Bienvenido a Medellin Welcome to Medellin
At the beginning of the fall this year, I got a text from mi querido amiga my dear friend, Taryn: "Ever wanted to go Colombia?" Me: "Lol I wanna go everywhere" And thus began our impromptu journey to Medellin, Colombia - the very birthplace of the infamous Pablo Escobar. Yes, THE Escobar, overloard of drug trafficking and crime in South America.
Over the course of informing people of my trip I must have received a hundred raised eyebrows and multiple renditions of "WTF!?" But we'd done our research. Since the death of Escobar, this particular Colombian city has been progressively transforming into a more approachable destination. Plus, Taryn's good friend had told us that Medellin is one of the most beautiful places to visit in South America. Being who we are, the reward of a beautiful view and the excitement of exploring streets tainted with such a history seemed too much to pass up.
Less than a month later, we were on a plane to what everyone thought was one of the most dangerous cities in South America.
LAX MDE Salimos el Tom Bradley International Terminal a las diez de la noche en Miercoles. Sentando en la terminal, yo sabi que este journey seria muy diferente. Todo el mundo estaba regrasando a Colombia o Panama no que visitar. We left the Tom Bradley International Terminal at around 10pm on Wednesday night. Even in the terminal at LAX, I knew we were in for a totally different experience. Everyone on our flight, as far I could tell, was flying back to Colombia (or Panama). We were the only tourists, more so - we were the only Americans. There are no direct flights to Medellin. We had a six hour flight to Panama City and then from there a one hour flight to Medellin.
Medellin se llama "El Ciudad de Eterna Primavera" por el buen tiempo. We drove about 40 minutes from the airport, which is at top of the mountain, to our hotel on a road that felt strangely familiar, much like upcountry Maui - cool, fresh, quiet.
Our rooms weren't ready when we arrived, so we caught a cab to El Centro, Medellin's downtown district to explore Botero Plaza. The streets were filled with taxis, people, motorcylces and fruit vendors.
Fernando Botero Botero is a figurative artist and sculptor of Medellin. His signature style is known as "Boterismo", characterized by plump figures and objects. He is considered the most recognized living artist from Latin America. Botero Plaza contains about 25 of his sculptures ranging from animals to people to body parts.
Museo D Antioquia At the end of the plaza, there is an art museum that houses some of Botero's paintings as well as artwork donated from his personal collection.
¡Senorita, guarda su camara por favor! We decided to head back to the hotel a las tres y media. While riding in the taxi, I got scolded by the driver to put away my camera. He said that sometimes, if they see valuables, people will swoop by the side of the car and grab your stuff right out of the window.
La Cena Dinner Originally, we had planned to eat at a restaurant called Carmen Restaurant. But our reservations got messed up and we weren't able to get a table. NBD, though. Taryn heard of a more local joint called Mondongo's that was just down the street. If you are ever in Colombia you must try: Bandeja Paisa, Ajiaco and Platanos. Oh, and some beer. This one in particular if you can find it, Son de Barril.
Hay siempre espacio por el postre. Por el postre, fuimos a el resturante se llama Crepes y Waffles. Tuve un crepe con frutas, helado de vanilla y crema batida. Porque nosotros somos los opuestos, Taryn tuvo un crepe con nutella y chocolate sin el helado. For dessert, we went to a restaurant called Crepes and Waffles. I had a crepe with fruits, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Because we are opposites, Taryn had a crepe with nuttela, chocolate and no ice cream.