Journey to Medellín

Wi-fi has been 'flaky' the past couple of days ...

Left early today on a small bus to the top of the hill from our hacienda and beyond: into the nearby town of Chinchiná; then a local bus which was only about 15 mins late (good by Colombian standards) for the 4.5 hour drive to Medellin. We were warned this could be a windy road so I took the travel sickness tablet. In fact, the trip wasn't too bad as it was a comfortable bus. My Friend watched a James Bond movie (in Spanish - probably doesn't need dialogue).

By the time we caught taxis to the hotel, it was by now nearly 2 p.m. so we had some lunch at a local cafe which had a wall of black and white photos dedicated to cycling (the cafe was called La Bicyclette).

Medellín is the second largest city in Colombia with over 2 million people. Once infamous for dangerous gangs and drug activity between the 1970s and early 1990s - when it was labelled the ‘murder capital of the world’ under the rule of drug lord Pablo Escobar - it is now called the 'City of Eternal Spring', a moniker I'm sure it prefers!

We are staying in the upscale suburb of Poblado: full of nice shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. 

After lunch some of the group stayed in the neighbourhood to look around and a small group of 5 of us went into the central part of the city to take the metro up to the famous Metrocable (a cable car) which takes you up high above the city. It was installed to improve transportation for the people of Medellín living up in the poorer favelas or shanty areas but it also provides a cheap way to get fabulous views. The normal metro (train) itself was incredibly crowded - we had to squeeze on - and the first cable car journey up through the favelas was busy too; but after we passed the last of the residential areas to which the cable car accessed, the cable car beyond this allows access to hiking trails and recreational areas, and this cable car was not crowded at all.

After we had crossed the thick jungle area (Parque Arví) at the top where the hiking trails are located and started to descend back towards the city, we stopped and had a lovely time wandering around a part of the favela area. Here too is the Biblioteca España which was unfortunately being renovated on the outside. The sun was starting to go down and by the time we returned to our hotel, it was dark.