Week 20 Medellin to Salento
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2007
1
32
69
Trip End
Dec 19, 2008
Salento,
Colombia
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Dec 14th - Medellin
Arrived in Medellin at 6am freezing (air con was on full blast) and tired from lack of sleep. The bus terminal north is a very modern and organised terminal (thought I was back in Europe for a second).
Medellin is a city infamous for being the mighty drug czar Pablo Escobar's city. The mighty Escobar apparently paid for most of the infrastructure: schools, bus terminals, hospitals, metro (the only one in Colombia). He's kind of popular here as he was famous for giving money to the very poor. Nowadays the region is trying to shrug off that image.
On first impressions it looks like a thriving city and the self-proclaimed fact that it has the most beautiful women in Colombia (even the world?..) is very apparent.
My place of stay was the Casa Kiwi, quite a lively hostel with a bar, pool room, 42 inch TV room, wireless internet and verandah's to chill. As I was knackered and sleepless I chose a room for the first night ($20!! Sweet Jesus that's steep). Tomorrow I'll be back in the dorm rooms.
Peublito, the suburban area where the Casa Kiwi is situated hasn't got much to see but made a few short walk to get adjusted. Did a trip to the metro to check out prices and routes. The rest of the day I just chilled at the hostel chatting to the weird mix of people here (most of them off their heads on the devil's dandruff.
The people of Medellin are in general lighter skinned than their northern counterparts and extremely friendly.
Medellin centre
My only complaint (this being a fault of mine) is that they talk too damned fast for me to catch what they're talking about. I better get used to it..apparently Argentinian's talk even faster.I'm finding Colombia alot more expensive than some of the other countries I've been to. Bit odd because alot of travellers have said it's very cheap (where!!??). But saying that I really love the country alot..could even say its my favourite country so far (it's up there with Nicaragua). The people are well friendly and smile alot. They love a good time and make any excuse to party. I think it was the great Gabo (Gabriel Marquez) who once said what do you get when you have 4 Colombian's in a room...a party.
In the evening I chilled some more, played pool, drank a few bevvies and watched the film 300 (great film). Quite a varied mix of people staying here; some oldies and students from all around the world; English, Australians, Canadians, Americans, South Africans, Dutch, Germans and Spanish.
Tomorrow, its time to venture to the centre by Metro and explore Medallin.
Dec 15th - Medellin
Using the Metro was a piece of cake (there only being 4 lines) and within 15 minutes I was at the centre of town (just out of interest it cost 60c to go anywhere). When I got out of the station (Parque de Berrio) the place was absolutely heaving with people..probably doing their Xmas shopping.
My first stop was the Plaza Botero where they have loads of Fernando Botero brass statues (he has a very unique style in that all his pieces are bottom-heavy and look like blobby shapes).
Medellin 1
After watching the comical site of a Colombia family forcing their puppy to stand beneath a statue of a bottom-heavy puppy (both puppy's had their tongues' hanging out) I headed to the Museo d Antiquia.Entrance was free to the Museo (blinder) and having 3 floors of good contemporary art it was definately worth the visit. They had art by the likes of Felix Angel, Bernardo Salcedo and a whole wing for Fernando Botero. As usual at most art exhibitions they had a few pieces of contemporary art with little meaning; the usual cliche of a white chair in the middle of a white room (mind you..it could have been a relaxing area).
Next up was the Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe (again free). This ones alot smaller but worth the visit just to see the one piece by Fernando Arroyave that provided the shock of the week for me. You walk into a darkened room and in front theres a meat counter which on first impressions looks normal and filled with wrapped pieces of meat (I thought it was a cafe for a second). On closer inspection the meat is in fact female body parts wrapped in meat packets (well the piece did its job and certainly shocked me).
After a day of cultural overload I continued my personal quest to find a post office so I could post some long overdue family postcards (carried from Costa Rica) and some new Xmas cards. The quest continued as badly as it started when I discovered the post office was closed for a few days. Looks like I'll be carrying these cards all the way round the world at this rate.
Durin my walk around the centre I spotted a crowd of onlookers watching an old Colombian fella doing something.
Medellin 2
It was difficult to work out but it seemed he was selling something. He had about 10 giant snails crawling around next to him and also some tubs of what looked like Vaseline but were most likely snail grease (Jesus...what next, chicken milk?). He was explaining the merits of this natural substance and every now and then would smear his face, legs and arms with the stuff, drawing gasps from the crowd (they obviously didn't believe him...the weird snail fella). For a brief moment I thought of getting some for Xmas presents but it seems snail grease is pricey here.At night the Casa Kiwi was a frenzy of activity (probably the liveliest hostel I've stayed in); blaring beats, people lashed everywhere and alot of trips to the toilet (hmm, wonder why?). I got suckered into a long and dull chat with a South African stoner about why his previous relationship didn't work. "I can't think these days he moaned"...well, how about staying off the gear for a day then!!
