Medellín, Colombia

Talk about contrasts! Medellín and Bogotá are both surrounded by mountains, and they both have big city traffic, but the differences between the two cities are dramatic. Bogotá just oozes old world charm, with many lovely colonial structures, as you can see from the photo of the street outside our hotel.

In Medellín, old buildings were either bombed during the drug wars or torn down to make room for new construction, or both. It is very much a modern city. This will be our shortest stay — only two nights — at the Novotel, which is attached to a large, glitzy mall full of restaurants and upscale stores.

Although Bogotá is only 145 miles from Medellín, it would take over 9 hours to drive, because the roads are so winding, so we flew. We arrived in time to visit The Hill of Values, which was SO interesting, it deserves a post of its own, probably after I return home. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Museo de Antioquia. Viewers of the March 2024 Amazing Race may recognize the Museum’s Plaza, filled with Botero’s sculptures. It was one of the Road Blocks that the contestants had to overcome.

The third floor of the museum is completely filled with Botero’s art. How lucky were we to have Alejo explain the artwork to us.! I gained a whole new perspective. For example, his subjects aren’t fat, they’re just voluminous. Botero admired the old masters, so he would copy one of their pieces, but give it a new twist. Sometimes he increased the volume of a particular area, like the butt and legs, then made the hands or head unusually small. Unlike the Botero museum in Bogotá, you are not allowed to take pictures, and in Medellín there is an entrance fee. Here’s the backstory. Botero offered to donate his art to the city of Medellín, but the red tape was taking so long that when Bogotá expressed an interest, he decided to donate to them instead, and voila, the Botero Museum described in my last post was created. Once that happened, Medellín saw the light, reached out to Botero, and now the third floor of the Antioquia Museum is exclusively dedicated to his art.

We spent our one full day in the Medellín area visiting Guatapé, another Amazing Race site. It was so much FUN! The entire area bursts with color. Alejo arranged for us to meet with one of the artists (and his son) who created the colorful zocalos for which the town is noted.

Although it is difficult to see in the photo, many zocalos are three dimensional. Why are the murals placed so close to the ground and why do the figures protrude slightly? The artist offered possible reasons:

1. To stop chickens from pecking at the animal dung used to construct the walls.

2. To stop the dogs from lifting their legs and peeing on their homes

3. To discourage macho men from leaning against the walls.

Who knows what the real reason was? The end result was pretty fantastic.

This street is actually a replica, recreated from photos of the one that was destroyed, with a few whimsical additions.

Aren’t the umbrellas delightful?

Like other towns I’ve visited, tuk tuks offer an easy way to see the city.

So that we could experience EVERY mode of transportation, we took a boat ride on the reservoir, where we cruised by one of Pablo Escobar’s houses— currently in ruins and being used for paint ball competitions.

No, we did NOT ride in “car boats”. We took a vessel similar to the one used by the Amazing Race contestants.

We sailed by the monolith the contestants had to climb to get their next clue. Although it’s hard to see, there are 660 stairs built into a cleft on the rock. No, we didn’t climb it—Alejo told us.

Our final day in Medellin was not on th itinerary—Alejo moved things around so that we could try additional modes of transportation and visit Comuna Thirteen.

But first, we experienced how most Colombians spend Sunday mornings. The cities close the main streets to traffic so that families can stroll, skate, bike, run. Not what comes to mind when you think of Colombia, is it?

We will be flying to the coffee region, so I will be without internet access for three days. That means you’ll just have to wait till we reach Cartagena for a description of our wonderful visit to Comuna Thirteen. No time to proof read, so if something doesn’t sound right, blame Siri.