Medellín

Graffiti in Comuna 13 was an artform

Let's get the basics out of the way! Medellín is capital of the Colombian region of Antioquia and Colombia's largest city. Founded in 1616 by Francisco Herrera y Campuzano who settled in the area of the city called El Poblado, it is often called the ‘City of Eternal Spring’ thanks to its idyllic temperatures and pockets of green parks. The city has had to fight its tumultuous past with innovation and determination to transform itself into a modern and colourful city buzzing with art and culture. Oh and for those that have been following on with our struggles with altitude, it sits at 1500m above sea level.

Our hotel was conveniently located in the obviously well to do El Poblado area. At 0900, the Albanys stumbled our way down to have a very uncharacteristic late breakfast as we had a 1000 start to begin our exploration of Medellin. Pablo, our guide for the next few days, was more similar to Julio in that he was a certified guide, and he spoke a lot! It did make a difference in terms of the little things eg being very aware of timing, what was included, giving us an outline for the day, options that we had, and rearranging as required. Again, his English like Julio's was excellent. They were both obviously part of the more fortunate group of Colombians who were privileged enough to be well educated, and had good paying jobs. Pablo also had a great sense of humour!

We started with a walk down the road towards El Poblado Park. With the lush green trees, it almost looked like Orchard Rd! On Sundays, the road in front of our hotel was closed for the community for recreation. There was an endless stream of people walking and cycling, many with their dogs. The ones with better physique had their shirts off of course, on par with the Bondi to Coogee walk. The streets were also lined with street vendors, musicians and breakdancers. No walk was complete without a history lesson, this time on the criminal past of Medellín thanks to Pablo Escobar and the guerillas. Pablo (our guide, not the drug lord), made it clear that the drug trade and the guerillas were two separate sources of problems, although they were linked to some extent. As one of the most dangerous cities in the world during the 1980s, Medellín has undergone a complete transformation. Pablo, born and bred in Medellín, recounted his childhood as one of fear, where the reality was that one may leave one's home and one day never return, either from murder, kidnapping or a bomb explosion. The statistics were horrendous.

Now awake and smiling after some much needed sleep

More extensive options compared to the rural hotels which was understandable

Very nice breakfast area

Outdoor seating

Modern interiors despite a rather ugly exterior facade

The whole family agreed that they got Orchard Rd vibes! It was nice to see the locals out and about exercising

Vendors everywhere

Our guide knew this one as he always buys form him. He was kind enough to let try his goods! Like a mushy fruit salad

Um forget window cleaning. Let's breakdance at the lights!

Chiva. Used as public transport in the countryside and as a party bus in the city

Our bus then whisked us to the the western part of the city, specifically to Comuna13, known as the most dangerous neighbourhood in Latin America until 2012. Our guide Pablo never set foot in it until 2017 to give an idea of the absolutely revolutionary change. To keep it short, the community rebuilt itself from the roots up rather from the government down. They strengthened their identity through arts and culture, and turned their youth away from criminality to the hip hop culture encompassing graffiti, rap, breakdancing and DJ. Comuna 13 today is vibrant, colourful and buzzing with life. Tours to visit sell like hotcakes. The locals now also earn from tourism. Comuna 13 and the rest of Medellin also benefited from the investment into public transport access into the city's poorer areas, cutting down their commute to work by over an hour and enabling children to attend school. The citizens are proud of their system and the stations, trains, and cable cars are kept clean. 

We were fortunate enough to have B-Boy join us as a local host. He showed us through the labyrinth of stairs, took us to watch the breakdancers on the street, and recounted the horrific history of the area. Farmers heading into the city to seek refuge from the guerillas, instead find themselves cornered by the them with their children recruited into a life of crime. The government when they finally responded, did so with the military and paramilitary. If they could not tell whether you were a guerilla or not, you would be shot dead. He then took us to house where the social initiative that he was part of was based. They offered free lessons for any youth who were interested in learning to dance, rap, DJ or graffiti. We had a go with graffiti which was fun but stressful at the same time! All in all, it was an amazing morning in Comuna 13. 

Chota13, one of the pioneer of the art movement who helped transform the brick and concrete to graffiti mural

The sprawling and densely populated neighbourhood, set on the steep slopes on the "sides" of the bowl that is Medellin

You could down with stairs or you could use the slide

It was packed! 

The escalators that were part of the public transport. No cars could navigate the area as the housing were all so densely built together

Colour everywhere

It was hard to appreciate how steep it was with photos

Snack break! Thanks Pablo!

Mango passionfruit with limejuice and salt down the bottom

Elliot chose the winner flavour - avocado!

I don't even remember what this was but it was soft, gummy and sickly sweet!

Not sure how people consumer the whole tub!

Perhaps you can better appreciate how the houses were literally built on top of each other

The breakdancing was incredible

The initiative that B-Boy was a part of

The installation of the solar power was donated

Not graffiti but I loved these paintings depicting Comuna 13

Spray cans for the graffiti artist

Our family effort with B-Boy

We had a go on the escalators, the cable car and tram before a short drive to lunch, the best one yet during our time in Colombia. Unfortunately Pablo ordered so I didn't get the Spanish name for the dishes but we did not leave anything behind on the plate! The rain had just started which was good timing as the rest of the day would be mostly indoors. First up, we had a date with artwork of my now new favourite artist, Botero. We literally ran through his outdoor sculptures before entering the Antioquia Museum. Botero also played a part in contributing to the transformation of Medellin by donating a substantial amount of his work, as well as artwork from his personal collection. 

Cable car

These would go to the poor neighbourhoods up the sides of the mountains

The trains and train stations were spotless

The best lunch we've had to date

Colombian version of fish poke bowl

Simple grilled beef

Bean soup with accompanying plate, eaten all mixed together

Courtesy of the restaurant (the owners knew Pablo well) - Natilla a Christmas sweet

We miss you Moose! Botero Sculpture

Rodin got the brief. Breakdancing sculture. Just joking! One of the many pieces from Botero's private collection donated to the city for the people 

This was a painting and not a photo!

Thumbs up to Medellin says the family!

Next up, salsa lesson. We now know that Colombians are passionate about dancing and the fear of being a social dud from poor dancing skills was real! We had serious doubts about our ability to feel the beast and set our hips in motion. The salsa class took place in a real dance hall with a mirror on the wall and a professional teacher, Ana Maria, who was fabulous. She broke the salsa right down and taught us the moves in digestible steps, before long we were all at least performing the right moves in time to the music! As to whether or not we look hot and sexy, the answer was positively not! However, we all had a lot of fun. 2 hours of private salsa lesson was tiring! Our stamina was flagging at the end but it was a wonderful day to end our day in Medellin.

We all had fun!

No judgement...it was right next door to our hotel and we were exhausted!

AutoMac sounded so much better than drive through