Medellín's Feria de las Flores

Feria de las Flores, or the Festival of Flowers, has been a highlight in Medellín for over 50 years. The week-long festivities include concerts, parades and of course flower displays around the city! It was coincidently perfect timing that David had chosen this week to visit us, when Medellín is overflowing with energy. Earlier in the week, we visited downtown to see the vibrant animal sculptures constructed with flowers, but you didn't have to go out of your way to see a flower display as most restaurants, shops, and hotels had some sort of flower arrangement showcased for the week. Then midweek, we all went to the Classic Car Parade and enjoyed a few Colombian-style micheladas. Micheladas in Colombia are unlike the ones I've had in the States. They aren't spicy at all! The vendors around Medellín coat the rim of the cup with lime and salt, fill 1/5 of the cup with freshly squeezed lime juice, and finish it off with either a Pilsen or Aguila beer. We also devoured candied coconut strips. Quite the combination! The celebrations concluded with the much anticipated Flower Parade. We secured our spots towards the finish line an hour before the parade started. Good thing we did, otherwise we would not have been able to see anything past the crowds. The three-hour parade included dancers, singers, and oddly enough, circus performers. However, the men and women carrying silletas, various types of flower arrangements, stole the show. Since we were near the end of the route, we saw some men and women on the verge of tears due to the weight of these arrangements. But the crowd never stopped chanting the phrase "sí, se puede" while clapping and cheering them on. This phrase translates to "yes we can" and it was awe-inspiring to hear the crowd's chants motivate the silleteros to not only carry on, but with smiles on their faces. This was the perfect way to end a memorable week in one of the best cities in Colombia.

[ flower sculptures ]

Flower power frog

Largest sculpture of the bunch

Silleta at the top of Parque Arví

 

[ classic car parade ]

Pilsen: our favorite beer for micheladas

Front and center at the parade

Classic chiva party bus

Luckiest girl at the parade

[ flower festival ]

First group of dancers

Just a handful of silleteros

Circus performers doing their thing 

More dancers

"We paint our lives"

The last dancers had the best costumes 

A silletero bearing the load

Touring Medellín

To get the most out of our week in the city, we decided to do a walking tour of downtown and a second tour of important places around the city relating to Pablo Escobar. The walking tour was the longest we have ever been on (4 hours) but it was well worth it. Our guide, Hernan, was extremely knowledgeable and remembered each person's name after hearing it only once. We started out close to the government offices and walked through all of the famous plazas and marketplaces. In the mid 1990s, the government started transforming these drug-ridden areas into parks and monuments to show residents that progress was being made and that the cartels were losing their grip on the city. Today, Medellín has a look and feel of a bustling American or European city.

The second tour dove into the rise and fall of one of world's most infamous criminals, Pablo Escobar. While Pablo owned hundreds of properties in Medellín, we only visited a handful. Most of them have been repossessed by the government but you can still see the amount of influence that he weilded in the city. At the height of his power, most cops and government officials in Medellín were either under his authority or killed off. Since he spent generously on public projects for the poor, there were many that became sympathetic towards him. However, by the time he was killed, it was impossible to ignore the physical and emotional damage attributed to his reign of terror. We would recommend reading Killing Pablo if you're interested in learning more.

