side), this 7,000 foot elevation rock is unusually and beautifully all by itself in a land of lakes. Locals and tourists climb the 740 steps to the top to enjoy the view and a Michelada.
I meet two obnoxious Americans on a one week vacation who tell me they are "Ruin kind of guys". Despite the fact this is not an ancient ruin, these guys latch on to me because they clearly don't know what they're doing. Drawing on some deep inner empathy, I share a Tuk tuk for 12,000 pesos with them to Guatape.
We walk around town to Cuatro Esquinas and discover the queen of all South American Empanada ladies. We meet some Dutch girls who want to go to Pablo Escobar's house via boat but they need more people. I'm pretty opposed to this gringo tourist trap, but I feel like a Debbie downer telling them no. I give in and the boat ride is really beautiful. The lake is covered with celebrity homes including futbol stars, politicians, and remaining family of Pablo. As expected, the house is a complete tourist trap complete with a paintball court you can play Narcos (insert rolling eyes), but there is some history here. The original groundskeeper still lives here because he made a promise to Pablo he would take care of the land no matter what. There is significant damage from where Los Pepes raided and blew up the house, but his lavish taste is still apparent. I feel icky knowing the government is charging tourists and capitalizing on Escobar long after he's gone. Eventually we head back to Guatape to catch the last bus around 6pm back to Medellin.
Other recommended restaurants in Medellin: Mondongos, Como Pez en el Agua, Mundo Verde, Buñuelos y Algo Mas
Next up: The Coffee Triangle