Medellín, Colombia
It was almost two weeks ago, when I arrived in Medellín and fell in love with the city immediately.
I got off the bus around 8:00 pm. At the first moment I always have this little fear. I don't know where I am, where to go. Is it a safe place? Should I leave as soon as I can or is it okay to sit down and check my phone?
I quickly checked where the nearest hostel was and it was only 2 km away so I decided to walk. I don't know why I was so excited, and in a hurry. But I chose the wrong way two times. Maybe it was because I was worried that I'm going to be late to check-in.
When I walked to the Hostel the vibe of the city already hit me. First there was a poor neighbourhood, but the sound of music was coming from everywhere, people talking in front of their houses or sitting in pubs. Then I walked through a park, where hundreds of people were enjoying a concert. A big group was close to the stage, but most of them were sitting on benches or on the floor. The passage was full of street vendors, selling food, cloth and many other things. After the park again people were talking on the streets, small pubs on every corner packed with young and old people, in the next park there was an amateur football game. Lots of people were cheering for them. Pretty soon I arrived at the hostel. The receptionist didn't know English, but she was very nice, and helped with everything. A guy was sitting there too, talking to the receptionist. He was just a guest, waiting for his friends to go out. We started talking and they invited me. Their party was great. We were talking, drinking, and dancing.
In the next few days. I was chilling at the hostel. I was walking around and visited Comuna 13, Pueblito Paisa, the city centre, and had a day trip to Guatape.
Guatape
On wednesday I went to Guatape with another guy from my hostel. This place is totally worth that two hours bus ride. The view with this huge stone in the middle is amazing. To be honest the cliff itself is quite ugly, but it is so unique and unexpected, that it makes it incredible and there is that view from the top, which isn't bad either. Close to the cliff there is a lovely village, which makes this one day trip complete.
I really enjoyed this day. At the bus station we already met a Costarican guy, and later when we started to climb up a Canadian girl joined us too. Later the four of us went to the village together, we walked around and had lunch.
Pueblito Paisa
Pueblito means village, little town, but what or who is a Paisa? I can see this word everywhere. At the restaurants, shops and pubs. Sometimes businesses use the name as well. At first I thought it's a name for the Culture of this part of Colombia, and it is more or less true, but originally the name Paise only refers to the people who lives there. It's also the name of the dialect here, and which is quite interesting. People here are a bit different genetically as well, because this part of the country was very isolated for hundreds of years. The population is a mixture of idigenous and spanish people, many of the spanish are jues who fled here because of the spanish inquisition.
So I went to this Paisa village,because many people said that it's good. I was a little surprised when I arrived, because I only found a little square which is surrounded by a little church, and three houses. It was really nice, they looked good. I just expected a little more. However there is an amazing view to the city which you definitely want to see if you are in Medellín, especially because now there are construction sites all over the place. New routes, stairs and buildings are being made here.
Comuna 13
It wasn’t more than 15 years ago, when Comuna 13 was ruled by gangs and Police were afraid to enter this part of the city. It is still considered unsafe, but dozens of guided tourist groups come here everyday, however I decided to come without a guide. I wanted to see every part of it. Not just the main road.
I’ve been in Medellín for 5 days already when I decided to visit Comuna 13 and to get to know Medellín a little bit better. I started walking right after breakfast. It took around 2 hours to get there. I could have used the metro but it would have been just too easy. I walked by industrial areas, schools and residential areas.
This neighbourhood changed rapidly after the construction of an electrical escalator. Safety in general has become better everywhere lately. But this small project really triggered the change here. After this more people could afford to go to work, the crime rate went down and living standards went up.
Unfortunately I didn’t find the escalator, but I wasn’t looking for it for too long either. I wanted to see places further away from the main road. People were really nice. They were trying to show me the right way. They didn’t understand what I was doing there. I stopped by a small shop covered with steel bars. The girl at the shop also seemed a little bit surprised that she had seen a tourist.
This place was one of my favourites in Colombia. This built environment wasn’t planned by anyone, people just built houses next to each other and it became something unique and extraordinary with a stunning view.
I'm sharing with you some little fun facts: The buildings are open here. Since there is no need for
heating and cooling all year, there is no reason for close them. So continues the kitchen and the floors
from the terasse without a door separating it here at my hostel. And the dining part of shopping mall
was also open. I made this picture from there.
Okay its less fun, but they have here the same cockroaches as it was in Wall-E. I saw a few of them yesterday after sunset. 4-5 cm long cuties.
Hmm, I shouldn't just finish this post talking about cockroaches. Let me just say that I absolutely love this city.
Sandor Tokesi, Medellín, Colombia, 10.10.2019
