For most of the weekend as usual between Thurs and Sunday we didn't get to see daylight much. Because were so close to the equator it gets dark between 530 and 6. The hostel we were in was in an area called Zona Rosa which is the place with the bars and night clubs. And there are many bars and night clubs all over the place. The staff in our hostel were so friendly as well. Thanks a million to Gisela and Carlos, showing us a great time the first night out!!! One thing I'll never forget about Colombia is the people I've met here and gone out with. On the Sunday we were so wrecked from going out just stayed in and had this amazing BBQ. For about $5 we had so many steaks, chorizo, chicken, veg, salad etc cooked by the owner. I know Argentinian steak is meant to be the best but for me this is the best I've had so far. Then after a lot of hanging around and doing nothing and still half drunk decided it was time for me to get a haircut. After two and a half yrs it was ridiculously long and annoying. So a Canadian girl we were hanging out with did a quick snip. Not a bad job but the next morning I decided it was still pretty long and had a go of it myself. Fucked it up a bit then so now in search of a place to do it properly. There was some conditions in getting the haircut though and ended up in some embarrassing photos of dressing up like a girl which I'm not sure if they've made it to facebook yet!!! Funny though, but I've a policy of never untagging a photo so if they go online they are there for everyone to see!!!
The metro system in Medellin is amazing. New, clean, efficient and modern. And one of the lines is actually a cable car that goes way high up above the city and over the slums. Very interesting to see. We got that up one evening and was such a buzz about this part of the city. There was a big library, auditorium and computer building that someone had invested money in to educate the children here. We met some really cool kids who were all interested in talking to us and wondering where we were from and stuff.
We also did the Escobar tour. So in case people don't know who he is, he is the biggest cocaine trafficker to exist, was the richest criminal in the world and in 1989 Forbes said he was probably the 7th richest man in the world worth $9 billion. He offered to pay off Colombia's national debt to try and legalise cocaine. He controlled 80% of the worlds cocaine market. Or rather the Medellin cartel did. The tour we did was very interesting. Learnt a lot about what Colombia and in particular Medellin was like in 20 yrs ago. What it was like for people growing up there and also saw a number of Escobars houses, planes, place where he was shot to death by the police and the story of his life. We heard stories about the amount of kidnappings in the past, how in the late 80's there was 60 car bombs in 3 months and lots more. Was tough trying to take it all in. But certainly interested in learning how this city has changed so much in the last two decades. Although on the same hand if you look at how Northern Ireland or Bosnia, Croatia and most of the Balkans has changed as well. The guide was even telling us funny jokes they had as kids about it all. Even when they lived in the danger kids make jokes as all kids do. Chatting to a lot more locals in Medellin learning how back in the past when people wanted to leave and go to America or other countries for work and now everyone wants to come back. That kind of reminds me of Ireland a bit when people emigrated in the 80's and started to come back in the early 2000's when there was lots of work! Also its not just Colombians who want to come back and stay. We've met so many backpackers like myself who come for a while and stayed, set up shop, got a job or started up a hostel. As I probably mentioned before the tourist slogan is: Colombia: the only risk is wanting to stay. And I've been here nearly 6 weeks already, longer than any other country I've ever travelled to except when I stayed onto work in places, and I'm still not ready to leave it.
After Medellin we decided to go to Manizales. This was another spot with a really shit little paragraph in the lonely planet and a place not a lot of people stop off in. But wikitravel described it as very much a student city. Lots and lots of universities. Population of 400,000 where 100,000 are students and girls outnumber guys 3 to 1. We thought it was worth a look for a weekend! Another city high in the mountains, parts of it literally built on the ridges of the mountain where you can see amazing views from both sides of the street. Again lots of bars, pizza places, cool hang out spots. In one way it kinda reminded me of the vibe in Santa Barbara. Looks totally different but just the student vibe along the main street there. Got a really cool hostel where again we made friends with the staff (Thanks Guys) and they showed us a great time over the weekend. Hostel had a jacuzzi, great bar, loads of movies, Internet etc. Colombian hostels have so much! There was only 5 of us staying there that weekend which at first we thought wouldn't be as much fun but it proved to be better that way. Spent three nights there which ranged from Jacuzzi parties, to drinking on the streets to night clubs to drinking in the hostel. The girls and Alejo that work at the hostel were great and introduced us to a lot of their friends. More about that in other blogs!! Thanks again guys! Highly recommend it to anyone heading that direction.
We had arrived there on a Thursday night and one of the main things I wanted to do was a hike up to the Nevado del Ruiz. Looking out the window of our hostel there are mountains all around, perfect blue skies in the morning and snow capped peaks. Nevado del Ruiz is 5300 metres (17388ft) high and has continuous snow line. Was meant to be like -10 or -15 Celsius on top and been this close to the equator I was mad to see some snow. It's not a long hike cause they can drive up so far. Also there are a few points around this part of the world that even though they aren't higher than Everest they are the furthest point from the centre of the earth. So on the Thursday night after a late enough jacuzzi party we got up at 630 am to make the trip. Tired out we got on a bus and start driving up the mountain. Was about 830 when we got word that it was closed. I was so disappointed. It was a perfect bluebird day. Could see the snow. Was hot in town like mid 20's. And we had to turn back. Apparently there was a few 1000 small earthquakes up there but we also heard excuses that it was too windy. It's also a volcano so I'm sure someone might have made an excuse that it was erupting but we'll never know.
After all that it was another typical Sunday and time to recover, take a few days off and move to the next place, Zona Cafetera or the coffee region. Solento....
No comments:
Post a Comment