MEDELLIN TO BOGOTA
(Crossing Colombia Part 5)
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The drive to Medellin provided us an opportunity to reflect on fate, destiny and chance. We went to the Manizales bus station planning on taking an 8:30 minibus to Medellin. We got there a little early and found out that another company ran taxicabs along the same route and would take the four of us for the same price and we could leave immediately. Fantastic!
Off we went, only to have the taxi break down one block out of the station. What bad luck - we should have taken the minibus, which we saw drive past us twenty minutes later. Finally, they got us another taxi and we headed out. About an hour later, we passed the minibus - great, we made the right decision after all. But, after another hour, our driver stopped to have lunch. Of course, while sitting there, we saw the minibus pass by. We knew we made the wrong choice!
We finished lunch and a short drive later came across a tractor trailer truck laying on its side, almost perpendicular to the road. The driver was climbing out of the cab. The accident had just occurred. There was barely enough space for our taxi to drive by the truck on the shoulder. On the other side, we saw "our" minibus, its whole side somewhat crushed in. It had obviously sideswiped the truck. Luckily, it looked like no one was injured. But we were quite happy not to have been in the minibus. So what does this all mean?
Maybe you don't know if a particular event is good or bad until you see the final outcome of the chain of events. Maybe we won't know until we die if it was good or bad that we didn't take the minibus. Or, maybe if we took the minibus, the taxi would have been in the accident. Was it our fate not to be in the accident? Was it the minibus driver's fate to be involved? Or was it just a roll of the dice? Are there any answers out there? Is this getting way too deep for a travelogue? Let's move on to Medellin and some photos!
Paul's friend of many years, Steve, flew in and met us in Medellin. It was the last night to see the city's Christmas lights before they were taken down. We went down to the river and it was an amazing scene, sort of like the Atlantic City boardwalk (but not really). It was packed with people, food booths, games and, of course, Christmas lights. We walked for a few miles along the river, had dinner, talked to various Colombians, took some photos and headed back to our hostel.
Every Sunday is Ciclovia in Medellin. They close two lanes on a major road that runs through all of Medellin and people come out to walk, run or cycle. We spent the morning walking along the road, taking in the sites. We stopped at a shopping mall and saw that in the center court, there was a Catholic mass in progress. We figured the women got to shop and the men pray that they left with some cash left in their pockets.
Medellin has a pretty good elevated train and, for the mountainous areas, a cable car. We took the metro to the cable and went to Barrio Santo Domingo. This area was a hotspot of crime, violence and drugs for much of the 80's and 90's. Not any more. It was Sunday and everyone was out on the streets enjoying the views of Medellin below and the company of their friends and families. As we were walking around, we reached a point where Gerre and Lois felt a little uncomfortable about the safety of the area. Their hesitation was obvious even to those that didn't speak English and a warm and friendly resident came over to reassure them. She told us it was very safe now and escorted us around the area. She told us that under President Uribe and with the advent of the cable car to Santo Domingo, life had improved considerably.
While walking, we met a large extended family hanging out together. They brought out some Christmas sweets to offer the five of us. Lois showed the children her world famous fish face, which they all tried to replicate. We asked about poverty, jobs and education. They told us that poverty and the lack of jobs are still big problems. The drug issue had been solved (in this area). It cost $25 per year per child to send their children to school, plus transportation, books and supplies. For people barely getting by, this is a huge amount of money. This year, the government didn't charge the $25 for school, but they didn't know if that was a one time event or if it would continue.
We stayed in Santo Domingo to watch the sunset and met some families doing the same thing. While enjoying the great views over Medellin, we got peppered with questions. How much can I earn in the US? Is it cold there? What do you think of Colombia? How are people treating you? To finish off our visit, we had dinner at a small joint that made some huge burgers before heading back to our hostel.
