City with the worst reputation

...But one of the most pleasant cities now, Medellin. When most people hear that name, they conjure up images of Pablo Escobar, cocaine, guns, kidnapping, FARC, you name it. But in reality, those dark days when drug cartels ruled the city are over. Now, its a city with proud people, an efficient metro system, and (apparently) a great nightlife. Coming from Quito, I felt like I was in a sanctuary.

The first full day that I was there, I went to the one must-see museum of the city, Museo de Antioquia. Its famous for the Eduardo Botero collection, Medellin s famous son. He is probably the most famous international artist from Colombia. Any sculptures or paintings of fat (or voluminous, as he calls them) people or objects, probably a Botero. The city center, though noisy and bustling with activity, has a calm, clean feel. I really thought it was a nice city.





The second half of the day was spent on the Pablo Escobar tour, Medellins second famous son. During the 80s, he became the first drug dealer to export cocaine into the US. He became so rich that he was even elected to the congress before people found out where that money came from. At one point in his political life, he offered to pay off Colombias debt. He was quite the humanitarian as well. He built houses for the impoverished community in Medellin, the people of which still love him to this day. He also never did drugs, drunk alcohol, or smoke, and neither did he allow his family members.

Actually, I learned all of this one the tour. All of what I knew about Pablo Escobar, I knew from Entourage. Though expensive, the tour was wholly worth it. It started at his cemetery. Then the rooftop where he was killed (or committed suicide, some believe). But most of the tour takes place at the current house of Pablos brother, Roberto Escobar. Everybody gets to meet him, and he shows you around the house of memorabilias while personally answering our questions. Roberto used to work for the cartel as well, and at one time, the US government had a bounty reward of $10 million for Pablo or Roberto. Though a sweet old man now, he definitely went through a lot, as indicated by the bullet holes around the house.






The next day, I went to Guatape, one of the most charming villages I have seen. Not sure if pictures can do justice...

Close to the village is the El Penol granite monolith seemingly jetting out of the artificial lake. Its a nice walk there, and its an even nicer walk up to the monolith. 650 steps high, it offers the tired hikers a chance to look over the whole Antioquia region. All in all, Medellin was a great introduction to Colombia. I definitely got a sense that I will enjoy this country as much as all of the travelers I have met have attested. The food is really good, both in restaurants and on the streets, the people are really nice, and tourists are still few and far in between.




- Ryoji