Carros BombasOct 24, 2009
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poor barrio in Medellin
The locals think this place has the power to cause miracles
This building was destroyed by a car bomb from Pablo Escobars cartel
We woke up yesterday morning, Friday, to clear blue skies and hot humid weather. We had a tour booked through a local Colombian to take us around town in his little van and show us all the Escobar related sights. His mansion, the many buildings that were car bombed either by him or in an attempt to kill him, the house where he was finally found and shot, and also his private plane collection. With the heat and our hangovers and six of us crammed in the back of this tiny van, we were all a bit skeptical about spending four hours listening to a lecture. Turned out that the guy running the tour was VERY interesting and knowledgeable, but his translator was just terrible. That left me and this other Irish guy who speaks great Spanish to do the translating ourselves, which was frustrating and difficult, but extremely good practice for me in hindsight. I learned a lot not only about Pablo Escobar, but had the opportunity to ask tons of questions about life in Medellin in general.
Of course at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon those dark clouds once again rolled on in and it just poured and poured for about an hour. The lightening and thunder here is so forceful and loud, and then it all just clears up and goes back to being sunny in the blink of an eye. Our tour ended and we were all dropped back off at the hostel but Kim and I were starving so we asked our guide to give us a lift up the street to find a restaurant. We ended up hanging out with him and the translator for a few hours, they drove us to a couple of other really cool places in the city and I got to pick his brain more about Colombian life. Later, sitting out in a plaza drinking cold beer with the locals we couldn’t have been happier. Salsa music blares from every store and bar, people are chatting and dancing and laughing together in the streets, and the fruit vendors run up and down offering everything from strawberries to mangoes and platano chips all for just pennies.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the traveler community and only go out and meet other tourists like ourselves. It was so nice to spend an entire day with two locals and really get a better glimpse into their daily lives. Truly one of the most interesting days I have had so far on this entire trip. Also one of the most rewarding because I got a chance to practice my Spanish all day!
We head out to Ecuador today, by plane. Keep hearing about how everyone is getting robbed in Quito so we are a little nervous and will probably just hop on a bus out of there as soon as we get off our plane. I’m sad, because I’ve also heard that the city is very beautiful at times and worth a visit, but neither of us want to be put in a risky situation. It’s a miracle that we haven't had any problems so far—I would say one out of three travelers we meet has been robbed or otherwise harassed by locals or even the police somewhere in Ecuador or Colombia. We’ve been very careful about always going out in groups and never ever alone at night, and I have actually FELT pretty safe most days, but it is good to hear people’s stories as a reminder to stay paranoid a little bit….luckily the worst case scenario also just seems to be cash gone, or maybe a camera or something.
We're both sad to have to leave Colombia...but excited for this next adventure. More later from Ecuador!