Speaking of food, in Colombia the variety of fresh fruits and juices is fantastic and includes many we have never seen or heard of in the United States; lulo, tree tomato, zapote, curuba and uchoa to mention just a few. Given that there are so many, fresh fruit juices are a large part of the culinary tradition. We enjoyed jugos naturales all over Colombia. They consisted of blended fruit, some sugar, ice and water or milk. You could buy them on the street for about $0.50 or else in a store for $1.00 - $2.00.
Medellin turned out to be a nice city and we enjoyed walking around a number of different areas. Lois appointed herself our city guide and besides managing to see every church in Medellin, we walked through a few of the squares. Street music wasn't all that popular, however, we did hear some good music.
Occasionally, we took a taxi late at night. There were now five of us travelling together - Mark, Gerre, Steve, Lois and Paul. So, this made for a crowded back seat in the tiny Colombian taxis.
Mark, being a longtime, intrepid explorer often set out on his own to make new acquaintances. At least once, he met someone he could really relate to.
We took a day trip to Santa Fe de Antioquia, a popular weekend get away spot for people from Medellin. It was a small, quiet colonial town. Almost too quiet! We walked around and enjoyed the architecture, including a few very nice looking hotels which were in beautifully restored old buildings.
After five days in the big city, we were ready for a little slower pace. We made our way to Rio Claro, a private nature reserve in a very lush, green area of Colombia near the Magdalena River. Our "room" had two sides which were completely open to the outdoors. We heard the river, birds, crickets and frogs all day and night long.
Rio Claro was absolutely crystal clear. There were a number of relaxing areas along its banks, including "Marble Beach". While it wasn't as soft as sand, a few of us still managed to catch a nap. The weather was very hot so our days at Rio Claro consisted of walking the trail along the river, jumping in for a dip in the cool water and soaking up some sun. Just to prove (to ourselves) that we were not totally lazy, we did take a raft trip down the river! After a few days, we headed on to the capital of Colombia, Bogota.
For a good overview of Bogota, we went to Monserrate, a church on a hill about two thousand feet above the city. We could see how Bogota stretched out over many miles. Being such a large city, it had a lot to offer. The most amusing offering was art by Fernando Botero. We had never heard of him before our visit to Colombia, but we won't forget his work anytime soon. He was a painter and a sculptor whose subjects were pleasantly plump people, animals and even inanimate objects. Some of his paintings were copies of famous works of art, just with the subjects being a bit more rotund than in the original.
The most impressive museum in Bogota had to be the Gold Museum. It covered the history of metal work throughout the ages in a number of well designed displays with exquisite pieces. Besides museums, Lois cannot resist going into and photographing just about every church she sees. Bogota has a lot of them, with a few being from the early 1600's. Most churches did not allow photographs, but Santa Clara had been converted to a museum, so Lois got her opportunity...
We stayed in the old historic district of Candelaria. It was where most of the sites we visited were. Besides the museums and churches, there were a lot of murals and attractive streets. Of course, being that Bogota is the capital and political center, there was a bit of graffiti as well.
Over the course of our trip we have heard concerns that the US is economically expansionist and wants the world to adopt its model of a consumer driven economy, that people in the US have and want too many material goods, and that President Uribe is a puppet of the US. President Uribe seems to be supported by poor city dwellers who have found life improving under him and by rich businessmen who are increasing in wealth and power. The fractured opposition is composed of many of the educated middle class, the poor farmers and the drug traffickers. Life in the cities and along the roads is safer, but reading the papers, we see that there is still a high level of violence. It is alleged that the army is killing campesinos, chasing them off their land and creating large plantation that are going to Uribe and his supporters. Note we are just reporting what we see and hear, which may create an inaccurate picture.
Uribe has served two consecutive terms (which violates their constitution) by seeking a referendum to allow this. He is talking about going for a third term (elections are in December), by seeking another referendum. In July, the US signed an agreement with Colombia allowing it to set up seven bases within the country. This has created a lot of concern within Colombia.
That was a philosophical start and serious ending for a travelogue. We promise the next one will be nothing but boring stories and out of focus photos...
Paul
& Lois
Cartagena, Colombia
February 17, 2010