Medellin Archives - Iron Roamer

After a week of catching up on my blogs it was time to do some sightseeing in Medellin.

Medellin Metrocable

High on my sightseeing list was the Medellin Metrocable. The Metrocable was in the opposite end of the city where I was staying. That meant taking the Metro to get there.

The Medellin Metro is very modern and very cheap! Only $2 Canadian to take it to the opposite end of the city.

When I reached the Metrocable I was in for another surprise. The Metrocable is a gondola. Back home gondolas are largely tourist attractions or ways to get to the top of the ski hill. But here they are an integral part of thee transit system for poor people living on the side of the mountain. The big surprise was this Metrocable was included with the $2 I spent to take the Metro. It is just a part of the transit system. So I just transferred to it and off I went for the ride.

Once you get to the top, this is where the tourist part starts. It no longer is a transit system but a tourist ride over a forest plateau. And you pay extra for that. Almost double my $2 transit fare. So the ride continued.

The end was rather disappointing. I was hoping for a nice spot to sit, have a cup of coffee, and enjoy the sights. Instead, there were just a few food stalls and no view.

There are some walks you can do through the forest but that is it.

It was time to head back “home.”

Of course amongst all the poverty is a beautiful soccer pitch 🙂

Time to transfer back onto the transit part of the Metrocable

Soon I was back to my comfortable surroundings in Envigado.

Downtown Medellin

My next sightseeing trip was to go downtown. One of the major attractions there are the sculptures in Botero Plaza created by Fernando Botero.

I walked around downtown hoping to see some more great things.

Other than this mall, I was disappointed.

I decided to take a walk to another place in the downtown area listed on my sightseeing things to see – Bolivar Park.

The park ended up being disappointing as well. I guess worth seeing but not mind blowing ha ha. Perhaps I have seen so much now that it takes more to impress me.

So I just kept walking to lose myself in the city. As I walked I came across the government area. It was deserted but had some nice sculptures.

Back home 🙂

Sunday Football in Poblado

Envigado where I am staying, and Poblado just north are reportedly the two nicest areas of Medellin. An English pub in Poblado was suppose to be the best place to watch NFL football. So that is where I headed.

The area where the pub was located was filled with restaurants around a small park.

Finally got to my pub to watch some football … in English too!

Regional Metropolitano Cerro El Volador Natural Park

My last sightseeing spot was the Regional Metropolitano Cerro El Volador Natural Park. This is a hill overlooking Medellin.

Here I discovered that after a year of riding and a hernia operation, that I am dreadfully out of shape. I discovered this after climbing numerous stairs to get to the top.

I am kind of frustrated, discouraged and disturbed by how out of shape I have become. It is a combination of no strenuous activity and poor eating. Something to watch for if you are planning on a motorcycle adventure of your own.

Anyways, I did make it to the top.

After my exercise I headed past the Medellin river, back on the Metro and home.

Starbucks

Actually, before heading home after each sightseeing trip, and on the days in between, I spent time at Starbucks at the Milla de Oro. It was my place to relax and enjoy a coffee. Plus they knew me and greeted me by name. Unique about this particular Starbucks was that they wrote a saying on everyone’s cup. This is the one I liked the best:

“Brian, the best.” 🙂

My Location from October 24 to November 19, 2017

After exploring Bogota, it was time to get back on the road and ride to Medellin, Colombia. Once there I would spend a month in an Airbnb I rented. The reason for spending a month there was to wait out the rainy season, get caught up on my blog posts, study Spanish, and do some housekeeping.

As a retired police officer, Medellin was infamous for its drug trade. However, I understand things have changed. Can’t wait to explore the city I’ve heard so much about over the years.

Ride to Medellin

As I was planning my ride to Medellin I couldn’t seem to figure out how long it would take. Each map I looked on gave different riding times. Because of that I left early.

The first part of the ride seemed to take forever as I negotiated the Bogota traffic. Tortuous! Once out on the open road though it was a nice leisurely ride through the hills to Medellin.

I arrived at my Airbnb at 2 pm after leaving at 7 am in the morning. At first I couldn’t figure out which was the apartment complex and no one seemed to be coming out. I spoke to a manager of one of them to see if he could help. Even though I didn’t understand a word he said, eventually he hooked me up with the mother of the person I was renting from. The Spanish here is Colombia is quite different than what I have been used to in Central America.

After a quick explanation of the rules I got settled in.

Laundry

My first order of business was to find out where I was, what was around me, and to find a laundromat. There is a washer in my Airbnb, but I figured if a laundromat was close by, why fiddle around with laundry.

Well, I walked everywhere and asked everyone and there just wasn’t any laundromat anywhere near me. Very strange. In Mexico and Central America they are everywhere! I guess I will do my own laundry.

The good thing about trying to find a laundromat was that I got to know what was around me.

For my first full day I planned on going to a local coffee shop to get caught up on my blog posts. I got there at 9 am but it didn’t open until 10 am. Well, this wasn’t going to work. I sat there for a bit and said to myself, “screw it,” and headed off to the nearest Starbucks that was about a 35 to 40 minute walk from my Airbnb.

From that day on for the next week and a half, I had my routine.

The Day in the Life of Brian in Medellin

I would leave my Airbnb at about 9 am each morning. The Airbnb I have it really nice – 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 7th floor.

The garden outside was decorated for Halloween.

Walk down my street to the main road.

Cross the busy intersection.

You can see Carulla on the left of the picture. That is where I get my groceries.

Then walk along a beautiful tree lined street up and down over a small hill.

As I head down to an overpass I reach Santuario De La Virgen de La Rosa Mistica. At first I didn’t know what it was, only that people were there all the time.

At the entrance is a small store to buy candles mostly.

Walking inside you see tile plaques everywhere thanks Rosa for answering their prayers.

And then stairs up to Rosa Mistica.

From what I can gather, this shrine has a bit of a sinister past. It was once owned by Pablo Escobar for his henchmen to go and pray for protection and bless their weapons. Apparently half the plaques there are from criminals thanking Rosa. It is also known as the virgin of the assassins.

From there I walk down and up to the Santa Fe mall.

One really cool thing about the mall is that it has a parking entrance just for motorcycles and bicyclists.

Inside the mall if a very cool play area. Hey Mia and Ben (my grandkids) I wish you were here so we could go play in it!!

As I walk past the mall I can see in the distance a car park that works with elevators!

Ahead is a sign that seems to be welcoming me ha ha

Past the flower vendor I reach my destination. It has it all 🙂 Starbucks, a BMW motorcycle dealership, Hard Rock Cafe, Krispy Kreme and a fitness centre.

The Starbucks here is always filled with people working.

Up to the Barista to order, in Spanish ha ha, my usual.

And then to my spot, ala Sheldon, to work on blog posts and read for the next few hours.

Once in awhile there there is some impromptu entertainment like this photo shoot outside.

Often by the afternoon it starts to rain. I wait for it to subside a bit before walking back home.

In the evenings I hunt for dinner 🙂 and either watch the World Series, NFL football, or just Big Bang Theory, which I downloaded the first 10 seasons to watch.

And that is it for the first week and a half here in Medellin.

Sightseeing in Medellin Colombia