View from our rooftop nook.
Where to begin...
Well, for the past two weeks I have been traveling with some new friends in Colombia during our school break for Carnaval. First off, we flew to Medellin, Colombia. This city is well known for once being controlled by the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. The mountainous city looks and feels very similar to that of Quito, Ecuador. However, it seems to be much more organized and also has a metro system! I sure wish Quito had one. We stayed at a hostel in a very nice area full of foliage and beautiful views of the mountains. It is very much a tourist location. One thing that is great about the area is a local micro brewery that has a delicious porter! We ventured out of the tourist section to see some sculptures by a local well known artist, Fernando Botero. This area was a little less beautiful. It became obvious that the tourist section was kept at a much higher standard of beauty than the rest of the city. However, it was still a very interesting place to explore. We ate lunch on a restaurant balcony in a small square next to a church. During lunch we enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the locals selling fruits and vegetables from their pushcarts and going about their daily lives. Next we took a sky lift up over the mountains and into the heavy wooded national park. Unfortunately, it was heavily raining and there was no cover so we returned to the bottom with no pictures. Take my word for it, it was beautiful. The lift also went right over a very impoverished area. It was really neat seeing the many dilapidated brick structures stacked on top of each other for what seemed like miles up the sides of the mountains. We also, went to the Medellin Zoo. We were pleasantly surprised at its size and variety of animals. There were many exhibits that mixed animals that could coexist in the same habit. That was pretty interesting. There is a picture above of a popular local dish in Medellin called a bandeja paisa. After eating that I started to reevaluate my enjoyment of red meat. I enjoyed the dish very much but it was such a massive amount that I could barely walk back to our hostel. I think I ate enough red meat to last me until next year. But, I am glad that I had the chance to try such a popular and local dish. Well, that is basically what we did for the few days we were in Medellin. I am sorry for lack of pictures but it took me a few days to get into the picture taking mode. My travel companions took some more pics that will gladly post on Facebook or here at a later date. Next, I will post about our much longer Cartagena trip and our day in Baranquilla.
