In The Land of Narcos
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| Plaza Botero |
In 2015 Netflix series Narcos was a big hit and popular among series lovers. It brings back the story of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and his hometown Medellín in the mid-'90s. On that series, it shows us how powerful Escobar was and how scary the city at that time, but when I visited Medellín in 2015 everything has changed.
My first impression of Medellín was hot and humid weather. When I got off the bus I was sweating so bad. We arrived at the terminal after seven hours trip from Bucaramanga. It was early morning, and the bus station was still quiet. Then my friends and I took a cab to Hotel 47 Medellín Street in La Candelaria.
The hotel was nice and located on the main street near some tourist attractions and the US Embassy, but somehow it was isolated. When we arrived in front of the hotel, we don't recognize the hotel because there was just a narrow door with a bell. We thought it was just some random house, but then we realized that is the entrance to the hotel. The lobby is small but decent, and it connected to the garage.
The room located above and there are a restaurant and a bar on the top floor where we can see the view. The room is quite large, clean, and modern. It was a good call to stay there for several days.
After drop off our luggage, we decided to meet our Focalae friend, Undarma from Mongolia, who lived in Medellín. We met her near her campus at National University of Colombia and decided to have breakfast in local café.
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| Selfie with our Mongolian Friend |
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| The Only Metro in Colombia |
Then we continued our trip that day to Plaza Botero by Metro. FYI, Medellín is the only city in Colombia that has Metro or train as public transportation that even Bogotá, the capital, didn't have. We were excited to ride it and take a photo in the station.
Surprisingly the Metro didn't use an air conditioner! We thought they used AC since the temperature in Medellín is high, so not only taxis that didn’t use AC but also the Metro.
A few minutes later, we arrived in Plaza Botero, a spacious plaza surrounded by Museum Antioquia and Uribe Palace of Culture. We went to the museum to see Fernando Botero’s paintings and sculptures. The three-floor building was full of Fernando Botero’s painting that has its own signature that evokes images of voluptuous, voluminous people and objects.
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| Giant Candle in Parque de Las Luces |
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In Metro Cable with Alexander Skarsgård Look Alike |
Fun fact when we were riding Metro cable was meeting a guy who resembled Alexander Skarsgård, a Swedish-born actor from Hollywood. Guapisimo! Well, we met him first in Metro, and surprisingly he also intended to go to Barrio Santo Domingo, then we headed there together.
Another fun fact about Medellín is we can find people who speak English better than in other cities. Based on my experience traveling through Colombia, it was a little bit difficult to find people who were able to speak English. Just my friends on campus at UNAB and people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (La Cancillería) who welcomed us in Bogotá.
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| Barrio Santo Domingo |
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| Rock n Roll in Barrio Santo Domingo |
In the late ’80s to early ninties, Barrio Santo Domingo was the most dangerous place in the city. It controlled by a drug cartel led by Pablo Escobar. In that era, people were scared to walk through the streets for fear of being killed. He brought terror through the city, and for that reasons Medellín was known as The Most Dangerous City in The World.
Currently, Barrio Santo Domingo is much safer and becomes a tourist attraction. Also, there is a new construction called Barrio Santo Domingo Savio, Spain Park Library that was built in honor of the King and Queen of Spain, who contributed to the construction. Well, you still can see houses that build of bricks stacked and lining up through the hill.
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| In Front of Spain Library in Barrio Santo Domingo |
After stopping in Bario Santo Domingo, we went up to the hill by Metro cable and arrived at Parque Arvi. It is an ecological park that offers a great view of nature and a food stall that sells different kinds of fresh fruits.
On the next day, we went to a Santa Fe mall located in Poblado to have lunch, an upscale area famous among foreigners. This neighborhood is full of bars, cafés, and restaurants open till midnight. Later that night, we went to Pueblito Paisa located on the top of Nutibarra Hill. This place is a replica of Antioquia's ancient city and has a beautiful view of Medellín.
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| Giant Play Ground in Santa Fe Mal |
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| In Museo Castillo Poblado |
On our last day, we went to Museo El Castillo, a museum that looks like a castle in Poblado. It offers unique architecture, porcelain, antiques, and paintings, in European style. Then we decided to hang out in Pergamino café in Poblado. A café that has good ambiance, fine architecture, and seems famous in the neighborhood. As usual, my all-time favorite coffee is Café Latte. We were hang out there for a couple of hours, relaxing by enjoying a cup of latte and sightseeing people walking by the area.
That night after hanging out in Poblado we went back to Bucaramanga. It was a nice weekend.
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