Our youngest daughter Emily is our first houseguest in Colombia having planned a trip to visit Medellin and then proceed on to Peru with us to Cusco and Machu Pichu where our youngest Child Geoffrey will meet us. When we return to Medellin they will continue exploring Peru and Bolivia. Emily met us in Oaxaca Mexico two years ago for Christmas, she also met us in Amsterdam last spring. Emily’s partner Tim elected not to come to Medellin for personal reasons. Emily quite enjoys travel and seems very comfortable traveling alone to less developed countries, having traveled to Morocco, China, Laos and Cambodia. She also met Jim in Ethiopia in 2019 and had a great time there.
Emily flew overnight from Seattle to Miami and then arrived here in Medellin mid afternoon. She almost faded out waiting for two hours for Colombian immigration but she revived and was ready to go out early evening. Our first excursion was to see the Christmas lights along the river.No we did not try any of this food but Jim loves perusing the food stands. Emily did try some fruit.Note the cow’s head upper right.Jim took this photo. Sandy and Emily did not see it as they tried to avert their eyes from the hanging meat and other gross offerings of the food stalls.
We walked south along the river opposite of where we usually walk. It was a muddy crowded walk but we saw different lights. Those searchlights are on a hill right outside our kitchen window.
On Emily’s first full day we decided to take an Exotic Fruit Tour which had been recommended by a couple of people. The tour boasts stopping at different fruit stalls to sample 10 exotic fruits, most of which you are likely to never have seen before.We met our guide at one of Medellin’s “smaller” indoor markets. While waiting for other members of the tour to arrive we explored the labyrinth of the market and Emily bought some beans.It was especially crowded on this day as people were shopping for their traditional holiday food supplies. Our first tasting was this which we had to crack open with a hammer. When the pod shell was broken a very pungent smell was released. Inside the shell was a lump of a powdery dry substance that she placed on our tasting spoons to try. Algarroba fruit is rich in Vitamin A and iron and many other nutrients. It is used in the preparation of baked goods and also a sweet beverage. This is Tomate de Árbol or tree tomato that is one of the most popular fruits of this region. Annual production exceeds 150,000 tons. The egg-shaped fruit has a firm texture and is high in Vitamins and iron and low in calories. It can be spread on toast but we just scooped out the pulpy flesh and ate it as was. At the end of the tour Jim tried Tomate de Árbol juice which tastes somewhat like tomato juice but not quite as good.The history of this fruit which is cultivated in South America can be traced back to the Inca Empire. It is closely related to the tomatillo plant.After peeling off the papery calyx the fruit is exposed and resembles a miniature tomato. The smooth berry is bright yellow to orange in color and sweet when ripe, with a characteristic, mildly tart grape-like flavor. This was Jim’s favorite fruit of the day.During the tour break Emily wanted to buy some cheese. She opted for a very salty crumbly Colombian cheese called Costeño which comes from the Colombian coast, hence the name Costeño. It is described as a feta cheese made with cow’s milk.After the break we tried Feljoa or Guavasteen which has a unique flavor that is often described as a blend of pineapple, guava and mint. the flesh is soft and creamy. These can be eaten raw or used in desserts, smoothies or made into jams. Who knew that we had a Colombian fruit named after us.Our next tour on the following day was to Comuna 13 which was to explore the neighborhood that was controlled by the Colombian Drug Cartel. It was once known as the most dangerous neighborhood in Colombia for its crime and drug trafficking.We will be walking and taking escalators to the top of that hillside.This downhill was so steep that we had to creep down it holding onto each other.This is the flat part of Comuna 13 before beginning our ascent.
Break dancing and artistic wall painting have replaced the drug dealing and murder. Watch this video as this dancer is very talented.
Emily was pulled into the dance by one of the performers..Click on the photo to start the video. We think she got more than she bargained for dancing with this guy.😲Our guide gave a long explanation regarding the wall art which neither of us followed.The title of this is “Comuna 13 is now peaceful.Time Magazine called this the most dangerous place in the world in the late 80’s.The steep hillsides and valleys contributed to the fact that its own residents had a hard time leaving to seek education or job opportunities. It was easier to stay and work inside the crime circle, turning to drugs and gangs for money. It was a place with no color, where gunshots and dead bodies were the norm. If someone needed medical evacuation then ambulances needed permission from the drug lords to enter the area.In 2002 the Colombian government implemented Operation Orión to take control of the borough.Over the past two decades Comuna 13 has become part of the mainstream culture of Colombia and has won an award for being the world’s most innovative city. Unfortunately it is now overrun with tours and tourists which severely detracts from its potential charm.
A short video of us going down one of the six electric staircases.After the tour we returned to the metro to take a cable car up the mountain. This is a school which has been built on the site of a recent women’s prison.
Medellin is very proud of its metro system which consists of two metro lines of above ground trains, six cable car lines, two tramway and electric bus lines and three rapid bus lines which run on their own private roads. We have taken the rapid bus, the metro and this is our first cable car ride in this video. Once you enter the metro system you only pay one fare no matter the distance or changing modes as long as you do not exit the system.We have found the metro to be extremely clean and efficient. The cable cars give us such a birds eye view of this massive city.Getting off of the Metro at the Botanical Garden. Unfortunately we arrived just before their closing time of 4pm. Emily’s last day we are taking the Metro to Parque Arvi which involves one train and two different cable cars. The cable cars have intermediate stops on their way up and down. Emily enjoyed practicing her Spanish during the ride by talking to the locals who shared our car during the rides up and down. You could tell the locals really enjoyed her friendliness and interest in them.
You get a real look into the mountainside barrios from the cable car.Arví Park is an ecological natural park located in the northeast of Medellín. This has been a protected forest reserve since 1970.There are numerous well maintained trails within this reserve. This trail is very soft and cushy pine needles.There were a number of apparitions along our trail. This is “the dramatic end of a romance.”It was much cooler than Medellin up here in this rain forest. Sandy bought this poncho from a market at the entrance. The stall keeper told us that a friend of hers knits them. She also said that all of the artisans and salespeople live in a small isolated mountain village.Only a few flowers in bloom up here this time of the year.
Father daughter play time.A lovely walk in the woods.Until it wasn’t, when it started pouring rain. Shoes and clothes mostly soaked.
A video of coming back down the mountain.We passed this church twice on the metro and Jim still hasn’t been able to identify it. Something to do after we return from Peru.
A Christmas Eve serenade in front of our home here in Medellin.Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. We are all leaving for Cusco, Peru very early Christmas morning.
Thank you for all the information and photo/videos you shared about Columbia. I just assumed no one from the US would ever want to visit there based on the drug cartel danger. I can see that I am naive and need to catch up on world affairs.
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