Medellin
– Rachel Robar
The ride from the airport takes about 45 minutes, and passes through a very upscale neighborhood called Llanogrande. The president, Uribe has a country home here as well as one in Medellin. The drive is very nice and the roads are fantastic. The roads are actually a model for the rest of the country as they keep everything well maintained. As you descend in to Medellin from the airport, the weather turns warmer as Medellin is located in a valley surrounded by mountains.
Our hotel is located in Poblado. Very upscale and so comfortably safe — I have been constantly amazed how comfortable I feel. The city is so modern and they are actively working towards putting Medellin on the map for the positive things that they are doing.
One of the ways that they had overcome the drug lords was by education. They built areas called Library Parks in poor, disadvantaged neighborhoods and increase funds to schools in these areas as well.
This was to show that the government cared about them and that they were as much 'paisas' as anyone else in they city. A Paisa is a person from Medellin. Paisas are proud to be from Medellin and are very happy to tell you how great their city is. They have a metro and a gondola/cable car system, extremely safe and the trains barely have a scratch. Everyone is so proud of them that they would be livid if anyone defaced them. The city is huge. It made think of all of the movies, where someone is sitting at the Hollywood sign and looking down on the city below, it doesn't seem to end, the only reason that Medellin does, is because of the mountains.
We went to a restaurant for lunch called Ajiacos y Mondongos. The have three dishes, Ajiacos (it a kind of chicken soup with a corn cob), Cazuelas de Frijoles (a bean soup with beef and shoe string potatoes on top) and Mondongo (a tripe soup). I had the beans and it was fantastic. They are all typical dishes from Medellin. Afterwards, we went on a panoramic city tour. The main thing that I learned is that Medellin is a relatively new city, most of the growth has been in the last 100 years, although the city was founded in 1616.
We did stop at the convention center and get up to walk around. The neatest thing about this stop was the Barefoot Park. There were probably 100 people, dipping their feet in the jacuzzi fountain, watching their children play in a sand box, couples hiding in a bamboo forest sitting on benches built for two and friends just chatting at the picnic tables. It was so normal.
Dinner was at Blanco del Cielo. Meals are fixed, and reservations are required. There are two options: 11 moments and 20 moments. It's not necessarily correct to say courses, but here goes some of them: apple-flavored water (you feel like you are breathing in crisp green apple), a little disc the size of a quarter and you put it in cold water and it expands into a nice cold towel that you clean your hands with, two test tubes (one powder and one liquid) that you mix together in your mouth, to make grape soda, and the last course is a small candy frozen in liquid nitrogen that you must quickly unwrap and throw it into your mouth as it pops like pop rock and take a quick sip of water as you breath out steam like a dragon. It was certainly an experience and much less expensive than similar experience in LA or Chicago. And the chef is only 25 yrs old.
After Cielo, we walked to a nearby bar area that wraps around a very charming park. At night there are vendors selling all sorts of little trinkets (bracelets, earrings, belts, mostly stuff for the ladies), we did a quick walk around and then took a car to the place to be on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night — Mangos. The theme of this club is the Wild West and cowboys. The servers are wearing cowboy hats and there are pictures of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne everywhere. The music was reggaton, a little hip hop and salsa, merengue and bachata.
This morning we got to sleep in. We had a typical hangover cure (although I didn't have one, just lack of sleep): ceviche — at a huge Super Mercado. As we drove to the market I realized it was Sunday. One of the most unique things that I had ever heard happens on Sunday. They close 20-25 kilometers of road in a ring around the city to become a pedestrian zone for walking, biking, rollerskating, etc. And it was being used excessively!! Families with kids on big wheels, running buddies, old couples strolling the streets. This city is known as City of Eternal Spring, and today's weather proved it. All round the city, residents were taking advantage of this zone. I was completely blown away.
After ceviche, we drove to a scenic landmark, El Penol. This is a huge rock in the middle of nowhere. It's the result of volcanic activity thousands of years ago. We stopped at a little roadside kiosk/restaurant where we had arepas with quesito (corn pancakes with fresh cheese) and tortas (deep fried mashed corn with herbs).
The attraction of El Penol is the scenic view from the top of the surrounding manmade lake. On the lake, you can sail, jet ski and just cruise the waters. There aren't many boats, but the lake is enormous and dotted with small islands. There are over 600 steps to get to the top of this gigantic rock all for a scenic view. I finally made it to the top and my reward — a bottle of water and a beautiful view. Truly spectacular!
We made our way back down and went along to a nearby town, lovely, cute, charming and definitely worth a drive there and a quick walk around the square... then we were off back to Medellin. On route we ate at Queareparaenamorarte. The chef and part owner came to speak to us and told us that the reason that they started the restaurant was to show Colombians all of the fantastic home-styled food from all of the regions of the country. Everything was delicious but, I don't recommend being the last clients of the day, they run out of food! But even the food we had was great.
On our way back to the hotel, I learned my new favorite phrase, "Estoy exhausta" which is the over-dramatic, hand-to-forehead, I am sooooo tired.
So with that - Estoy exhausta. Hasta manana.
Ciao,
Raquelita
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The Medellin is the city of Columbia. It is an excellent and magnificent place for travel. The Metro station is most advanced and equipped with modern technologies. The Coltejer Tower is the symbol of the city and the tallest building of Medellin.
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Posted by: Luray va accommodations | March 10, 2010 at 05:18 AM