MEDELLIN
December 24, 2018
It was a mad dash to the airport when our taxi didn’t show at 5:30am. Another one arrived within 15 minutes and we made it to the airport with time to spare. Our next glitch... the boarding passes didn’t work so back down to the Avianca desk. This is why you allow enough time when traveling internationally. Today is mostly a flying day... having to go from La Paz to Lima to Medellin. We added it up; we have 13 flights total for this trip. I think this may be our flight heaviest trip to date.
It was a mad dash to the airport when our taxi didn’t show at 5:30am. Another one arrived within 15 minutes and we made it to the airport with time to spare. Our next glitch... the boarding passes didn’t work so back down to the Avianca desk. This is why you allow enough time when traveling internationally. Today is mostly a flying day... having to go from La Paz to Lima to Medellin. We added it up; we have 13 flights total for this trip. I think this may be our flight heaviest trip to date.
December 25, 2018
December 26,2018
Since the next few days involve tours for Robin and I, we decided that it is an easier jumping-off point to be down in Poblado. Casa Tokarava is not easy to get to… it is up a hill in Envigado and the taxis/Ubers can’t find it because the GPS shows a completely different location. I have enough points to book at the Marriott (only 35K for TWO nights. ONE night in the US is usually 40-50K)!
During dinner, we were planning our next day on the Guatapé tour and how we were going to meet up with Anton. At first he was going to Uber it, but then Anna thought maybe she could drop him off on the way to the hospital. But then she remembered that this was her “off” day. On specific days during specific hours, certain numbered license plates aren’t allowed on the road. This is to control traffic. Motorcycles and tourist vehicles (white plates) are exempt. She was not able to drive between 7-10 am, and 7:30 was our meeting time. So it was going to be Uber again for Anton.
After we left dinner, we found out about the kindness of strangers. We had ordered an Uber while still sitting at the dinner table, but then could not find our way out of the very confusing mall. Once we found an exit, it wasn’t a straight street. Part of the twisting and turning road around the mall actually went through various parking garages! Plus it was extremely hilly... was the driver on a road above or below us? We could not find him anywhere. The first driver canceled us after 15 minutes when we didn’t show, and a second one canceled us again after we no-showed. We stood there wondering what to do when this young handsome man came running over to us. Apparently he had the same issue we did and had been standing beside us at some point, but had now found his Uber. He asked us where we were going and if we wanted to share. He was Colombian and his girlfriend (in the Uber) was Belgian (they live in Cologne, Germany). He said the driver would drop them off first since it was on the way, and from there we could pay to our hotel. I told him we didn’t have WiFi... so he paid our way! Even though it was probably only about $3, this couple really went out of their way to help us.
After we left dinner, we found out about the kindness of strangers. We had ordered an Uber while still sitting at the dinner table, but then could not find our way out of the very confusing mall. Once we found an exit, it wasn’t a straight street. Part of the twisting and turning road around the mall actually went through various parking garages! Plus it was extremely hilly... was the driver on a road above or below us? We could not find him anywhere. The first driver canceled us after 15 minutes when we didn’t show, and a second one canceled us again after we no-showed. We stood there wondering what to do when this young handsome man came running over to us. Apparently he had the same issue we did and had been standing beside us at some point, but had now found his Uber. He asked us where we were going and if we wanted to share. He was Colombian and his girlfriend (in the Uber) was Belgian (they live in Cologne, Germany). He said the driver would drop them off first since it was on the way, and from there we could pay to our hotel. I told him we didn’t have WiFi... so he paid our way! Even though it was probably only about $3, this couple really went out of their way to help us.
STONE OF EL pinol/guatape
December 27, 2018
We walked about 3/4 of a mile to the square to meet the tour. Unfortunately, it’s a giant tour bus and we are with 40 other people. But it was a paltry $30 per person (we paid $90 to include Anton, but he decided not to come because he was tired. He hadn’t had any sleep because he was sleeping on the couch). Even though I knew it wasn’t close to being a private tour, I certainly didn’t expect 40 others. (Note to self: pay extra for smaller tours).
We stopped at some forgettable colonial town on the way back. We just waited in line to go the bathroom. I’ll bet if they had taken a poll, the entire bus would have declined. We are tired from the stairs and the hot sun. Thankfully, our bus driver was cruising along so the 2-hour drive wasn’t unbearable.
We were supposed to meet up with the others for dinner. But when I texted Kenny, Anna was still at the hospital. (She has had to be there 24/7 since her mom only speaks Russian and she needs to translate. She has hired a Russian-speaking person to be there when she is not). So I suggested lunch for the next day instead. We were exhausted and were very happy to eat for free at the concierge executive lounge instead.
MEDELLIN
December 28, 2018
Got up at a decent hour, had our fabulous hotel breakfast, and met our guide for our Comuna 13 tour (another José) at 9am.
Got up at a decent hour, had our fabulous hotel breakfast, and met our guide for our Comuna 13 tour (another José) at 9am.
On to Comuna 13. There are 16 Comunas (districts)in Medellin. Each Comuna has many neighborhoods. Poblado is Comuna 16. Comuna 13 consists of eight neighborhoods. It has always been an overpopulated poor area of 135,000 people. Comuna 13 was considered the most dangerous place in the world in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. This area was important to the drug traffickers because it was a convenient route to send drugs to the Pacific coast via the San Juan Highway. After Escobar was killed, FARC and ELN fought for control over the route. Homicides happened frequently. Eventually, the Colombian government used far right paramilitary groups to combat the leftist groups in Operation Orion in 2002. This operation was very controversial because about 100,000 residents were caught in the crossfire. Many residents disappeared and have never been found. But with the violent groups gone, Comuna 13 has risen from the ashes.
The flight to Panama City was uneventful. Since we had to stay in Panama overnight, we had every intention to have dinner in the Casco Viejo area of the city. We ordered an Uber and waited forever. The Uber app was now telling us we would arrive at 10:06 pm. The restaurant we were trying to go to was closing at 10:30. So I canceled the car and we ate the hotel. I’m glad that we didn’t go because we had to be up at 6am for our flight. (The Crown Plaza front desk told us to get to the airport 3 hours early. We were at our gate in 25 minutes.)
Thank You for this wonderful trip!!