after the coldest overnight bus ride of my life (seriously, it was like a meat locker. i coudn´t feel my toes , could see my breath and felt the first twinges of hypothermia. ON the bus), arrived in medellin. while the city was known for being the stomping grounds of pablo escobar and having the highest murder rate in the world, due to urban drug wars and teenage kids being hired to off people for 30 bucks a pop, today it´s touted as the safest big city in colombia. talk about an image makeover.
it also has a metro, one of the cleanest i´ve been on in my life. probably because your not allowed to eat on it, something i realized while getting yelled at by a policia mid-bite into my empanada. lo siento!
we rolled into medellin a couple days before new years, and met up with a huge group we´d been traveling with for the past month or so. more aussies than i can count, a couple scottish, a couple irish, one kiwi and the trusty american! days were spent riding throughout the massive city, visiting the musuem of modern art for a bit of culture, the aquarium for a bit of wildlife, and the mall for a taste of the exquisite colombia fashion (insert sarcasm here. everything is tight and bright). the main town is centered in a large valley, with overpopulation crowding houses up on the slopes of the hills, some homes built on 45 degree angles. at first glance seems a bit drab and monotone, but the beautifully cool climate and distinct urban vibe was a nice change.
bring on new years! our entire hostel ended up at a club called mangos, themed like a circus, trolling with clowns, midgets and my personal favorite, midget clowns. insanity doesn´t even begin to describe it. strobe lights, electro-turned-salsa blasting, go-go dancing mimes, clowns doing makeup in the bathrooms, dancing dancing dancing. ¡diez, nueve, ocho, siete, seis, cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno, feliz año nuevo! 2010! a new year, a new decade!
the coffee district seemed like a good place to recover, and salento was the small town of choice. a tiny hamlet tucked away in the heart of the highlands, it seems this town hasn´t changed much in 200 years. surrounded by rolling green hills, rivers and coffee plantations, on a clear day you can see snow-capped mountains of the valle de coroca. easily one of the cutest towns i´ve ever visited. bustling on the weekends, sleepy as ever on the weekdays. small handicraft shops squeeze onto the main street, multi-colored homes of adobe show the wear of sun and time, men wear cowboy hats and traditional striped ponchos, a weekend festival catering to colombian daytrippers with food and music jams the central plaza, and some of the best coffee i´ve ever had the pleasure of consuming is on tap. every menu heralds their trucha and patacones as being THE very best town. the trucha (trout) i can do without, but i will dream about patacones for the rest of my life. a huge plantain, smashed, salted, fried, served with whatever you want. yummmm.
tomorrow, off to cali, the salsa capital of colombia, then the white city of popayàn. sad to leave this country, but looking forward to ecuador!
and as a side note: colombia could quite possibly be my favorite country in the whole world. it was built up for me on my way through central america, and rightfully so. the people are the friendliest--everyone is amigo--the scenery leaves me awe-struck, the tangible resiliency and strength in the whole country is inspiring, and the love of life is contagious.
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