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Medellín- Part 2

sampollee

Updated: Aug 17, 2022

Medellin- the city of eternal spring. Indeed, the weather was almost perfect with the occasional unpredictable rain that we could never anticipate. However, the day that I decided to go paragliding was 10/10 for time in the air- nothing but sunshine. When heading out to the paragliding site, we were lucky enough to take the metro line close to our apt because the north-south line had mechanical issues and was closed for the day! I can’t imagine what a mess that was for the working people. We took it to the end of the westbound line and caught the cable car up. Once at the site, I had to wait 2 hours even though I made an appt with a company. Even though that was frustrating, it was fun to watch the others go and enjoy the sunshine. Mom got bit by chiggers in the grass and is still paying for it now!! She’s a scratch-aholic. Once it was my turn and I was strapped in, my tandem flyer Luis just started running and so I just started running too, with zero instruction. Easily enough, I was up in the air in no time and it was such a peaceful flight. The whole twenty minutes, I was not scared at all as Luis and I discussed how long he’s been flying (25 years) and which cities we could see below besides Medellin. Here are some fun photos from that experience- so happy I was able to have my first paragliding experience here!



Origen Cacao, and what she proceeds is made from 3 ingredients only: cacao, cocoa butter, sugar.


On Thursday we did a tour of Comuna 13. At the end of the westbound metro is a neighborhood named San Javier where the tour began. We had a guide Laura who grew up in this area and now gives tours to teach visitors about this place’s violent past and how it’s transformed. Comuna 13 is a hillside community that once was disputed territory between the narcos, the left-wing FARC, and the right-wing paramilitaries. Because the community is poor, many kids and young adults were offered huge amounts of money to kill police officers and other innocent people for the aforementioned groups. After Pablo Escobar was killed, this neighborhood became even more dangerous because FARC and paramilitaries were trying to take control. The government attempted to “help” the situation with a raid called Operation Orion in 2002, but really this just ended up killing many innocent people and to this day, hundreds of individuals are unaccounted for. In 2011, escalators were placed on this hillside, making the 45 min stair hike to the top much more bearable for residents and improving their quality of life. This, coupled with a boom in graffiti and art, musical storytelling, and residents efforts to improve their own situation, this area has become a new place. This was probably the most interesting part of the trip, at least for me, and so now I’ve got a book describing all of this in much more detail. To be able to safely walk the streets of what was Colombia’s most dangerous neighborhood only 10 years ago is a true testament to how much this country is changing its stereotyped history for the better.


During that same night, we attended our first fútbol match in South America, watching the more supported Medellin team, Atletico Nacional, vs a Chilean team Colo Colo. We got great seats for $13, had perfect weather, and were so excited; yet, to our dismay, the game was quite boring! The score ended up at 0-0, but we did get to experience the true atmosphere of the fans jumping/screaming/singing the ENTIRE game and got to see how proud these fans are of their soccer team. Yes, Ohio State football games are spirited in this way, too, but this game was a different type of feeling. It’s like this soccer team could solve the city’s problems by bringing people together because it’s so important to them. Plus, we were 2 blocks from the stadium, so how could we pass it up?

Saturday we planned another day drip to Sant

a Fe de Antioquia, which used to be the capital of the region until 1826 when it moved to Medellin. Because the location moved and the town wasn’t destroyed, the colonial architecture has remained and it’s now protected. Once on the bus, we had a 2 hour beautiful mountainous drive heading down in elevation. We even passed through the longest tunnel in South America en route. After descending 3000 ft, the heat became sweltering hot and the bus was quite stuffy. After first eating lunch in the shade, we got a tuk-tuk to take us to Puente de Occidente.


Our last full day was immensely rainy, so we were happy to have spent most of it at inside locations. First, I took my mom to the city’s largest market. I made a very poor choice in taking a road that we probably shouldn’t have on the way there, but at the end of the day it means that we are able to see all the sides of Medellin- from the poorest to the wealthiest.

Medellin is not just what the typical tourist sees.

That night, we got a $12 full steak dinner, packed up, and pretty much stayed up all night till we caught a ride to the airport at 2am. We were the first flight out at 5 am, and since I hadn’t slept all night, I really crashed all the way to Chicago. Usually I can’t sleep on planes/trains/automobiles so that was a pleasant surprise. We made it back to Chicago, got some Giordano’s pizza amidst the million visitors in town for Memorial Day weekend, and made it home around 10pm. All in all, it was a successful trip without any problems, and another trip in the books that increases my love for latin culture. All the adventures that happen in Colombia- expected and unexpected- make for the best vacations. I’m especially glad we got off the gringo trail for the most part in Medellin, as this way we got a more authentic experience.


If you made it through all that, thanks for reading! It was quite a lot of detail, but I also had a lot to say. Until the next adventure, wherever that may be.  ~ Samita

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