Medellin

I have been too busy to write my blog which is a good sign that I am having a great trip!

We spent three fabulous and fun packed days and nights in Medellin. As we left the city in a taxi, I said to David that even if we did nothing else in Colombia, I would consider my trip to have been amazing. I hardly took any photos in Medellin as we tended to leave our phones safely in the hotel. I took my camera out a couple of times, so I'll be able to download my photos later.

Medellin is quite different from other parts of Colombia. Firstly, the climate is absolutely perfect. It's known as the "City of eternal spring" as the temperature stays at around 25 degrees all year round. Secondly, the people proudly "Paisa" which means that they are very proud of their Antioquia roots. People from Antioquia are known to be hardworking and independent. The region seems to have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and is the main place for coffee growing and exportation. The "Zona Cafetera" is also probably still the main region for drugs...Medellin has had a fairly violent recent past, and today it is still considered to be a little edgy. It's only listed as the 14th most violent city in the world now. Big time drugs gangster Pablo Escobar was killed in 1996 and although there are still a lot of small drugs cartels based around here, it is nothing like it used to be.

We had booked a hotel called the Dan Carlton Belfort in the leafy Castropol area of the city between the neighbourhoods of Poblado and Industriales. It was a fairly traditional, but beautiful 5 star hotel up in the hills with good views of the city. They upgraded us to a suite which made me very happy after 12 hours on a scary bus.

I'll post some highlights as separate blog entries