Starting the tour with Hernan

Looking up from the Plaza of Lights

Our bingo friends 

Local mall in a building from the 1920s

The mall's skylight

Dutch architecture near downtown

Walking along one of the main avenues

One of Pablo's primary residences

Young Pablo's ID card

The house where he was shot 

Admirers still leave flowers at his grave

Welcome to Medellín Part I

Set in a deep valley in the heart of Colombia lies the city of eternal spring, Medellín. While many people outside of Colombia still associate Medellín with the drug cartel, Pablo Escobar, and violence, locals know that times have changed. Since the 1990's, the city has done an amazing job minimizing the drug presence and transforming their image into an innovative and exciting hub for Colombians and travelers alike. This dramatic change has not gone unnoticed. In 2012, the Wall Street Journal awarded Medellin City of the Year and they were also garnished for their Sustainable Transportation along with San Francisco. As soon as we stepped foot in the city, it was apparent how much Medellín had set themselves apart from the rest of the country. The locals, or Paisas, have an immense amount of pride and were clearly excited to see travelers experiencing their city and culture. We took the metro to our hostel located in an affluent district called Laureles. Shanta's brother, David, flew in from Houston the following day and we began exploring the city. We took a trip up the wall of the valley in a cable car and arrived at the ceiling of the city, Park Arví. The view of the city was obscured by the dense forest but the food vendors at the top made up for it. With empanadas in our stomachs, we set out hiking with the remaining daylight. To cap off the night, we drank our way through the gringo district, Poblado, which became a nightly routine. It was there that Shanta found her coveted Mexican food and David was mistaken for a Colombian local on multiple occasions. In Poblado we also discovered a coffee shop that Colombians claimed served some of the best coffee in the country. Despite keeping each of us awake until 4am, the locals were right about the quality. We spent the next week taking tours, seeing festivals, and bouncing from bar to bar at night. On David's last night, we went to a crowded local's bar a few blocks from our hostel. After a few drinks, we noticed Colombians crowding around an older man. When I asked the table next to us who he was, I was told that he is a national celebrity, Bazil Alexander, who used to be famous for his salsa songs in the 80s. The Michael Bolton of Colombia got up, grabbed the microphone, and began belting out some of his greatest hits while the bar roared in excitement. Shanta and David squeezed in for a pic, and Bazil managed to give a perfect smile mid-verse. David took off the next day and Shanta and I couldn't manage much more than drinking water and recovering at the hostel. Check back in the next few days for posts on our city tours and the famous Medellín flower festival, Feria De las Flores.

Typical restaurant near our hostel, The Wandering Paisa

David's first night

(Baby)sitting in line to Park Arví

Cable car system

On the way up

Drained the hot sauce supply

Conquering the park

The best coffee at Cafe Pergamino

Shanta taking in every last drop

Shanta's latte

With our new friend Aliyya

David and I excited about the cheap prices

The myth, the legend, Bazil

Palomino

Leaving the high altitude behind, we traveled once again to beaches farther up the Colombian coast. Most travelers make their way into Tyrona National Park, however, a friend we met in Minca told us that Palomino, a small coastal town near the Venezuelan border, is less crowded and cheaper. We took off after a quick pit stop in Santa Marta, and two hours later we arrived in the laid back beach town of Palomino. We still had a 30 minute walk ahead of us, but on our way to the Tiki Hut we met a Colombian who was driving to the beach to watch the sunset. Since our hostel was on the way, he offered us a ride. And given the fact that we were still a bit sore from our last hike with the packs, we gladly accepted the offer! He told us that he lives in Santa Marta but often takes weekend trips to Palomino to enjoy the beautiful beaches and sunsets. After our quick chat with him, we were eager to check in and get to the beach as well. Unfortunately, the waves are so high and dangerous that it is highly advised not to swim too far out. After soaking up some sun at the beach the next day, we decided to go tubing. I was excited to see how tubing the Palomino River in Colombia compared to the Russian River in California or the San Marcos River in Texas. There was one HUGE difference: we were the only ones on the river! Well, not the only ones, but the only tourists. We met some local kids along the way who were more than happy to see us. Not too long after, we noticed that Phill's tube was deflating quickly. Needless to say, Phill had to walk the remaining mile down the river. That setback aside, it was still a relaxing day on the river. When it was time to leave the Tiki Hut, we ran into the owner drinking with his buddies by the bus stop. He insisted we have a beer with him, which then turned into hours of drinking and learning local Spanish lingo. That was by far the highlight of the trip. 

Before hitchhiking to Tiki Hut

The hut

Two minutes from the hostel

The tide had its way with this tree

Phill loves taking pictures

Ridin' dirty

Before we knew the fate of Phill's tube

Palms for days

One of the last pictures of Phill's hat 

Some of the happiest kids we've met

More locals at play

Enjoying the river walk

Tubing ended at the beach

The impromptu bus stop

If you make your way to Palomino, the Tiki Hut is a must!