A group from the hostel were off to a club tonight (apparently it has wild geese running around and a naked room). I was tempted but at $15 to get there and in, and $3 a beer I had to say no (plenty of time for crazy clubs). Later on it turns out it wasn't that good; the wild geese weren't running around but in an enclosed pond out back and the naked room was nothing more than a topless room (full of blokes apparently).
Dec 16th ¬¬¬¬¬¬- Medellin
Today, in all good faith I was supposed to head off to Salento (or at least close to it) but I was sidetracked when I walked past the TV room of the hostel to see a crowd of English watching the Man U vs Liverpool game.
Medellin 3
Ok, just 20 minutes I said...then another..then another. When the game finished they announced that they were going to show the Chelsea vs Arsenal game early afternoon. Starved of football for so long (and it being too late in the day to travel south by bus) I cursed the TV and watched football for near enough the day. As it turns out I should have left..Chelsea lost 1:0 and played pretty badly..oh and Terry was injured.The rest of the day was spent chatting to other travellers and sharing tips and advise on areas of interest. Nice to have a day of not doing anything but tomorrow I'm going to hit the bus and mosy on down south.
Dec 17th - Medellin to Armenia (no, not the country)
Nearly got suckered into staying another night at the Casa Kiwi by the crowd there but managed to drag myself away. Packed up my few belongings and caught a taxi to the bus terminal (south) and bought my ticket to Armenia (the closest town to Salento). My reason for going to Salento is its a big coffee growing region and apparently very beautiful and green, with tons of rolling hills.
The bus ride was the usual experience of sitting in an ice box and watching dodgy films (Transporter 2...not bad actually). The view was pretty amazing heading into higher, mountainous regions with some scary drops. Noticing the people are starting to wear more and more cowboy hats and boots the further south I go. They also wear really cool cloth ponchos (similar to the ones worn in Peru). They are also lighter skinned and alot of them have moustaches.
What was supposed to be a 5 hour bus rid turned into 7.5 hours (quite a few small landslides on the roads and road blocks).
Medellin 4
The plan was to make it to Salento in a day but as I arrived in Armenia at night I thought it wise to stay overnight and continue in the morning. Asking the bus terminal security where the nearest hotel was I ended up just round the corner. Forgetting that hotels so close to a bus terminal are usually knocking shops I checked in. A night of banging doors, screaming, regular knocking on my door and clicking high heels ensued but through all this I slept like a log (couldn't grumble at $8 a night.Dec 18th - Armenia to Salento
Nearly every hour a small shuttle bus goes from Armenia to Salento so caught one at 9am (only $1.50). After a short 1 hour journey I arrived in the small and quiet town of Salento. Most older men around here wear the cool cowboy hats and boots so I know I'm in a rural area.
My choice of hostel was the Plantation House, run by a chatty and friendly English fella called Tim and his wife. The weather looked great but by the time I'd checked into my $7 a night dorm bed the skies opened and for the rest of the day it pissed it down (I think I'm jinxed with the weather on this trip).
After a delicious 3 course meal in town for $3 (best meal I've had in a long time) I set off for the 1.5 hour hike to a small and traditional coffee plantation to see how the delicious coffee is made here. The walk there was really beautiful and scenic with views of forests of bamboo, rows and rows of coffee plants and smokey, rolling hills in the distance (oh, and alot of rain).
On arriving at the farm I met the 14 year old grandchild of the owner and his family and after a cup of tasty coffee to get me started he took me round.
Medellin, Plaza Botero
They had an amazing variety of fruit and plants; banana, pinapple, advocado, oranges, tangerines, apples and of course coffee. When the coffee fruit is ripe (usually a red or yellow berry) its gathered and then rolled through a grinder to get the fruity layer off. Then the main bean with another thin layer (very slippery to touch) is rolled again. The end product is a light brown bean which is sun dried and then dry fried (for a quick cuppa) or roasted.Durin the long uphill walk back the skies opened even more and soaking I reached the sanctuary of the hostel. There's a really nice English couple staying here (long termers at 2 months) who like to cook for visitors and charge only a minimal fee. So tonight it was chili con carne (hot and spicey and cheap at $1.50). Had a long chat with Roberto (cool Italian fella who loves his football), Paul (crazy English fella who played techno into the wee small hours in the dorm...ear plugs be praised), Ida (a nice Finnish girl travelling alone in South America) and the friendly English couple.
Heard the story about a prison in La Paz (Bogota) where you have to pay for your own cell, food and anything else. Its so mad there that the guards stay on the outside and apparently the best Coke is produced and sold from there (madness). There was a scouse fella who was banged up for smuggling who used to run tours for backpackers and you could even stay overnight (I think the tours are finished now but might check it out to see how mad it is). Theres even a book about the fella's life behind bars called Marching Powder...might have to pick up a copy somewhere.
Dec 19th - Salento
The plan for today was a 5 hour hike up into the hills of the coffee district but at 7am the weather thwarted me.
Medellin, Plaza Botero 2
Once again it was pissing down and not the ideal conditions for hiking. I'll try again tomorrow.Today was going to be a day of doing nothing (sometimes rain gives a good excuse to do absolutely nothing). I ventured into town to have another lunch feast for $2.50 and then came back and watched the rain and greenery of the hills. Did some catching up on the blog writing and had a skim through my photos.
Topic of conversation tonight was where everyone was spending Xmas. Always seems to crop up at the hostels recently and most people have similar plans; either head for a beach for warm weather goodness, a lively city for party atmosphere or somewhere quiet and peaceful. If I can make it that far (or find accommodation...Colombia goes mental at Xmas with buses and hotels booked out) then my choice is the party town of Cali. Salsa capital of the world (self proclaimed) and also having a 5 day festival from 25th to 30th I just can't resist.
Funny thing happened tonight (had me in stitches...but its one of those where you had to be there). We were all sipping beers around the hostel and chatting when a huge flying insect flew into the main room. Nobody was that interested as we'd all seen huge creepy crawlies before but when Daniel (an English fella) proclaimed in earnest that this huge creature was in fact the rare 'Mochaca' and that it could kill you after one sting unless (and here's the twist) you have sex within 24 hours. He was so serious about it that we all believed him. All the blokes were trying to get stung and flapping their arms about wheras all the girls were screaming and running away.
On checking with the Colombian cleaning lady later on it turns out it was just a big moth and no you don't have to have sex to live after a Mochaca sting (did make her giggle though..so maybe theres some truth to it).
Slept soundly dreaming of strange winged creatures biting me while I was alone in the desert...
Dec 20th Salento
Really early rise today at 6.30am.
Medellin, Plaza Botero 3
The dorm has suddenly filled with a group of female french students ..just me and 5 female french students (sigh). Today as the sun was out for the first time in days I was off to do a major hike around the luscious green hills of the cloud forest here.Caught a jeep ride to the walk starting point Cacaura at 7.30am ($1.50) and started the 11km hike. Even right at the start there was mud everywhere...up to my knees at some points but even so it was a fantastic walk. It started out with views of rolling green hills with huge 60 metre palm trees and then it turned into smoky and misty dense forest with loads of rivers and home made bridges. The going was steep at points and I nearly lost my shoes in the sticky mud a few times. The odd local I saw durin the walk was rugged looking and they all wore cowboy hats and rode horses (all of them carry machetes wrapped in beautiful leather sheath.
After about 5 km I came to the Acumar reserve where an old couple stood waiting for me. The first words they uttered to me were "Have you got any cigarettes?" (obviously not in English). So I gave them a couple of fags and paid for the entrance to this part of the walk ($1) which includes a nice cuppa chocolate and a hunk of cheese next to it (weird but tasty mix). The couple have alot of hummingbirds in the reserve so I hung out there for a while watching them flit about. Tried to get some good shots but they're just too quick.
Didn't see much in terms of wildlife apart from a few cows, loads of birds, a few horses and lizards but the views made up for it. After walking for nearly 6 hours and pretty much shattered I reached the jeep drop off point and blagged an early 3 pm return to Salento (normally leaves at 5pm).
The rest of the evening I chilled with the other hostellers. Adam and Wendy (long term residents at the hostel) have a good little enterprise going where they cook meals for guests and charge $2 a head...nice.
The big question on every traveller´s lips is where to go for Xmas (everywhere I go it's the same...). I have already decided..its going to be Salsa city Cali. So, at the moment I´m in San Augustin (22nd Dec.) I´ll be here for another full day looking at the 3000bc statues everywhere, then on the 24th I head to Cali for the holidays. After about 3 days there I´ll bus it to Bogota (capital city) for a day or two, then just one more stop before I head to Venezuela.
Oh, and Merry Xmas...
Comments
IT'S CHRISTMAS!
happy christmas role hope you have a good one look after yourself mate leisa and katie send there love eat drink and make merry macca.
Have a good one
Merry Xmas Mate & even better New Year! Will write properly soon.